Wang Xiji, a Chinese space scientist who made pioneering contributions to China's rocket and satellite programs, died of illness in Beijing at the age of 105 on Wednesday, the China Academy of Space Technology announced.

NANJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Inside the Nanjing Museum of the Site of the Lijixiang Comfort Stations in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, a wall of portraits bears the weathered faces of more than 60 survivors of the Japanese army's World War II-era comfort women system.On Friday, that visual record grew as a new batch of artifacts, photographs and video materials documenting the victims' experiences was added to the museum's collection.The materials were donated mainly by two Chinese photographers after years of documentary work and field investigation.One of them is Li Xiaofang, a member of the China Photographers Association, who spent more than two decades gathering the stories of survivors of the Japanese military's comfort women system. Traveling across China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK), he visited, interviewed and photographed more than 100 survivors.Li donated more than 200 photographs of over 70 survivors, along with 43 replicas of their handprints. The photographs are now on display at the museum.The stories behind the images remain vivid in his memory. Li recalled visiting survivor Zhou Fenying on a chilly autumn day. Despite the cold, the elderly woman insisted on taking a bath.After escaping from the comfort station, I had to take a bath every day, hoping to wash away the humiliation and pain from my body, Li recalled Zhou telling him.It was a psychological trauma she could never erase in her lifetime, Li said.Another donor, photojournalist Yan Meihua from Xiaogan City in central China's Hubei Province, spent two years documenting the testimony and daily life of Mao Yinmei, a Korea-born survivor.Yan eventually compiled more than 7,000 photographs and 10 videos, preserving a detailed visual record of Mao's life and experiences.Born in what is now Jeonbuk State of the ROK, Mao was deceived by the Japanese military in the 1940s and taken to a comfort station in Hubei's Wuhan, where she endured inhumane abuse. After Ja...

BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- As a multi-ethnic country with a long history, China is offering a new perspective on addressing common challenges in modern state governance through its recently enacted law on promoting ethnic unity and progress -- one that seeks unity without imposing uniformity.The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, China's fundamental law governing ethnic affairs, took effect on July 1 to strengthen law-based governance and promote unity and common prosperity among the country's 56 ethnic groups.China has been ethnically diverse since ancient times, with many groups developing their own unique customs and cultural traditions. For thousands of years, governing such a vast and varied land has presented complex challenges, some of which have even continued into the modern era.While countries may follow different institutional paths, safeguarding national unity, countering separatism, and protecting the equal rights of all members of society remain common challenges in modern state governance, said Hu Haifeng, director of the Institute of Ethnology at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences.Through the new law, China is incorporating its historical experiences and contemporary practices in governing ethnic affairs into a legal framework, with the aim of balancing national unity, regional stability and development, ethnic relations and public security, Hu said.Drawing on years of field research in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hu views the legislation as a codification of the country's experience in combating separatism, countering terrorism and extremism, and promoting ethnic unity and progress.The law expounds on the idea of building a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. It also sets up institutional safeguards to promote the common national language among different ethnic groups, while respecting and protecting the right to study and use ethnic minority languages.The law's provisions on equality, ethnic unity and the protection...

The Chinese and Egyptian air forces are set to conduct joint exercises in Egypt from mid-August to early September, a Chinese military spokesperson said Friday.

KATHMANDU, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A reception to mark the 71st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal, combined with the award ceremony for a China-Nepal friendship short video contest, was held in Kathmandu on Thursday.In his address, Nepal's Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai reviewed the bilateral engagement since the two countries formally established ties in 1955, noting that Nepal and China have consistently advanced their relationship on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.Rai reaffirmed Nepal's firm adherence to the one-China principle, stressing that the country will never allow its territory to be used in any way to harm China's core national interests.Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming underscored the long-standing friendship between the two neighbours, which has remained resilient despite changes in the international environment. He noted that since the formation of Nepal's new government in March this year, political mutual trust between Nepal and China has continued to deepen, and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation has continued to advance with solid results.Zhang also highlighted growing people-to-people exchanges, noting that simple yet heartfelt exchanges between the two peoples have altogether become the true foundation and defining character of Nepal-China friendship nowadays.Rai and Zhang jointly presented trophies and certificates to the winners of the short video contest, which had drawn numerous submissions, garnering a combined 880,000 online views.