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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi delivers speech at gathering marking 40th anniversary of Message to Compatriots in Taiwan

A gathering started Wednesday morning at the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 40th anniversary of issuing Message to Compatriots in Taiwan. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the gathering.

Since 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese government and the Chinese people have always unwaveringly taken resolving the Taiwan question to realize China's complete reunification as a historic task, Xi said.

Xi stressed that achieving the country's greatness, national rejuvenation and cross-Strait reunification is the trend of history, which can never be blocked by anyone or any force.

China must be and will be reunified, Xi said Wednesday.

Xi proposed that the mainland and Taiwan conduct democratic consultation on cross-Strait relations and the future of the nation and establish institutional arrangement for peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. (Xinhua)

China approves 2018-2035 master plan for Xiongan New Area

China's central authorities have approved the 2018-2035 master plan for Xiongan New Area, stressing that its creation is significant to high-quality development and the building of the modern economic system.

The plan was approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.

The 2018-2035 master plan is significant to build Xiongan into the national model of high-quality development and a new engine for the modern economic system, said the approval released on Wednesday.

The master plan is the fundamental guideline for the development, construction and management of the Xiongan New Area and should be strictly implemented, according to the approval. (Xinhua)

Police send suspect in Tokyo car attack to prosecutors

Japanese police on Wednesday sent a male suspect to prosecutors following allegations that he rammed his car into pedestrians on a popular shopping street in central Tokyo in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Kazuhiro Kusakabe, 21, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Tuesday, is believed to have driven his rental car along the crowded Takeshita Street in the Harajuku district just after midnight, injuring nine people.

The vehicle was loaded with a tank containing 20 liters of kerosene when the attack took place. (Xinhua)

China investigates health product company for exaggerated advertisements

Tianjin police have started an investigation into a local health product company that had allegedly made false claims in its advertisements, local authorities said Wednesday.

Last month, city authorities opened an investigation into QuanJian Nature Medicine Technology Development Co. Ltd. following an online accusation that the company had made exaggerated advertisements and was involved in a pyramid scheme.

According to the preliminary investigation, the company is suspected of committing the crimes of pyramid selling and false advertising. (Xinhua)

US stocks open sharply lower in 1st session of 2019

Wall Street opened 2019 with decisive losses on Wednesday, underscoring worries over slowing global growth.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.4 percent at 22,993.

The broad-based S&P 500 had fallen 1.3 percent to 2,473, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 1.6 percent to 6,526.

Wednesday's early declines were a perpetuation of the market exodus that dominated trading in December and left major US indices with losses for 2018. (AP)

Alibaba outlines 10 technology trends for 2019

DAMO Academy, e-commerce giant Alibaba's in-house technology and science research arm, released its view on the top 10 technology trends for 2019 on Tuesday. It said artificial intelligence would continue to be the hottest sector with more comprehensive application expected.

The top 10 trends include: Real-time urban simulation to become possible, Speech AI in certain areas to pass Turing Test,  Specialized AI chips on the rise, Computing architecture to be restructured, Super-large graph neural networks (GNNs) to equip machines with “common sense”, 5G networks to enable new applications, Digital identity to become our second ID card, Development in autonomous driving to be more prudent,  Commercial application of blockchain to gain speed, and Data-protection technologies to thrive. (ECNS)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is the nickname of Florida, US?

(Answer: The Sunshine State.)

Today’s quote is from American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Brian Lowe, and Da Hang.)