This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China. 

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China must be, will be reunified: Xi

"China must be and will be reunified. It is a historical conclusion drawn over the 70 years of the development of cross-Strait relations, and a must for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era."

President Xi Jinping made this remarks Wednesday at a gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of issuing Message to Compatriots in Taiwan.

He called on Chinese people across the Taiwan Strait as well as at home and abroad to work together for the Chinese nation's greater good and go with the tide of history, to jointly push forward the peaceful development of the cross-Strait relations and advance the process toward the peaceful reunification of China. (Xinhua)

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Trump invites congressional leaders to discuss gov't shutdown

US President Donald Trump has invited eight top lawmakers, from both parties in the House and Senate, to discuss the ongoing partial government shutdown and border funding at the White House.

The meeting would mark the first time that the president has sat down with top congressional leaders of both parties since the start of the shutdown, which has stretched into its 11th day and affected a quarter of the federal government.

The shutdown has affected nine cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, forcing about 420,000 federal employees, who are deemed essential, to work without pay, while 380,000 others are expected to take unpaid leave. (Xinhua)

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New law on soil pollution will pinpoint responsibility

The country's first national law on soil pollution and control came into force on Tuesday, defining responsibilities for pollution and establishing a special fund for the costs of remediation.

If those who have polluted the soil cannot be identified, those who currently have the right to use the land will be responsible, and if there is a dispute, local governments will be empowered to allocate responsibility, according to the new Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

The law also stipulates that the cost to the local government in controlling the pollution will be covered by those who bear the responsibility. (China Daily)

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Nine injured by car driven into New Year's Eve crowd in Tokyo

At least nine people were injured, one seriously, when a vehicle deliberately plowed into crowds celebrating the New Year in the Japanese capital Tokyo early on Tuesday.

The driver had been detained on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.

The suspect reportedly told police the attack was in "retaliation for the execution of Aum cult members."

The street, which is a world-famous hub of Japanese youth culture and fashion, was closed to vehicles over the New Year to accommodate a large number of pedestrians making their way to the shrine for New Year's prayers. (CGTN)

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China's first e-commerce law offers consumers more protection

To better regulate the flourishing e-commerce market, China's first e-commerce law takes effect on Tuesday, aiming at better protecting consumers' interests, especially privacy.

According to the e-commerce law, e-commerce platforms are prevented from limiting online buyers' search results into recommendations made only based on their personal information, including previous purchase records.

And operators should deal with personal data in a timely manner if a user requests to see, correct or delete their data.

E-commerce operators are defined in the new law as platform operators, such as Alibaba's Taobao.com, merchants on platforms, and those operating on their own websites or via other web services, like the messaging app WeChat. (CGTN)

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Construction of warship for Pakistan underway

China recently started construction of an export version of one of its advanced warships and will deliver it to Pakistan as part of a major arms deal.

According to the Pakistani Navy, the ship's class is Type 054AP, which means it is based on the Type 054A of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It previously said four such ships had been ordered.

Once constructed, the warship will be one of the largest and technologically advanced platforms of Pakistan's Navy and strengthen the country's capability to respond to future challenges, maintain peace and stability and the balance of power in the Indian Ocean region. (China Daily)

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China's top property developers to moderate after booming 2018: report

China's leading real estate developers are expected to grow at a moderated pace after stellar growth in 2018.

China Real Estate Information Corp (CRIC), an online industrial information provider, said 10 Chinese mainland real estate companies' sales exceeded 200 billion yuan in 2018, with Country Garden, a Hong Kong-listed property developer, topping the list at 728.7 billion yuan.

Vanke and Hong Kong-listed Evergrande Group followed with 607 billion yuan and 551.1 billion yuan, respectively.

The report pointed out that another 30 companies had achieved annual revenue of over 100 billion yuan, and the total sales of the top 100 real estate developers grew by 35 percent year on year. (Xinhua)

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And that's People's Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.

(Produced by Wang Xiangyu)