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

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China condemns US House approval of bill on Hong Kong

China expressed strong indignation and firm opposition to the US House of Representatives' passing of the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act 2019.

China’s foreign ministry said what Hong Kong faces at present is not the so-called human rights and democracy issues, but the issue of ending violence and chaos, restoring order and upholding the rule of law as soon as possible.

A spokesperson added that China will definitely take forceful countermeasures against the wrong decision of the US side to firmly safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests. (Xinhua)

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Carrie Lam announces 220 new initiatives in policy address

Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam on Wednesday announced over 220 new initiatives in her third policy address, with particular focus on housing and land supply.

The HKSAR government will build 10,000 "transitional housing" units over the next three years and offer rent subsidies to people applying for public housing. Lam also promised to increase the land supply. 

Hong Kong will be able to get out of the impasse as long as the principle of "one country, two systems" is accurately adhered to, she said. (Xinhua & Global Times)

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Pence, Pompeo to visit Turkey amid Turkish offensive in Syria

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Turkey on Wednesday amid an ongoing Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria.

Pence is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, when Pence will "reiterate President Trump's commitment to maintain punishing economic sanctions on Turkey until a resolution is reached.”

Pence and Pompeo's tour comes after the US on Monday rolled out a package of sanctions on Turkey over its military operations in Syria.

This included blacklisting senior Turkish officials, halting bilateral trade negotiations and raising tariffs on steel imports from the country. (Xinhua)

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Huawei's revenue up 24.4% in first three quarters

Chinese tech giant Huawei said its revenue for the first nine months of the year grew by almost a quarter.

Huawei's revenues jumped 24.4 percent year-on-year to 610.8 billion yuan ($86.2 billion) and its profit margin increased 8.7 percent, according to the company's quarterly financial report.

The company said it has signed more than 60 commercial contracts for 5G with leading global carriers and its smartphone shipments in the first three quarters exceeded 185 million units. (AFP & People’s Daily app)

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IMF lowers 2019 global growth forecast to 3 pct

The International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3 percent in the newly-released World Economic Outlook report.

Noting that this is the slowest pace since the global financial crisis, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath wrote in a blog post that "growth continues to be weakened by rising trade barriers and increasing geopolitical tensions.”

The IMF recently estimated that the US-China trade tensions will cumulatively reduce the level of global GDP by 0.8 percent by 2020, taking into account the proposed tariff hikes scheduled for Oct. 15 and Dec. 15. (Xinhua)

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Japan allocates millions in aid for typhoon-hit regions

Japan's government said it would set aside millions of dollars to help areas devastated by Typhoon Hagibis.

By midday Wednesday, the government put the toll at 74, with more a dozen people still missing.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would offer 710 million yen ($6.5 million) to help areas affected by the storm.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 10,000 households were still suffering from electricity blackouts, while more than 110,000 households are without running water. (AFP)

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Shenzhen sees 1st e-cigarette penalty in Chinese mainland

And a man in Shenzhen smoking an electronic cigarette in a bus station was fined 50 yuan on Monday.

It was the first e-cigarette penalty in the Chinese mainland.

A new regulation extends nonsmoking places to nine from the previous seven types. Places within five meters of the entrance and exit of public transportation terminals, outdoor platforms and waiting areas for public transportation are listed as nonsmoking areas. (Chinadaily.com.cn)

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

(Produced by David Nye and Chen Lidan)