People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (3/18/2019 Mon.)
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This is People’s Daily Tonight, your news source from China. 

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China issues white paper on anti-terrorism, human rights protection in Xinjiang

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China’s State Council Information Office issued a white paper on the fight against terrorism and extremism, and human rights protection in Xinjiang.

The document said the Chinese government stands firmly against all forms of terrorism and extremism, and is relentless in striking hard, in accordance with the law, any conduct advocating terrorism and extremism and any action that involves organizing, planning and carrying out terrorist activities, or infringing upon citizens' human rights.

It added that the Uygur ethnic group came into being in the long process of migration and ethnic integration, and did not descend from the Turks. (Xinhua)

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Luxury car brands cut prices after China potentially cuts taxes, fees

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Luxury car brands rushed to join the price cut after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang noted the country is determined to implement larger scale tax and fee cuts this year. Li made the remarks at a press conference after the conclusion of the annual session of China's national legislature.

"We are going to cut value-added tax rates for manufacturing and other basic sectors, as well as for small and medium-sized companies, the largest providers of jobs in our country, in a meaningful way," Li said last Friday.

The auto market responded to the fiscal plan soon via sale price adjustment. On March 17, Lincoln, an American luxury car brand, announced to cut the recommended retail prices of all models sold by manufacturers immediately in China. (People’s Daily)

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Police raid homes in Australia to aid NZ probe

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Australian police have raided two homes in New South Wales state as part of the investigation into the New Zealand mosque shootings.

Police said in a statement the raids occurred in the towns of Sandy Beach and Lawrence early on Monday.

Australian Brenton Tarrant has been charged with murder over the shootings in Christchurch on Friday.

He grew up to the north of the raided towns in the New South Wales town of Grafton. (AP)

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Central bank injects liquidity into market

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China's central bank injected liquidity into the money market through reverse repos Monday.

The People's Bank of China conducted 60 billion yuan ($9 billion) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2.55 percent. No reverse repos will mature.

The central bank said the operation is designed to ease the pressure from tax payments and maintain reasonable and ample liquidity in the banking system.

Monday's interbank market showed the overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate, which measures the borrowing cost on China's interbank market, went up 10.1 basis points. (Xinhua)

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Beijing to found first Great Wall Restoration Center

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China's first Great Wall Restoration Center will be established in Beijing.

It will be dedicated to the research, repair, protection and display of the Jiankou section of the Great Wall.

Based on a model of protecting historical relics through research, the center will bring together archaeological experts, designers, and artisans to examine the Jiankou section and work out plans for restoring the walls.

The Jiankou section of the Great Wall is 7,952 meters in length, and is shaped like a fully drawn bow. (China.org.cn)

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Hangzhou art academy grades admissions tests

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Aspiring artists recently sat for the China Academy of Art admissions exam. The famous art school, located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, will only accept 1,770 new students this year. 

The exam, which applicants are required to take before they can enroll in the Bachelor of Arts course, was administered in Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen. 

Almost 80,000 hopefuls from across the country took their chances of getting into the prestigious art academy. 

On Sunday, art teachers with the academy began grading the tests. (People’s Daily)

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Ethiopia minister: 'Clear similarities' in Boeing crashes

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And preliminary information from the flight data recorder of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed a week ago and killed 157 people shows "clear similarities" with an earlier disaster involving the same kind of Boeing aircraft in Indonesia.

The disclosure came as thousands marched in the capital of Addis Ababa, accompanying 17 empty caskets at a funeral for the Ethiopian victims of Flight 302.

The crash of Ethiopian Flight 302 on March 10 and that of a Lion Air plane in Indonesia in October were both Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliners.

They have prompted the US and other countries to ground the aircraft. (AP)

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

(Produced by David Nye and Bai Yuanqi)