Three-minute news breakfast on Tuesday, December 19, 2023

1) On the afternoon of December 18, Xi Jinping listened to the work reports of Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee Ka-chiu and Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region Ho Iat Seng at the Yingtai State Guesthouse in Zhongnanhai. Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the newly appointed Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

2) Premier Li Qiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council on December 18, listening to a report on the progress of building a unified national market, discussing and adopting the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Disease Prevention and Control Cause", and deliberating and adopting regulations such as the "Draft Regulations on Coal Mine Safety Production".

3) The Central Cyberspace Administration of China and the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms issued the "Several Opinions on Preventing and Combating Formalism at Your Fingertips". The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 13 other departments launched pilot demonstration work on the application of cybersecurity technology.

4) Ministry of Civil Affairs: Strengthen dynamic monitoring of low-income populations and improve the tiered and classified social assistance system. The National Development and Reform Commission launched preliminary research on the 14th Five-Year Plan.

5) The State Administration for Market Regulation deployed work to stabilize prices and ensure the quality of important livelihood goods.

6) On December 18, China's first self-designed and built deep-sea drilling vessel was officially named "Dream" and conducted its maiden voyage in Nansha, Guangzhou.

The wintering teams of the Great Wall Station of China's 39th and 40th Antarctic expeditions completed the handover.

7) [Rule of Law] The Supreme People's Court and three other ministries and commissions: Drunk driving with significantly minor circumstances and minimal harm can be exempted from criminal prosecution, effective December 28. Ministry of Public Security: An important ringleader of a cross-border nude chat extortion criminal group was extradited from Myanmar. Parhati Ruzi, former deputy director of the Agricultural and Rural Work Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Congress Standing Committee, is under investigation. On the morning of December 18, criminal Lao Rongzhi was executed. She and her boyfriend had murdered 7 people. The victim's lawyer: Civil compensation has not yet been paid. The wife of the murdered carpenter spoke out: It's gratifying, finally giving the deceased an explanation.

8) [Military] The "Measures for the Recruitment of Ordinary High School Graduates by Military Colleges" was issued. A formation of China Coast Guard ships patrolled the waters of Diaoyu Island on December 18. The 44th Chinese naval escort fleet completed its mission and returned to Zhoushan. A certain regiment of the 76th Group Army conducted specialized teaching around training subjects.

10) [Taiwan] The US announced another arms sale to Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin: Countermeasures will be taken against relevant companies involved in arms sales.

1) On December 18, Wang Yi met in Beijing with Pak Myong Ho, vice minister of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, who came to China for Sino-North Korean diplomatic consultations. Ministry of Commerce: Promote the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade by working in five aspects. The US Department of Commerce removed four Chinese companies from the "Unverified List".

2) UN agency: Pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Gaza Strip face multiple health risks due to food shortages. WHO: 60 attacks on medical facilities have occurred since the outbreak of the armed conflict in Sudan.

3) On the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Biden issued a proclamation. Chinese leaders: The first official condemnation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 141 years by the White House is a historic document of historical significance. On the evening of December 17, local time, as Biden left his campaign headquarters, the presidential security motorcade was rammed. The offending vehicle was surrounded by Secret Service agents with guns drawn. Biden and his wife have safely returned home.

An explosion at a residence in Nebraska, USA, resulted in one death.

4) Putin: Russia has no intention of fighting NATO countries, but NATO is artificially creating problems. When asked how he plans to celebrate the New Year, Putin: Drink champagne with close people and talk about life. Foreign media: Vucic's ruling party coalition won the Serbian parliamentary elections. The Egyptian National Election Commission announced the presidential election results, with incumbent President Sisi winning.

6) North Korea condemned the US and South Korea for holding another "nuclear consultation group" meeting and escalating tensions on the peninsula.

7) The "black gold" scandal continues to ferment, and the disapproval rate of Japan's Kishida cabinet has reached its highest level in more than 70 years. Dead fish on the Japanese coast made fishing boats unable to move, and local fishermen have recovered 85 tons of fish carcasses.

8) An armed attack in central Mexico killed 12 people. An explosion at a factory producing explosives in India killed at least 9 people and injured many others.

9) Syrian media: The US military is transporting stolen oil and wheat bran in batches in Syria.

1) The first batch of funds for the central government's additional issuance of 1 trillion yuan in national debt, 237.9 billion yuan, has been allocated.

2) Financial Regulatory Authority: Consumer finance companies shall not issue consumer loans exceeding RMB 200,000. The China Securities Dealers Association launched a self-regulatory investigation into the China Development Bank for allegedly influencing market prices in an improper manner in financial bond issuance and money market businesses.

3) On December 18, the central bank conducted 244 billion yuan of 7-day and 14-day reverse repurchase operations, resulting in a net withdrawal of 41 billion yuan in the open market.

4) New Oriental appointed Dong Yuhui as the cultural assistant to the chairman of New Oriental Education & Technology Group and vice president of New Oriental Travel Group. Yu Minhong: Congratulations to Yuhui, we will go through thick and thin together.

1) "In-depth Study and Implementation of Xi Jinping's Important Statements on Emergency Management" was published and issued. The Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee posthumously awarded Bao Weizhong the title of "Role Model of the Times".

3) The domestic game market revenue exceeded 300 billion yuan for the first time, with a user base of 668 million people.

4) Renowned opera performers Hu Wenge, Wu Qiong, and Ma Li will appear at the 2024 Toronto Overseas Opera Spring Festival. Famous Peking opera performer Li Youbin passed away at the age of 86.

1) The Tianjin-Beijing Daxing International Airport Railway officially opened on December 18, allowing Tianjin residents to travel directly to Daxing Airport for flights.

3) The 26th Winter Fair concluded in Haikou, with a total transaction value of 5.974 billion yuan. The Bay Area's first intelligent computing center for large service models was unveiled in Guangzhou Haizhu.

4) Shandong police: A blogger who staged photos of "feeding instant noodles to her hospitalized mother-in-law" was detained. Shanxi has dismissed 3016 unqualified bidding experts in the past three years.

5) A woman in Hunan was bitten on the neck by a black dog, and the dog owner has been summoned to the public security organ for investigation.

6) China Earthquake Networks Center officially determined: At 23:59 on December 18, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in Jishishan County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province (35.70 degrees north latitude, 102.79 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

7) Temperatures will remain below average in most of eastern and central China, with rain and snow in the south. From 8 PM on December 18 to 8 PM on December 19, light snow or rain and snow is expected in parts of eastern Inner Mongolia, southeastern Jilin, central and eastern Liaoning, southeastern Tibet, northern Qinghai, Hexi in Gansu, eastern and central-southern Jianghuai, central and western Hunan, northern Jiangxi, and northwestern Zhejiang, with moderate to heavy snow in parts of southern Jiangsu.