Three-minute news breakfast on Wednesday, December 20, 2023

1) Xi Jinping made important instructions on the 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Jishi Mountain County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province, demanding all-out rescue efforts, proper resettlement of affected people, and maximum efforts to protect people's lives and property. Li Qiang made a directive.

2) The earthquake has resulted in 113 deaths in Gansu and 14 deaths in Qinghai.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently pre-allocated 200 million yuan in central natural disaster relief funds to Gansu and Qinghai provinces. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions urgently allocated 18 million yuan in disaster relief and condolence funds to support earthquake relief efforts. The National Health Commission sent a working group to the disaster area to fully guide and support the medical emergency response to the Jishi Mountain earthquake.

4) The Ministry of Water Resources launched a Level IV emergency response for flood and drought disaster prevention, and Gansu and Qinghai provinces are stepping up inspections of water conservancy projects damaged by the earthquake. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: The public communication network in the earthquake-stricken areas is operating smoothly overall.

5) All provinces across the country have completed the assessment of medical service price adjustments for 2023. Four departments issued a document to strengthen the allocation of TCM physicians in TCM clinics. The "Newly Compiled General Catalog of Ancient Chinese Medical Books" was released, including more than 8,000 ancient Chinese medical books.

6) China has fully launched a public disclosure mechanism for consumer complaint information, eliminating information asymmetry to make consumption more transparent.

7) [Rule of Law] Luo Yulin, former vice-ministerial cadre of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, was arrested. Su Quangui, former head of the second inspection team of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, was "double-opened." Chen Yu, former head of the disciplinary inspection and supervision group of the Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau of Tianjin, was "double-opened." Liang Changqi, deputy political commissar and secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Beijing Fire and Rescue Corps, is under review and investigation. Zhao Xiaodong, former director of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Rural Revitalization Bureau, is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation.

8) [Military] The Yun-20 arrived in Gansu to transport the emergency command group of the Western Theater Command to the front line of the disaster area.

The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police have deployed multiple forces to participate in earthquake relief. The Ministry of National Defense responded to the US$300 million arms sale to Taiwan: "Using Taiwan to contain China" is doomed to fail, and "seeking independence by force" is a dead end.

9) [Hong Kong and Macao] Hong Kong will launch a disaster relief fund to aid Gansu. John Lee posted on Weibo: Deeply mourning the compatriots who died in the 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Jishi Mountain. Hong Kong announced a new capital investor entry plan. The Chinese Embassy in the UK strongly condemned the UK's interference in the rule of law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The total import and export value between the mainland and Macao via the Gongbei Customs has reached 356.8 billion yuan. The Macao SAR government announced the 2023 list of award recipients.

10) [Taiwan] As mainland delicacies are selling wildly on the streets of Taiwan, island opinions: Transcending the emotional connection between the two sides.

1) Xi Jinping sent a message congratulating Sisi on his re-election as President of Egypt. Xi Jinping's special envoy, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Shukr Lati Zakir, attended the condolence event for the late Emir Nawaf of Kuwait. Russian Prime Minister Mishustin arrived in Beijing, and the 28th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian prime ministers will be held from December 19.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore suspended some remittance channels to China, and our embassy has issued a consular reminder on the risks of remittances through non-bank channels.

2) The Chinese representative called for a consensus to be reached as soon as possible on the full and effective implementation of the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue. A humanitarian corridor for transporting aid to Gaza from Cyprus has been launched.

3) A recent Monmouth University poll shows that US President Biden's approval rating has dropped to 34%, an all-time low. NASA sent ultra-high-definition video from deep space using lasers for the first time.

4) Putin signed a presidential decree extending restrictions on transactions with companies from "unfriendly countries" to the end of 2025.

5) The Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues, with the Israeli defense minister saying that military operations in the Gaza Strip will gradually transition to the next phase. Since the outbreak of this round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, 19,453 people have died in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli army claims to have prevented hundreds of air strikes against Israel. Israeli media: The second round of negotiations on the exchange of detained personnel between Palestine and Israel is being held in Poland. On December 18, local time, the Israeli army shelled Syrian military targets in response to a rocket attack on the Golan Heights. The Houthi armed forces refused to stop military operations in the Red Sea, claiming that they have the ability to confront the United States and its allies.

6) Japan's fourth round of nuclear-contaminated water discharge will begin in late February 2024.

7) Incheon, South Korea: Each newborn will receive a welfare subsidy of 100 million won (approximately 549,540 yuan). On December 19, North Korea conducted a launch training for the "Hwasong-18" intercontinental ballistic missile, with Kim Jong Un observing on site.

8) Some gas stations in Iran temporarily stopped fuel supply, and a hacker group claimed responsibility for attacking the Iranian gas station system.

1) The Financial Regulatory Bureau launched an emergency response mechanism to ensure insurance claims services for the Jishi Mountain earthquake in Gansu Province.

2) The National Development and Reform Commission: Deepen the reform of state-owned assets and state-owned enterprises, and promote the development and growth of the private economy. Multiple departments have issued opinions to support and guide the transformation of the housekeeping service industry to an employee-based system.

3) From 24:00 on December 19, domestic oil prices will see a six-consecutive drop, and filling a tank of gas will cost 16.5 yuan less.

4) BYD plans to establish 100 dealerships in Japan before 2025, aiming for a sales target of 30,000 units per year. BYD's market share is catching up with Tesla's, and it is expected to become the world's leading pure electric vehicle sales champion.

5) Urgent announcement! Ding Benshi, former president of Wanda Group, has "gone missing".

1) Vice Premier of the State Council Ding Xuexiang attended and spoke at the 2023 He Liang He Li Foundation Award Ceremony. A symposium on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage was held in Beijing, attended and addressed by Cai Qi, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee.

2) The Ministry of Education issued a document requiring a further increase in the proportion of professional degree postgraduate students; the number of applicants for the 2024 postgraduate entrance examination was 4.38 million, a decrease of 360,000 compared to last year, releasing a new signal for postgraduate education reform.

3) The Gansu Provincial Department of Education launched an emergency plan for postgraduate students in Jishi Mountain.

4) China's film industry accelerated its recovery in 2023, with the top ten box office hits all being domestic films. The film "A Little Spark" had more than 1 million ticket refunds, and netizens questioned the film's presale box office "water injection".

5) Many celebrities, including Han Hong and Huang Xiaoming, donated money and goods to the earthquake-stricken area in Gansu.

1) The north section of Beijing Subway Line 17 and the remaining section of Line 16 will open at the end of the year.

2) Five more ring-road parks in Shanghai Pudong will be upgraded and renovated this year.

3) Guangdong launched a level IV emergency response to prevent freezing.

4) Power supply has been fully restored in the earthquake-stricken areas of Gansu and Qinghai. Disaster victims in the earthquake-stricken area cried, and the secretary of the Qinghai Provincial Committee hugged them for comfort: Believe in the Party, believe in the organization.

Rescue personnel analyzed that those trapped at night at -15℃ could only hold on for ten hours. A landslide occurred in a village in Qinghai after the earthquake, with 20 people missing.

5) At 9:46 am on December 19, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in Artush City, Xinjiang. The epicenter was located in a mountainous area at an altitude of about 1400 meters. There were no reports of casualties. Experts: The earthquakes in Gansu and Xinjiang are not related.

6) Temperatures will remain low in most of central and eastern China, with heavy snowfall in the Shandong Peninsula. From 8 pm on December 19 to 8 pm on December 20, light to moderate snow is expected in parts of central and eastern Inner Mongolia, eastern Northeast China, northern Xinjiang, Hexi Gansu, southeastern Northwest China, central Ningxia, and the Shandong Peninsula, with heavy to blizzard conditions in parts of northern Shandong Peninsula.