A total of nine candidate characters from the Chinese written language were unveiled on Tuesday at a press conference for the 2024 Belt and Road (BRI) Annual Chinese Character Release in Beijing.
Initiated in 2016, the seven-year-old annual event, launched by the China Public Relations Association in collaboration with BRI and Chinese culture research institutions and experts, chooses one Chinese character that best represents the spirit of the BRI every year. The aim is to enhance the international community's recognition of traditional Chinese culture and promote cultural integration and economic and trade cooperation among countries.
This year's event, co-organized by the China Public Relations Association and the Quanzhou Municipal government, saw the release of nine candidate characters, namely, hui or benefit, lian or connection, chang or smooth, jian or firm, wen or culture, wen or stability, kai or opening, you or friendship and cheng or success.
"Every year, we pick nine Chinese characters among the 5,000 commonly used ones. Only one of them will stand out as the character of the year in the end. This character is expected to capture the spirit of the Silk Road and traditional Chinese culture and also show public support for the BRI," said Wang Daping, deputy director-general and secretary of the China Public Relations Association.
Last year, xin which means "truth, trust, honesty and confidence", claimed the honor of character of the year. It was chosen because xin, or honesty, mutual trust and confidence is of paramount importance in taking the BRI to the next level.
The organizers will collect public opinions and feedback on this year's nine candidates before announcing the winner on July 26.
2024 BRI annual Chinese character release held in Beijing
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 37,834, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian enclave killed 40 people and left 224 others wounded, bringing the total death toll to 37,834 and injuries to 86,858 since the latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October last year.
The United States has continued to supply Israel with a huge amount of weapons and ammunition despite the high casualty numbers and outcry of the international community.
Two American officials said that since Oct 7, 2023, the U.S. has transferred to Israel at least 14,000 MK-84 bombs weighing about 908 kg, 6,500 bombs weighing about 225 kg, 3,000 guided air-to-surface "Hellfire" missiles, 1,000 bunker-penetrating bombs, 2,600 bunker-penetrating smart bombs that are dropped from the air and additional ammunition.
A UN report has pointed out that the large-scale civilian deaths caused by Israeli military operations in Gaza may constitute war crimes.
On June 19, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report that Israeli forces were suspected of using heavy bombs in a series of attacks on the Gaza Strip that resulted in a large number of civilian deaths and widespread destruction of civilian targets. This may have violated the laws of war multiple times.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ended his three-day visit to the United States on Wednesday, and he briefed reporters that progress had been made on "a number of issues" during the trip, including the U.S. arms supply to Israel.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly accused the U.S. government of "withholding" weapons and ammunition needed by the Israeli army, dragging down its military operations in Gaza.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 37,834: health authorities
