China held a ceremony on Tuesday to commemorate the 158th birth anniversary of Sun Yat-sen, a great national hero, a great patriot, and a great forerunner of China's democratic revolution.
Hosted by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the event took place in downtown Beijing's Zhongshan Park, a site named after Sun.
Senior officials from the CPPCC National Committee, the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the Beijing municipal government laid flowers in front of Sun's statue.
Leading officials from the central committees of non-Communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, alongside representatives of prominent figures without party affiliation, also paid their respects.
Sun Yat-sen, born in 1866 in south China's Guangdong Province, played a leading role in the 1911 Revolution, which overthrew the imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and ended more than 2,000 years of feudal rule in China.
China marks 158th birth anniversary of Sun Yat-sen
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that the new round of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a deadlock, indicating little hope of reaching an agreement during the final days of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
The report, quoting sources of Arab mediators, said Israel and Hamas were considering a 60-day period of ceasefire during which 30 hostages held in Gaza would be released in exchange of Palestinians in Israeli custody, alongside more humanitarian aid supplies into the Gaza Strip.
However, the report said the two sides failed to reach an agreement, as the Israeli side demanded that the hostages for exchange should not include those who already died, and it also refused to exchange the hostages with certain Palestinian detainees sought by Hamas.
In addition, Hamas' renewed request for a permanent ceasefire on the Israeli side was rejected by Israel, said the report.
The previous negotiations took place in Qatar's capital Doha under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt.
Both Hamas and Israel announced on December 25, 2024 that the finalization of a ceasefire agreement had been postponed, blaming each other for undermining the negotiations.
Sources from the mediators said that the negotiations are estimated to be resumed after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan 20, 2025.
Gaza ceasefire talks unlikely to be reached during Biden administration: media report
