South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday morning that he would lift the martial law decree which he had made in a live television broadcast late on Tuesday, following a chaotic night during which protesters stormed South Korea's National Assembly.
Yoon said in his televised emergency address on Tuesday that he was declaring martial law to eradicate anti-state forces and uphold free constitutional order.
He said that martial law was necessary to ensure people's freedom, safety and national sustainability in the face of anti-state forces seeking to overthrow the country, vowing to eliminate the anti-state forces and normalize the country as soon as possible.
Protesters gathered outside the National Assembly soon after, chanting for the president to lift the martial law decree, and clashing with security forces as they attempted to block access to the assembly compound.
Early on Wednesday, South Korea's National Assembly voted unanimously to rescind the martial law decree with 18 lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and 172 lawmakers of opposition parties in attendance and voting in favor.
South Korea's constitution says the president must lift a martial law decree when a majority of the 300-member assembly vote to overturn the decree.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said the unanimous vote rendered the martial law declaration invalid.
South Korean president reverses martial law decree after night of protests
South Korean president reverses martial law decree after night of protests
A China Pavilion officially opened on Monday at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, highlighting China's decades-long efforts and achievements in combating desertification.
Covering more than 600 square meters, the China Pavilion is the second-largest national pavilion at the event. Its exhibition, themed "Cross-Century Green Great Wall, China's Restoration in Action," showcases the nation's battle against desertification, particularly through the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, a major national initiative aimed at reversing land desertification in its north, northwest and northeast regions by surrounding desert lands with trees and vegetation.
Addressing the opening ceremony, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary Andrea Meza Murillo praised China's significant contributions to curbing its desertification, including controlling the expansion of the Taklimakan Desert in west China, the world's second-largest shifting sand desert.
She emphasized that effective policies, community and local government involvement, as well as innovation and technology, are key components of China's success.
"The example of what the government of China is doing in restoring land, in combating desertification, means a lot to humanity. It is inspiring and remarkable to see that China has already achieved land degradation neutrality ahead of time by restoring 50 percent of curable degraded sandy land. This is amazing. It's clear that we need good leadership, good policies, engagement of the society, engagement of national governments. It's really good to see this engagement, and of course, innovation is technology, it's traditional knowledge, and this is what we are seeing in the China experience," said Murillo.
COP16, held from Dec. 2 to 13 under the theme "Our Land. Our Future," is the largest UN land-focused conference to date and the first UNCCD COP in the Middle East and North Africa.
China Pavilion opens at UN conference on desertification held in Riyadh
