China's accomplishments in poverty eradication offer valuable insights for Fiji as it works to relocate communities impacted by rising sea levels, said Fijian Speaker of Parliament Filimone Jitoko.
Jitoko visited China from March 16 to 22 at the invitation of Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee of China.
Last August, the country's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said that China's poverty alleviation efforts really impressed him during his trip in China.
During his first visit to China, Jitoko traveled to a local village in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province and witnessed the results of poverty reduction there. He highlighted that China's poverty reduction efforts not only involve relocating individuals, but also equips them with sustainable livelihoods.
"I do believe that our prime minister in his visit has emphasized the poverty alleviation as one of the foremost primary goals of our country. And in doing that, he's guided also by the developments that have happened in rural China. What is most appealing to me is the ability to move a population out of where they are normally most comfortable in and move them to a new location where they settle in, and at the same time, provide the means of livelihood," he said.
Jitoko emphasized that China's experiences provide valuable guidance for Fiji's efforts to relocate citizens facing the challenges of rising sea levels.
"And I think even more so in their case because they've developed further, it has become an integrated development. You have the products that they produce. You have some units for people who travel, tourists, eco-tourists if you like, who come and are able to come and see the religion, this type of new living that they have. In our case, because with the coastal areas being eroded, eating into villages, we have to find places where our villages are to be relocated. But the second part of the equation is finding the alternative means of their survival in the new location. And that's where our visit to the village in Shaanxi was most productive in that way," said the official.
Fiji's speaker of parliament highlights lessons from China's poverty eradication efforts
The mainland will never tolerate any Taiwan secessionist activities and will deal a strong blow to Lai Ching-te's rampant provocative behaviors, said a China Media Group (CMG) commentary on Tuesday.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday started to conduct joint exercises around the Taiwan Island, with army, navy, air and rocket forces closing in on the island from multiple directions, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the theater command.
Shi said the drills serve as a stern warning and forceful deterrent against separatist forces seeking "Taiwan secession", and are a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity.
On the same day, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the exercises serve as a resolute punishment for Lai Ching-te authorities' blatant "Taiwan secession" provocations, and a necessary action to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The PLA is taking thunderous actions to sternly warn Lai Ching-te that "Taiwan secession" is a dead end, and seeking secession will only lead to self-destruction.
The exercises have shown that the PLA has more and more tools and means to target Taiwan separatists, with advanced fighters and vessels such as J-10, Y-20, Z-10, H-6K, J-20, and Type 054A frigate able to deafen and blind the separatist forces. Lai Ching-te's reckless moves will only result in his own crushing defeat in front of the impregnable fortress of the PLA's overwhelming strength.
As long as the "Taiwan secession" provocations continue, the PLA will never stop fighting. Every time Lai Ching-te takes rampant provocative action, the PLA will take a further step to advance its deterrence and punishment.
Lai Ching-te has recently blatantly defined the mainland as a "hostile force abroad" and put forward the so-called "Lai 17 Articles", inciting confrontations and undermining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait. It is imperative to target and punish him for his arrogant attitude and rampant behaviors to seek secession.
The PLA drills, in which multiple ships and aircraft will get close to the Taiwan Island, and conduct sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive control, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade of key areas and sea lanes, are aimed at completely shattering Lai Ching-te authorities' fantasy of seeking "Taiwan secession" by force with foreign support, making it unable to bluff and deceive the people on the island.
Taiwan belongs to all the Chinese people. The PLA is always ready for fighting, can fight at any time, and will win if it fights. It aims to target Taiwan secessionist activities, by no means the ordinary Taiwan compatriots.
It is hoped that the compatriots in Taiwan will stand on the right side of history and work with their compatriots on the mainland to firmly oppose Taiwan secessionist forces and external interference, protect the common home of the Chinese nation, and create a bright future of national reunification and rejuvenation.
Mainland never tolerate any Taiwan secessionist activities
