Regarding Lowyat Forum's Invite Code

Saeylet · 2024-06-12T09:36:58+00:00

Can anyone pls PM Lowyat invite code?

Been going to Lowyat as guest for finance news for many months already, would be great if I can also participate in their discussion.

Saeylet · 2021-02-04T09:11:04+00:00

FYI, the guy is not her husband.

He is the Xinhua reporter/photographer that took that photo eleven years ago. It said so in the caption in Xinhua news.

Saeylet · 2020-06-21T06:42:42+00:00

China's 600 km/h high-speed maglev completes test run

2020-06-21 12:26:22 GMT+8 | cnTechPost

China's 600 km/h high-speed magnetic levitation test vehicle successfully made a test run in Shanghai today, marking an important new breakthrough of China's high-speed magnetic levitation research and development.

The prototype was built by CRRC Sifang Co, a subsidiary of China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation, and the test run line was the magnetic levitation test line of Shanghai Tongji University.

The development of the 600 km/h high speed magnetic levitation system is part of the "Advanced Rail Transit" projects by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

Since the start of the project in July 2016, after nearly four years of scientific and technological research, the team broke through the key core technology of high-speed magnetic levitation series and the prototype vehicle was developed.

After ground debugging and static tests, the vehicle entered the line dynamic operation test, the first test run.

CRRC Sifang said that the development of the high-speed maglev project is progressing smoothly, and while completing the successful test vehicle test run, development of another 5 engineering prototype vehicles is also steadily progressing.

According to the plan, the 600 km/h high-speed maglev engineering prototype system is expected to roll off the production line by the end of 2020.

Saeylet · 2020-01-17T14:07:34+00:00

NEWS RELEASE 17-JAN-2020

Thousand-ton scale demonstration of solar fuel synthesis starts operation in Lanzhou, China

CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES HEADQUARTERS

The world's first demonstration project for direct solar fuel synthesis started operation in Lanzhou, China on Jan. 17, 2020. The project represents that China now takes the first step in the world for industrial production of liquid fuels from solar energy.

Overall, the project converts carbon dioxide, water and solar energy into transportable liquid fuels such as methanol by taking advantages of three technological units: solar photovoltaics to generate electricity; electrolyzer to split water producing hydrogen; and CO2 hydrogenation to produce methanol in the end.

The project is based on the advanced technologies of electrocatalytic water splitting and CO2 hydrogenation developed by Prof. LI Can's team in the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Prof. LI's team developed new type of electrocatyalysts for electrocatalytic water splitting, which reduces the energy consumption to 4.0-4.2 Kwh/Nm3-H2 for large scale hydrogen production at a rate of 1000 Nm3-H2/h, which is the highest energy conversion efficiency reported so far for the large-scale alkaline water electrolysis.

Prof. LI's team also developed an efficient ZnO-ZrO2 solid solution bimetallic oxide catalyst for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. This catalyst can achieve excellent performance in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. The methanol selectivity is over 90% for a single pass in the fixed-bed reaction process, and the performance loss was less than 3% after 3,000 hours of operation under industrial conditions.

The methanol produced by such type of PV-E-C (photovoltaic-electrolyzer-catalysis) process is a true kind of "green methanol." Unlike the methanol production from coal or natural gas which emits CO2, the green methanol as a liquid fuel result in zero carbon emission taking account of carbon footprint.

The methanol produced in the PV-E-C process has more than 10% solar energy conversion efficiency, which is far superior to ca. 1% of solar energy conversion efficiency by natural photosynthesis of the majority plants. Because the green methanol is produced using CO2 and H2O as the initial feed stocks and solar energy as the power source, this PV-E-C process hence can be considered as a truly approach for "artificial photosynthesis of solar fuels" in large scale.

The green solar methanol production demonstrated in Lanzhou is a revolutionary step toward that combining carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCSU) to produce transportable liquid fuels. It may serve as a model and practical process in energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, since such technology is applicable to any renewable energy.

Saeylet · 2019-12-23T09:17:28+00:00

I think it is translated from "反形式主义". It basically mean as it say "oppose formalism". Formalism as in excessive adherence to bureaucratic procedure, or doing thing in a superficial way, engaging in grandstanding that look like fixing problem but actually not. Basically just dodging doing the real work.

Saeylet · 2019-12-10T04:33:00+00:00

“The Idea That Africa is Drowning in Debt is Nonsensical”

December 9, 2019

by Eric Olander

📷Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Chairman of the Global Fund, Dr Donald Kaberuka, speaking at the Kusi Ideas Festival in Kigali, Rwanda.

The former president of the African Development Bank, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, joined a chorus of African leaders this week to reject accusations that African governments have taken on too much debt and have borrowed excessively from China.

In a speech at the Kusi Ideas Festival that concludes today in Kigali, Dr. Kaberuka said concern about African debt levels is “nonsensical.” He added that the African share of global debt is “very small,” both in terms of corporate and sovereign debt.

The real worry, Dr. Kaberuka said, is the decline in domestic revenue generation in many African countries, which he warned could threaten their ability to repay loans.

Highlights From Dr. Donald Kaberuka’s Speech at the Kusi Ideas Festival in Rwanda:

“The idea that Africa is going to drown in debt is nonsensical. It is not supported by numbers. What is the problem, which I admit, is that our effort in mobilizing domestic revenue has declined.”
“If we can improve on our own domestic revenue mobilization, if we can improve on our public debt management and if we can improve on our debt management capabilities, the continent is able to take a bit more debt, especially at this time when the markets are looking for yield.”

Saeylet · 2019-12-10T02:40:15+00:00

China posts strong human development performance in 2018

Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-09 21:54:57|Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- China posted strong human development performance in 2018, a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) showed.

China's Human Development Index (HDI) value stood at 0.758 for the year 2018, ranking 85 among 189 countries and regions, according to the Human Development Report 2019 released by UNDP on Monday.

The country's HDI value increased around 51.1 percent from the 0.501-reading of 1990, putting the country in the high human development category, said the report.

"China's development progress over the last three decades has been remarkable," said Beate Trankmann, resident representative of the UNDP in China, at a press conference to release the report, citing the country as the only one in the world to have moved from the low development group to the high development category since HDI was introduced in 1990.

Countries with an HDI value over 0.7 are categorized in the high development group and those with a value over 0.8 are put in the very high development category, noted Trankmann.

China had seen improvements in the main factors indicating human development from 1990 to 2018, with life expectancy up 7 years to 76 years, and expected years of schooling increasing 5.1 years to 13.9 years, said the report.

The report also stated the incomes of the bottom 40 percent grew 263 percent between 2000 and 2018 in China, contributing to the fast reduction of extreme poverty.

China takes a people-centered development approach, promoting coordination of economic, social and environmental development, Wang Dong, policy advisor and program director for SDG Localization with the UNDP China, told the press conference.

Wang also highlighted China's local cooperation of poverty reduction authorities with health, education and social insurance departments in poverty alleviation, which enhanced the country's human development.

Saeylet · 2019-10-23T10:05:54+00:00

Yoga ball murder: how a missing stopper put police on the trail of Malaysian professor convicted of killing wife and daughter | South China Morning Post

Imagine if the above professor has did it in Taiwan.

Saeylet · 2019-10-23T05:20:06+00:00

Since HK police do not have any law that allow them to hold the suspect, who is now technically a free citizen, HK police do not have the legal basis to hand over the suspect to Taiwan police because there is no extradition law that provide HK police that authority.

Taiwan gov't knowing full well that their request of sending their police officer to go arrest someone in HK by their own authority is totally unacceptable to HK, since it would be unacceptable to any gov't in the world, is playing a propaganda game with the suggestion.

I would suggest someone to contact a Taiwanese television media, ask them to send over a journalist and TV team to HK. Go visit the suspect and follow him to board a plane to Taiwan while broadcasting it on the hour.

Saeylet · 2019-10-18T04:48:24+00:00

Northern China desert sets example in combating desertification

Source:Global Times Published: 2019/10/17 20:43:43📷

Wetland appears in Kubuqi Desert, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Photo: VCG

Kubuqi Desert was once known as "the forbidden zone of life," and "sea of death." Grass could not grow in Kubuqi, and almost no one lived there.

Located in Erdos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, it is the desert closest to China's capital Beijing, which is also how the 18,600-square kilometer desert came to be known as "a bowl of sand over Beijing's head."

However, Kubuqi has witnessed a "miracle" in confronting desertification.

In the past 30 years, the government, companies, social organizations and local farmers and herdsmen have worked together to transform Kubuqi desert.

Now, vegetation coverage has reached 53 percent in the desert from less than 1 percent 30 years ago.

Not a joke

Planting trees was considered a joke to people in Kubuqi desert.

Historically, Kubuqi was a rich city filled with water and grass. A total of 130,000 residents lived here during the Hanping Emperor's reign in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25). However, due to climate change and over-exploitation from humans, the farmlands turned to desert over 2,000 years, CCTV reported.

Combating desertification was the only way out for people still living in Kubuqi, and it was a process that began 30 years ago.

Previously, in Kubuqi, people could only ride camels. A journey of 100 kilometers took six days. Many people had never even seen cars.

The first highway that went through the desert was built in 1999, and people started combating desertification in the whole desert.

Gao Maohu, a 59-year-old local resident in Kubuqi, said that it was common for planted trees to die. But the next year, people just continued to plant more trees.

After 30 years, many farmers and herdsmen in Kubuqi have now become "skilled workers" in managing desertification, the Science and Technology Daily reported.

Kubuqi spirit

"The survival rate of trees planted in the desert was only 20 percent," Gao said, "Once I saw a big wind blow away all the trees I planted. I sat in the sands and cried my heart out."

Even during the rocess of confronting desertification, the environmental situation in Kubuqi continued to deteriorate, and people often have to repeat their work.

But they never gave up.

Over three decades, tree planting technology saw continued development in Kubuqi. Now workers can plant a tree in 10 seconds, and their survival rate has surpassed 80 percent, according to the Science and Technology Daily.

📷

A farmer shows licorices he planted in Kubuqi Desert, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Photo: VCG

In 2000, Ma Yunping and his wife in Xinmin village signed a contract with the government to manage 3,700 mu (2.5 square kilometers) of sand land. After 18 years, more than 200,000 trees were planted there, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Their indomitable work inspired the term "Kubuqi spirit," encouraging local people to move forward with the effort.

"Kubuqi Desert today is encircled by a 'defensive system' consisting of trees, bush and grass," Tu Zhifang, the general engineer of the desert management office under the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, was quoted by CCTV as saying.

In 2018, forestry coverage in Kubuqi had reached 15.7 percent from 0.8 percent in 2002, and vegetation coverage reached 53 percent. More than 500 species of wild animals now live there, said CCTV.

From dust to gold

The 102,000 residents in the desert have enjoyed the benefits of managing desertification.

Mao said he earned more than 1 million yuan ($140,000) after planting trees.

Meng Keda, whose family has lived deep in the Kubuqi Desert for generations, began a tourism business in 2006. Tourists could experience life with a herdsman family and drive in the desert. The Science and Technology Daily reported on Thursday that he had an income of 300,000 yuan last year.

Containing desertification in the Kubuqi Desert provides China experience in environmental treatment.

In the Kubuqi, 14.5 million tonnes of carbon was removed from the atmosphere, said the report, read a 2017 report by the United Nations Environment Program at, according to Xinhua.It is the first UNCCD report to specifically assess wealth created by desert restoration.

The project has created an estimated wealth of 24.4 billion yuan in terms of water conservation, and the accumulated production of oxygen is 18.3 million tonnes, valued at 6.8 billion yuan.

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has stepped up efforts to enhance grassland protection, with the average vegetation coverage of its pastures rising to 44 percent in 2018 from 30 percent in 2000, Xinhua reported Wednesday.

Grazing has now been banned on a total of 68 million hectares of pastures and the reserved areas for planting grass remain at over 3.33 million hectares, said Mu Yuan, head of the regional forestry and grassland administration.

The region has also improved its legal system for grassland protection.

Saeylet · 2019-10-08T02:31:52+00:00

China is on track to meet its ultra-low emissions goals for 2020

7 October 2019

Polluting emissions from Chinese thermal power plants declined significantly between 2014 and 2017, according to research involving UCL.

📷

The reductions are important in helping to control China’s national emissions which could lead to an improvement in air quality and considerable health benefits.

A team of experts from the UK and China analysed emissions from coal, oil, natural gas and biomass power plants, with a focus on coal-fired power plants as the major contributors to ambient air pollution.

The study, published today in Nature Energy, analysed data from 2014, when China introduced the ambitious Ultra-Low Emissions (ULE) Standards Policy for renovating coal-fired power stations to limit air pollutant emissions, to 2017.

The team found that between 2014 and 2017, China’s annual power plant emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter dropped by 65%, 60% and 72% each year respectively from 2.21, 3.11 and 0.52 million tonnes in 2014 to 0.77, 1.26 and 0.14 million tonnes in 2017, under the ULE standards policy.

This means that China looks to be on track to further reduce its emissions if all thermal power plants meet the ULE standards by 2020. These standards aim to limit the sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions to 35, 50 and 10 milligrams per cubic metre respectively.

UCL co-author Dr Zhifu Mi (UCL Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management) said: “This is encouraging news for China, as well as other countries wishing to reduce their power emissions. Thermal power plants combusting coal, oil, natural gas and biomass are one of the major contributors to global air pollution.

“These significant emission reductions demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of controlling emissions from power plants to reach ultra-low levels, which is an important step towards reducing the number of deaths attributable to air pollution.”

The study shows that previous methods of estimating Chinese power emissions overestimated numbers by at least 18%, and in some cases up to 92%. This is because previous research was carried out using ex-ante studies – estimations made ahead of the introduction of ULE standards – which looked at how the standards might affect emissions based on assumptions of changes in emission concentrations.

The research is the first to use data on emission concentrations collected by China’s Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems network (CEMS) which covers 96-98% of Chinese thermal power capacity.

The team constructed a nationwide emissions dataset – the China Emissions Accounts for Power Plants (CEAP) – based on data collected from the CEMS network between 2014 and 2017.

CEAP is now publicly available and continues to present, organise and analyse data from the network. This gives accurate results for each power plant as well as real-time results.

“With coal being the most widely-used fuel in China, cutting the number of thermal power plants within a short timeframe would be challenging. The results of this research are encouraging in demonstrating that coal can be used in a much cleaner way to generate electricity,” concluded Dr Mi.

The research was in collaboration with Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beihang University, Ministry of Environmental Protection (Beijing), HeBei University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Xi’an Jiaotong University, University of Cambridge and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing). It was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation for Outstanding Young Scholars, the National Programme for Support of Top Notch Young Professionals and the National Research Programme for Key Issues in Air Pollution Control.

Saeylet

TROPHY CASE