Day: December 6, 2021

OSAKA, Japan, Dec. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — To build momentum for the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, “Nakanoshima Winter Party – Road to EXPO 2025 -” was held in the city of Osaka on November 28.

The event was organized by the Executive Committee of the Midosuji Party comprising the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments and other entities.

Photos: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/release/202111304122?p=images

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura and Mayor Ichiro Matsui declared the party open.

Kenji Wakamiya, minister for the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, told an audience of some 4,500 people, “I’d like you to help build momentum for the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai.”

Wakamiya urged the audience to encourage more countries to participate in the expo. “We plan to invite 150 countries to participate in the expo. But to achieve that, we need to secure participation by 90 more countries. I’d like you to share the attractions of the expo with the world through social media.”

Two groups, who will perform in the Dubai Expo’s Japan Day on December 11, also participated in the party. A special unit comprising local vocational school students and comedian Charlotte, who has over 1.35 million followers overseas, sang songs, and OSK Nippon Revue Company celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2022 performed a dance.

Hiroyuki Ishige, secretary-general of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, said the organizer will try to reduce waiting time before entering pavilions during the expo. “People have the image that they have to wait a long time to enter a pavilion at an expo, but we’d like to reduce it as much as possible, preferably to zero,” he said.

Noting “Reborn” is the theme of the Osaka Prefecture/City pavilion, Mayor Matsui said he expects the pavilion to show Osaka is actively promoting people’s health.

“We’d like to create an Osaka health pavilion to provide visitors with opportunities to have various experiences, including those involving preventive medicine, to help people enjoy a long life, and demonstrate to the world that Osaka is playing a key role in promoting health,” the mayor said.

The popular pop duo and expo ambassadors Kobukuro capped the party with a live performance.

BEIJING, Dec. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A country’s democratic system is deeply rooted in its history, culture and tradition, therefore, there is no “one-size-fits-all” democracy model.

Shen Haixiong, president of China Media Group (CMG), made the remarks at the International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values, on Saturday.

Held in Beijing, the forum was attended by more than 500 senior politicians and scholars from over 120 countries and regions, and 20 international organizations.

Shen said China’s whole-process people’s democracy gives the Chinese people a sense of happiness and fulfillment. It has helped 1.4 billion people get rid of absolute poverty and brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control.

A country’s democracy should only be judged by its people, and the real democracy should be used to improve people’s well-being, Shen said.

Meanwhile, he criticized the U.S. for imposing its democracy on other countries regardless of their cultural and historical differences.

It brought economic disruptions and humanitarian disasters to local populations, Shen said.

The U.S. Capitol riot in early January, Washington’s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country’s record-high death toll during the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed that American democracy is getting seriously sick, Shen said.

Noting that CGTN coverage on Afghanistan has shown the world the real situation in the country, Shen pledged that CMG will continue to shoulder its responsibility as a major international media outlet to spread the truth and share democratic stories in China.

We believe in the power of justice, and we’ll be committed to spreading objective and fair democratic awareness, Shen said.

He vowed to work actively to build a healthy global public opinion environment and enhance exchanges between different civilizations to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xie Fuzhan, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that democracy is a concrete phenomenon that is constantly evolving. Rooted in history and culture, it takes diverse forms and develops along the paths chosen by different peoples based on their exploration and innovation.

Yukio Hatoyama, former prime minister of Japan, said the U.S., instead of overemphasizing its values, should focus on common values shared by the international community and avoid a zero-sum game in international relations.

Kenneth M. Quinn, former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, hopes that China and the U.S. could work together to promote democracy through collaboration and multilateral diplomacy under the UN framework.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-12-04/CMG-president-Shen-Haixiong-speaks-at-International-Forum-on-Democracy-15J7B5etyKY/index.html

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB8gnnMtAFg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1702690/CMG_President_Shen_Haixiong_China_s_whole_process_democracy_brings_happiness.jpg