Shenzhou-20 crew sends video greetings from space
In their video greeting, Chinese astronauts - from left - Wang Jie, Chen Dong, and Chen Zhongrui - reflected on their childhood aspirations as Young Pioneers. Photo: CCTV
The Shenzhou-20 crew on board China's orbiting space station on Wednesday extended greetings to children in celebration of the upcoming International Children's Day on June 1.
The crew, made up of Chinese astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, reflected on their childhood aspirations as Young Pioneers to contribute to China's space exploration.
They expressed hope that today's youth would actively play a role in the nation's progress.
The Chinese Young Pioneers (CYP) is a national organisation for Chinese children.
"I still remember the first time I put on the [young pioneer's] red scarf. It was then that I made a silent vow to become someone who could contribute to society. That childhood dream has guided me through my journey in the aerospace field, and it's what has brought me to space today," said Chen Dong.
"Back when I was a young pioneer, I was fascinated by the blue sky and curious about what was beyond Earth. When China's first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou-5, was launched, I was thrilled, and it strengthened my determination. Today, I've finally realised my dream and am able to work aboard China's space station," said Chen Zhongrui.
"I have been remembering clearly the first line of the CYP anthem: 'We are the successors of communism.' This song has inspired generations of young pioneers to honour the legacy of our revolutionary predecessors, following in their footsteps with courage and striving toward our ideals.
"When I sang this as a child, it always filled me with a sense of strength. Today, I'm proud to be an astronaut, contributing to our country's space endeavours. In the future, I hope you, the younger generation, will carry the baton and help China's space exploration to take steadier and farther steps," said Wang Jie.
"This time, we brought the CYP flag to China's space station.... We believe you will take up the baton of history, starting by learning from the pioneers and growing into true pioneers, with the ambition to serve and strengthen our nation, and to be resolute and responsible strivers." Chen Dong added.
The crew declared a "happy Children's Day to all the children" as they waved a Chinese Young Pioneers flag.
The Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft was successfully launched on April 24, 2025. (CCTV)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AllAfrica
2 days ago
- AllAfrica
US senators sound alarm on DeepSeek's security risks
Seven Republican US senators have called for an investigation into DeepSeek's data security threats, citing growing concerns that the artificial intelligence (AI) model could leak personal data or generate harmful content. In a letter submitted to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the lawmakers urged the government to evaluate the risks of Chinese AI models collecting and sending data to servers in China. After DeepSeek released its R1 model in late January, Wiz Research found a publicly accessible database belonging to the Chinese AI model. It said the database contained a significant volume of chat history, backend data and sensitive information, including log streams, API Secrets and operational details. The senators also said that R1 probably did not undergo comprehensive red-teaming and safety tests to prevent the generation of harmful content. 'A Wall Street Journal reporter was able to get R1 to write text for a social media campaign intended to encourage self-harm amongst teenage girls, as well as to provide instructions for carrying out a bioweapon attack,' they said. They requested the US Commerce Department to: explaining how it will use resources like the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) to work with relevant agencies to protect US businesses and citizens; investigate the national security risks posed by Chinese open-source AI models; Identify any evidence of these models providing US data to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) or associated companies. In March, Chinese media reported that the PLA was using DeepSeek in its hospitals, the People's Armed Police (PAP), and national defense mobilization units. Ren Hao, a senior software engineer at 301 Hospital, stated that the hospital deployed DeepSeek-R1 on Huawei's Ascend hardware to create a local knowledge database. The PLA's Central Theatre Command General Hospital also said it used DeepSeek's R1-70B AI model to assist doctors by suggesting treatment plans. Apart from these, Chinese academics said the home-made large language model (LLM) can be deployed for military use. Fu Yanfang, a researcher at Xian Technological University's School of Computer Science and Engineering, said in May that her team used DeepSeek's AI models to generate military simulation scenarios. She said a commander has to spend 48 hours planning for a military scenario, but a self-developed AI-based simulator can generate 10,000 military scenarios in just 48 seconds. 'LLMs and combat simulation scenarios had redefined the future of war design,' she said, adding that DeepSeek's LLM can easily deconstruct and reconstruct complex battlefield situations through training on massive data sets. A white paper published by Chongqing Landship Information Technology, an autonomous driving solution provider, also said that DeepSeek has excellent potential for military use, particularly in command, communications, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. 'China can deploy DeepSeek V3 in Gongji-11 drones to fight against F-16V fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait,' Wen Chang, a senior researcher at Techxcope, a Beijing-based think tank, says in an article published in March. 'This would be a fairer game than deploying China's sixth-generation (Chengdu J-36) or fifth-generation (Chengdu J-20) fighter jets to combat the F-16V, which is not a stealth fighter.' 'Although the F-16V also has an AI system, it still needs the pilot to make most decisions. In this sense, Gongji-11 has an advantage as it can fly 24 hours a day,' he added. On February 6, two US representatives, Democrat Josh Gottheimer and Republican Darin LaHood, introduced the bipartisan 'No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,' which prohibits federal employees from using DeepSeek on government-issued devices. Only New York, Texas, and Virginia have banned DeepSeek on government devices. The US Navy has also prohibited the use of the AI model. In March, Reuters reported that the US Commerce Department's bureaus informed their staff members that DeepSeek is banned on their government devices. It's unclear whether the Trump administration would seek to ban the deployment of DeepSeek entirely in the US. US President Donald Trump said on February 8 that the release of DeepSeek may be beneficial for the US, as AI technologies will be significantly less expensive than initially thought. The seven senators requested that Lutnick report any findings on how Chinese AI models may have illegally accessed US technology, such as export-controlled semiconductors. The US banned the shipments of the A100 and H100 to China in October 2022 and the A800 and H100 to the country in October 2023. In late January, Lutnick testified before the US Senate in a hearing that DeepSeek could create its AI models 'dirt cheap' because it was able to purchase a large quantity of Nvidia chips and access data from Meta's open platform. DeepSeek claimed that the training cost of R1 was only US$5.58 million, which is 1.1% of Meta's US$500 million for Llama 3.1. It claimed it trained the model using the distilled data from Alibaba's Qwen and Meta's Llama. Alexandr Wang, chief executive of the US-based Scale AI, told CNBC that DeepSeek and its parent, High Flyer, could have accumulated 50,000 units of Nvidia's high-end AI chips, such as the H100. An unnamed senior State Department official told Reuters in late June that DeepSeek used Southeast Asian shell companies to obtain high-end Nvidia chips. In February, Singapore charged three men with fraud for allegedly helping ship Nvidia's high-end chips to DeepSeek in China in 2024. The trio, including two Singaporeans and one Chinese national, was accused of shipping servers with the A100 and H100 to Malaysia and potentially elsewhere. In late March, Malaysia's Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, said the US had requested the Malaysian government to monitor every shipment of Nvidia chips arriving in Malaysia. On July 14, Malaysia announced that companies must apply for permits to re-export high-performance American AI chips. On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice said two Chinese nationals, both 28, have been arrested in California for violating the US Export Control Reform Act as they exported from the US to China sensitive technology, including graphic processing units (GPUs) – specialized computer parts used for modern computing – without first obtaining the required license or authorization from the US. Read: US plans to tighten AI chip export rules for Malaysia, Thailand
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How Labubu mania is taking over Korea, from customer fights to crazy resale market
'Labubu is only available with a purchase ticket.' This was the response from a staff member at Pop Mart's Myeongdong shop in central Seoul, South Korea, on June 30 when asked if one could buy a key ring of the Chinese character Labubu. The answer meant that only customers who had secured a preassigned ticket through an online lottery could purchase Labubu products, including dolls and key rings, on specific dates. On this particular day, only display items were available. Labubu's explosive popularity in Korea has caused chaotic scenes, including long queues before store openings and even physical altercations between customers. As a result, Pop Mart has halted in-store sales entirely. Originally designed in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, Labubu was commercialised in 2019 after Chinese toy retailer Pop Mart obtained exclusive licensing rights. Photo: TNS
AllAfrica
4 days ago
- AllAfrica
China's drone swarms just got smarter, faster and harder to kill
This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Chinese aerospace engineers have proposed a breakthrough upgrade for People's Liberation Army (PLA) drones, drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, where approximately 90% of Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were reportedly neutralized by advanced air defenses. Published in the July issue of Acta Armamentarii, the research—led by Bi Wenhao of Northwestern Polytechnical University—introduces a 'terminal evasion' system that equips small to medium-sized drones with compact, side-mounted rocket boosters. These boosters enable drones to execute abrupt, high-G maneuvers in the final seconds before missile impact, disrupting tracking algorithms and causing incoming warheads to detonate in empty space. Digital simulations cited in the study show survivability rates exceeding 87%, with evasive shifts occurring within a one-to-two-second window and lateral thrust reportedly surpassing 16Gs—far beyond conventional aerodynamic limits. While the concept demonstrates significant promise in controlled environments, real-world implementation poses notable challenges. Synchronizing booster activation with flight controls demands precise thrust vectoring, and the integration of additional components introduces trade-offs in payload, fuel capacity, and overall flight stability. The system's performance against faster or more adaptive interceptors remains untested, and operational deployment would require robust surveillance networks and onboard computing capable of autonomous, split-second decision-making. Still, analysts say the innovation could shift the logic of swarm warfare. Upgrading individual drones from cheap throwaways into survivable strike platforms could allow the PLA to turn vulnerable swarms into formations capable of saturating sophisticated air defenses. The proposal underscores China's growing emphasis on survivability and agility in unmanned systems as battlefield threats evolve. Tye Graham and Peter Singer note in a May 2025 Defense One article that PLA drone countermeasures in exercises already achieved a 40% kill rate, leaving a modest 60% survival rate for drones. The 'terminal evasion' concept aims to increase that rate by 27%, reflecting Beijing's belief that raising the survivability of individual drones enhances a swarm's ability to overwhelm enemy sensors and interceptors. The logic is backed by battlefield precedent. Jorge Rivero writes in a March 2025 article for the Modern Warfare Institute (MWI) that drone strikes account for 70% of Russian casualties and, in some areas of the front, 90% of Russian equipment losses in engagements with Ukrainian forces. Such figures confirm the tactical potency of drones even with high attrition rates, suggesting that improving their survivability could be a force multiplier. Yet China's military drone program faces structural weaknesses that may limit the impact of these innovations. John S Van Oudenaren points out in a May 2025 China Aeronautical Studies Institute (CASI) report that the PLA heavily relies on civilian drone manufacturers like DJI, which lack the military-grade standards and secure supply chains needed for wartime resilience. He further highlights fragmentation among suppliers, poor coordination between commercial and defense sectors, and limited operational testing as persistent barriers to effective integration. According to Oudenaren, China's drone industry also struggles with vulnerabilities to electronic warfare, insecure communications, and underdeveloped autonomy. Without centralized oversight or dedicated defense infrastructure, he says, these issues constrain the PLA's ability to militarize its commercial drone base fully. While Beijing's push for swarm resilience marks a doctrinal shift, these underlying gaps could blunt its operational effectiveness. By contrast, the US approach to drone warfare has historically prioritized quality over quantity. SCMP noted in December 2024 that the US integrates high-end drones like the Predator and autonomous wingmen into its network-centric strategy, emphasizing sensor fusion and interoperability. SCMP says that China, by contrast, leans on mass production and AI-enabled autonomy to achieve asymmetric saturation. Both sides now see drone survivability and scale not as technical details, but as the future of power projection. That dichotomy may be narrowing. In August 2023, the US Department of Defense (DoD) unveiled its Replicator Initiative to counter China's numerical advantage with a push to deploy thousands of attritable, autonomous, all-domain systems—including aerial drones and undersea vehicles—by 2025. Spearheaded by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Replicator's first phase focuses on fielding low-cost, mass-producible platforms designed to survive contested environments and complicate enemy targeting through swarming tactics and distributed autonomy. Replicator reflects a broader shift toward disposability, scalability, and speed. Unlike legacy systems that are expensive and slow to produce, Replicator platforms are meant to operate with minimal human oversight and accept battlefield losses as a cost of saturation. Underscoring the shift, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outlined a sweeping overhaul in a July 2025 memo to restore US drone dominance. Citing Ukraine as proof of drones' transformative lethality, the memo rescinds procurement restrictions and delegates acquisition authority directly to warfighters to accelerate deployment. Backed by US Executive Order 14307, the plan emphasizes domestic manufacturing, streamlined acquisition, and combat-realistic training, including force-on-force drone simulations. The DoD will approve hundreds of US-made systems for frontline units, integrate emergent technologies, and break through bureaucratic inertia. Hegseth warns that outdated policies must not constrain lethality amid rapid technological change. Despite these initiatives, the US still lags behind China in drone production scale, speed, and affordability. The New York Times reported in July 2025 that China's military drone base, built on civilian mass production, vastly outpaces US capabilities. DJI alone produces millions of low-cost drones, such as the Mavic—sold for $300 to $5,000—which has been widely weaponized in Ukraine. The report states that while US defense contractors excel at developing sophisticated platforms like the Predator and Reaper, such systems are increasingly ill-suited for modern battlefields where mass-produced, expendable drones dominate. Even with recent policy shifts and executive orders aiming to revitalize domestic production, the US lacks the industrial scale to match China's rapid, cost-efficient output. The US drone shortfall is not just about budgets—it's about industrial architecture. Martin Feldman and Gene Keselman delve deeper into these production gaps in a July 2025 War on the Rocks article. They argue that although the US has industrial strengths in plastics, motor machining, and automotive-grade camera modules, it lacks a comprehensive wartime-scale mobilization strategy. While they say it's feasible to build domestic motor lines and repurpose car camera supply chains, critical bottlenecks remain in battery and circuit board capacity. By contrast, Feldman and Keselman note that Chinese civilian factories can retool within a year to produce one billion weaponized drones annually, using under 1% of their existing assembly capacity and without significantly straining battery or circuit board output. They warn that without major shifts in US industrial policy and long-term procurement contracts, America risks strategic vulnerability in a drone war driven not just by AI and autonomy, but by sheer output. Without bold industrial reforms and sustained procurement, the US risks losing not just the drone war but the ability to fight it at scale.
