中國習近平在與阿里巴巴馬雲等商界領袖的會晤中承諾保持政策穩定

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

China's Xi promises policy stability at meeting with business leaders, including Alibaba's Jack Ma

Huizhong Wu

Mon, February 17, 2025 at 6:56 a.m. PST·3 min read

The Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — China's President Xi Jinping met with private sector business leaders on Monday, offering them assurances that policies regarding the private sector would not change, state media reported, as government officials work to revive an economy disrupted by a pandemic, regulatory crackdowns and a real estate crisis.

Among those present was Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who was part of a focus on a crackdown on the tech industry in recent years.

Xi told the audience that the Communist Party and the government's approach towards the private sector has been incorporated into “the socialist system with Chinese characteristics," which is how the party describes its governance, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “They cannot and will not change,” said Xi.

The president also said the government would “sincerely protect the legal rights of private businesses and entrepreneurs, according to the law.” But, “at the same time, we must realize that our country is a socialist country ruled by law, and any type of illegal activities by enterprises cannot avoid investigation and punishment.”

The words of assurance were made after Beijing launched a crackdown on the tech sector in 2020 to break down monopolies and implement strict data regulations.

One of the most public faces of that crackdown was Ma, who founded e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China’s richest man. He has kept a low profile with few public appearances in recent years after he publicly criticized China’s regulators and financial systems during a speech in Shanghai.

Other business leaders at Monday's meeting in Beijing were Zeng Yuqun, the chairman of battery developer CATL, Wang Chuanfu, chairman of electric cars manufacturer BYD, and Pony Ma, the CEO of Tencent, which owns WeChat, according to a video of the meeting from state broadcaster CCTV and a state media report.

Xi said he hoped private businesses will continue to “get rich first, and then promote common prosperity,” a reference to a program to encourage development and close the wealth gap. Alibaba previously pledged $15.5 billion to the cause, while Tencent pledged $7.7 billion.

Earlier on Monday, a two-paragraph report about the meeting which originally had been carried by state media was subsequently deleted. Instead, a search online revealed a shorter state media statement which had cut out the names of those present.

A later readout of the meeting carried Xi's speech, and mentioned the names of some of those present, but not Ma.

Ma, one of the wealthiest men in the country, gave a speech in Oct 2020 in which he said regulators were too conservative. The government responded by scuttling his plans for Ant Group 's stock market debut. The finance-focused business grew out of Alipay, the popular digital payments system. It then forced Ant Group to restructure, dividing it into multiple independent businesses.

Alibaba was also investigated and fined $2.8 billion for breaching antitrust rules.

Translation

中國習近平在與阿里巴巴馬雲等商界領袖的會晤中承諾保持政策穩定

曼谷（美聯社）— 據官方媒體報道，中國國家主席習近平周一會見了私營企業領袖，向他們保證私營企業的政策不會改變，目前政府官員正在努力重振因疫情、監管打擊和房地產危機而受到破壞的經濟。

出席者包括阿里巴巴創辦人馬雲，他是近年來打擊科技業行動的重點對象人士之一。

據中央電視台報道，習近平告訴出席人士，共產黨和政府對待私營部門的方針已經融入“中國特色社會主義制度”，這是共產黨對其治理的描述。習近平說：“這些變化不可能改變，也不會改變。”

主席也表示，政府將「依法切實保護私人企業和企業家的合法權益」。但“同時也要認識到，我國是社會主義法治國家，企業的任何違法行為都逃脫不了查處。”

中國政府在 2020 年對科技業展開打擊行動，以打破壟斷並實施嚴格的資料監管後，做出了這樣的保證。

那次打擊行動中最受關注的人物之一是馬雲，他於 1990 年代創立了電子商務公司阿里巴巴，曾是中國首富。自從在上海發表演說公開批評中國的監管機構和金融體係以來，他近年來一直保持低調，很少公開露面。

根據國營中央電視台和官方媒體報道的會議影片，週一在北京舉行的會議的其他商界領袖還包括電池開發商 CATL 董事長曾氍群、電動車製造商比亞迪董事長王傳承以及微信所有者騰訊執行長馬化騰。

習近平表示，他希望私人企業繼續 “先富起來，然後促進共同富裕”，這是一項鼓勵發展、縮小貧富差距的計劃。阿里巴巴先前已承諾為該事業捐款 155 億元，而騰訊則承諾捐款 77 億元。

週一早些時候，全國媒體最初刊登的兩段關於此次會議的報告報道隨後被刪除。相反，透過網路搜索，你會看到一份較短的官方媒體聲明，其中刪去了與會者的姓名。

隨後的會議記錄中刊登了習近平的講話，並提到了一些與會人員的名字，但沒有提到馬雲。

馬雲是中國最富有的人之一，他在 2020 年 10 月發表演講，表示監管機構過於保守。政府對他的回應是打沉了螞蟻集團上市的計劃。該以金融為重點的業務源自於流行的數位支付系統支付寶。隨後，這迫使螞蟻集團進行重組，將其分拆為多個獨立的業務。

阿里巴巴還因違反反壟斷規則而受到調查並被罰款 28 億元。

So, Xi tells the audience that the Communist Party and the government's approach towards the private sector has been incorporated into “the socialist system with Chinese characteristics."  Xi says that “They cannot and will not change”. I am wondering whether these words can bring back the confidence of the private sectors.

The reason why the giant meteorite that boiled the oceans when it collided with Earth 3.2 billion years ago is called the "fertilizer bomb" (2/2)

 Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

３２億年前の地球衝突で海を沸騰させた巨大隕石、「肥料爆弾」と呼ばれる理由とは (2/2)

2025.02.07 Fri posted at 20:00 JST

(continue)

しかし、深海の状況は海上とは異なっていた。津波で鉄などの成分が巻き上げられ、海面に浮上した。また浸食により、沿岸のごみが洗い流され、隕石に含まれていたリンが放出された。実験室での分析から、隕石の衝突直後に鉄やリンを栄養源とする単細胞生物が急増したことが分かっている。

ドラボン氏によると、生命体は急速に回復し、その後繁栄したという。

ドラボン氏は「隕石の衝突前も、海には多少の生物は生息していたが、それほど多くはなかった。これは、浅海で栄養素や鉄のような電子供与体が不足していたためだ」と述べ、さらに次のように続けた。

「しかし、隕石の衝突でリンなどの重要な栄養素が世界規模で放出された。ある学生はこの衝突を『肥料爆弾』と表現した。全体的に見ると、これは地球上の初期生命体の進化にとって非常に良いニュースだ。なぜなら、生命の進化の初期段階では隕石の衝突が現在よりもはるかに頻繁に起こっていたからだ」

 

衝突の影響はさまざま

Ｓ２と小惑星チクシュルーブの衝突は、異なる結果をもたらしたが、これは隕石の大きさや、衝突時の地球の環境の違いによるものだ、とドラボン氏は説明する。

チクシュルーブ衝突体は、地球の炭酸塩プラットフォームに衝突し、大気中に硫黄を放出した。この硫黄がエアロゾルを形成し、地表の気温を急激かつ極端に低下させた。

そして、どちらの衝突でも、多くの生命体が死滅したが、Ｓ２の衝突の後、浅瀬に生息する太陽光依存型の頑強な微生物は、海が再び満たされ、塵が沈んだ後、急速に回復しただろうとドラボン氏は推測する。

ドラボン氏は、「Ｓ２衝突時の生命ははるかにシンプルだった」とし、「朝、歯を磨くと、口の中の細菌を９９．９％除去できるかもしれないが、夕方までに元に戻っている」と付け加えた。

Translation

The giant meteorite that boiled the oceans when it collided with Earth 3.2 billion years ago: why it's called a "fertilizer bomb" (2/2)

2025.02.07 Fri posted at 20:00 JST

(continue)

However, the situation in the deep sea was different from that above the sea. The tsunami stirred up elements such as iron and brought them to the surface. Erosion also washed away coastal trash, releasing the phosphorus contained in the meteorite. Laboratory analysis has shown that immediately after the meteorite's impact, single-celled organisms that used iron and phosphorus as a source of nutrition rapidly increased.

According to Drabon, the life that was formed recovered quickly and then thrived.

"Even before the meteorite's impact, there were some organisms in the ocean, but not many. This was because in shallow waters there was a shortage of nutrients and electron donors such as iron," Dravon said, and continued:

"But the impact released important nutrients, such as phosphorus, on a global scale. One student described the impact as a 'fertilizer bomb.' Overall, this is very good news for the evolution of early life on Earth. That's because meteorite impacts were much more frequent in the early stages of the evolution of life than they are today."

Different impact effects

The impacts of S2 and the Chicxulub asteroid had different outcomes, due to the size of the meteorites and the different environments on Earth at the time of impact, Drabon explained.

The Chicxulub impactor struck the Earth's carbonate platform, releasing sulfur into the atmosphere. This sulfur formed aerosols that caused a sudden and extreme drop in surface temperatures.

And while many life forms were killed in both impacts, Drabon speculated that after the S2 impact, the tough, sunlight-dependent microorganisms that lived in shallow waters would have recovered quickly after the oceans refilled and the dust sank.

"Life was by far much simpler when the S2 hit," Dravon said, adding, "Brushing your teeth in the morning might remove 99.9 percent of the bacteria in your mouth, but by the evening it's all back."

              So, according to the latest theory, the impacts of S2 and the Chicxulub asteroid had different outcomes, due to the size of the meteorites and the different environments on Earth at the time of impact. While many life forms were killed in both impacts, scientists speculate that after the S2 impact, the microbes living in shallow waters could recover quickly, and single-celled organisms that use iron and phosphorus as a source of nutrition rapidly increased. Apparently, S2 has turned an important chapter in the development of life on earth.

The reason why the giant meteorite that boiled the oceans when it collided with Earth 3.2 billion years ago is called the "fertilizer bomb" (1/2)

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

３２億年前の地球衝突で海を沸騰させた巨大隕石、「肥料爆弾」と呼ばれる理由とは (1/2)

2025.02.07 Fri posted at 20:00 JST

  （ＣＮＮ） 今から３０億年以上前、エベレスト山四つ分の大きさと推定される巨大な隕石（いんせき）が地球に衝突した。研究によると、その衝撃は、意外にも地球上の初期の生命体にとって有益だった可能性があるという。

通常、巨大な隕石が地球に衝突すると、その衝撃は壊滅的被害をもたらす。６６００万年前、現在のメキシコのユカタン半島沖に幅約１０キロの小惑星が衝突したことにより、恐竜が絶滅した。

しかし、３２億６０００万年前、恐竜を絶滅に追い込んだ小惑星チクシュルーブの５０～２００倍の質量と推定されるＳ２と呼ばれる隕石が地球に衝突した時、地球はまだ若く、現在とは全く異なる場所だった、と語るのは、ハーバード大学の地球惑星科学助教ナジャ・ドラボン氏だ。

ドラボン氏は、Ｓ２隕石の衝突とその後の影響について詳述した研究論文の主執筆者でもあり、同論文は先ごろ学術誌「米国科学アカデミー紀要（ＰＮＡＳ）」に掲載された。

「（Ｓ２隕石の衝突時は）まだ複雑な生命は形成されておらず、細菌や古細菌といった単細胞生物だけが存在していた」とドラボン氏は述べ、さらに次のように続けた。

「おそらく、当時の海にも生命は存在していただろうが、栄養分が不足していたこともあり、その数は現在ほど多くはなかっただろう。始生代の海を「生物学的砂漠」と表現する人もいる。始生代の地球は、ごくわずかな島が浮かんでいるだけの水の惑星だった。鉄分を豊富に含む緑色の海が広がり、奇妙な光景だったことだろう」

Ｓ２隕石の衝突は地球全体を混乱に陥れたが、その衝撃でさまざまな成分が放出され、それらが細菌の増殖に寄与した可能性がある、とドラボン氏は指摘する。

隕石衝突の甚大な影響

Ｓ２隕石の地球衝突時の直径は３７～５８キロメートルで、その影響は迅速かつ甚大だったとドラボン氏は語る。

津波が地球全体を襲い、衝突によって生じた熱は強烈で、海の表層が沸騰し、蒸発するほどだった。ドラボン氏によると、海水が沸騰・蒸発すると、衝突直後の岩石に見られるような塩分が形成されたという。

衝突によって大気中に放出された塵（ちり）により、衝突から数時間以内に地球の反対側でも空が暗くなった。大気の温度は上昇し、厚い塵の雲が日光を遮り、微生物は日光をエネルギーに転換できなくなった。陸上や浅水域に生息する生物は、衝突の直後から悪影響を受け、その影響は数年から数十年にわたって続いたと考えられる。

最終的に降雨によって、海の表層が回復し、塵も海に沈んだ。

(to be continued)

The reason why the giant meteorite that boiled the oceans when it collided with Earth 3.2 billion years ago is called the "fertilizer bomb" (1/2)

2025.02.07 Fri posted at 20:00 JST

(CNN) More than 3 billion years ago, a giant meteorite estimated to be four times the size of Mount Everest collided with the Earth. Research suggested that the impact might have been unexpectedly beneficial to early life on Earth.

Usually, when a giant meteorite hit the Earth, the impact would cause devastating damage. Sixty-six million years ago, the dinosaurs became extinct when an asteroid about 10 kilometers wide collided with the coast of what was now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

But when this meteorite known as S2, estimated to be 50 to 200 times the mass of the asteroid Chicxulub that wiped out the dinosaurs, struck Earth 3.26 billion years ago, the planet was young and a place very different from now, said Nadja Drabon, an assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University.

Drabon, the lead author of a study detailing the impact and aftermath of the S2 meteorite, recently published the study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Drabon continued to say, "(When the S2 meteorite hit) complex life had not yet formed, only single-celled organisms like bacteria and archaea,":

"There probably was life in the oceans then, but perhaps it wasn't as abundant as it is today due to a lack of nutrients. Some people refer to the Archean oceans as “biological deserts”. The Archean Earth was a water planet with only a few floating islands. It would have been a strange sight, with a green ocean rich in iron spreading out."

The impact of the S2 meteorite threw the entire planet into chaos, but the impact released various components that might have contributed to the growth of bacteria, said Drabon.

The meteorite's enormous impact

The S2 meteorite had a diameter of 37 to 58 kilometers when it hit the Earth, and its impact was swift and severe, said Drabon.

A tsunami hit the entire planet, and the heat generated by the impact was so intense that the surface of the ocean boiled and evaporated. According to Drabon, when the seawater boiled and evaporated, the salt that could be observed was formed on rocks immediately after the impact.

Dust released into the atmosphere by the impact caused the sky to darken on the other side of the Earth within a few hours of the impact. The atmospheric temperature increased, and the thick dust cloud blocked sunlight, preventing microorganisms from converting light into energy. Organisms living on lands and in shallow waters were adversely affected immediately after the impact, with effects likely lasting for years or even decades.

Eventually, rainfall restored the ocean's surface and the dust sank into the sea.

(to be continued)

Japanese government agencies warned about generative AI developed by China's Deepseek

 Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

中国「ディープシーク」開発の生成AI 日本政府機関に注意喚起

2025年2月6日 20時07分

中国の「ディープシーク」が開発した生成AIについて、政府は利用のリスクを十分認識する必要があるとして、政府機関などに対し、利用するかどうかは、内閣官房などの専門部署に助言を求めた上で判断するよう注意喚起しました。

中国のスタートアップ企業「ディープシーク」が開発した生成AIをめぐっては、政府の個人情報保護委員会が個人情報などのデータには中国の法令が適用されるとして利用には留意が必要だとする見解を公表しています。

これを踏まえて政府のデジタル社会推進会議幹事会は6日、サービスの利用によって生じるリスクを十分認識する必要があるとして、政府機関などに対し、利用するかどうかは内閣官房の「内閣サイバーセキュリティセンター」やデジタル庁に助言を求めた上で判断するよう文書で注意喚起しました。

林官房長官は記者会見で「政府の対応方針を徹底する観点から文書を出した。AIに関する諸課題については引き続き関係省庁や専門機関が連携し情報収集などを行っていく」と述べました。

Translation

Japanese government agencies warned about generative AI developed by China's Deepseek

The government had warned government agencies and other entities to seek advice from specialized departments such as the Cabinet Secretariat before deciding whether to use generative AI developed by China's Deepseek, stating that it was necessary to be fully aware of the risks of using it.

Regarding generative AI developed by Chinese startup Deepseek, the government's Personal Information Protection Commission had published its opinion that personal information and other data were subject to Chinese laws and regulations and caution was required when using it.

In light of this, the government's Digital Society Promotion Council Steering Committee on the 6^th issued a warning in writing to government agencies and other entities to seek advice from the Cabinet Secretariat's “Cyber ​​Security Center” and the Digital Agency before deciding whether to use the service, stating that it was necessary to be fully aware of the risks associated with using the service.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi said at a press conference that "We issued the document with the aim of thoroughly implementing the government's response policy. Relevant ministries and specialized agencies will work together to continue to collect information on various issues related to AI."

So, the Japanese government has warned government agencies and other entities to seek advice from specialized departments before deciding whether to use generative AI developed by China's Deepseek. Apparently, the government worries that sensitive information can be leaked out to China after using Deepseek.

正當西方聯盟動搖之際，中國試圖取悅感到筋疲力盡的歐洲(2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

China courts frazzled Europe as Western alliance wavers (2/2)

South China Morning Post

Sun, February 16, 2025 at 1:30 a.m. PST·6 min read

(continue)

The early signs are that after a stormy few years in the EU-China relationship, some leaders in a Trump-battered Europe might be receptive to Beijing's advances.

"This is a massive victory for China. It is just amazing what Trump has delivered to them, in less than a month," said one European diplomat, who was not authorised to speak publicly.

After a bruising first month of Trump's tenure, the hawkish European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's tone on China has softened significantly. In two notable speeches, she said there was space to deepen trade ties and even "find agreements" with Beijing, in "an era of hyper-competitive and hyper-transactional geopolitics".

A month after he warned German companies that investing in China "is a decision involving great risk", Merz - who is favoured to be the next German chancellor - changed his tune in Munich.

"Germany firmly supports free trade and supports deepening cooperation between Germany and China and Europe and China," Merz told Wang, according to Beijing's version of events.

A Trump-inspired detente in EU-China ties would mirror events in 2017, when the sides patched up their differences in response to their respective trade wars with Washington.

Since then, however, the bilateral relationship has declined markedly, creating obstacles that the two sides might struggle to overcome if Beijing is to take full advantage of the situation.

In particular, China's cosy ties with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have damaged nearly all areas of positive engagement with the EU.

They have also clashed extensively on trade, with Europe urging Beijing to take action to tackle industrial overcapacity, which looms as a major threat to European industries, from German carmakers to Danish wind turbine makers.

"Compared to eight years ago, when Trump was elected the first time, there's a much greater awareness in Europe of the threats China poses," said Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO, in a Munich interview.

"They have their own assessments, their own sense of the risks that China presents, and they are taking some of their own steps to deal with that. They wouldn't change that just because they don't like the way that the Trump administration speaks to them," Volker said.

Li, the seasoned academic, said the ball was in China's court to make Europe an offer it cannot refuse. This would represent a sea change in policy, given that Brussels officials regularly complain that Beijing has been in no mood to make concessions for several years. China "should be sensitive" to Europe's concerns about its hi-tech industrial prowess, he said.

"China should open up to European companies and should not dominate one area after another. There's a complementary need in terms of economic technology development," Li said in an interview in Munich, adding that on current sentiment, "Europe does not see China as a great opportunity".

But Europe, too, must be prepared to "turn the page" on some of its traditional gripes with China, including on human rights, "in light of the American authoritarian tendencies", if ties are to improve.

"If you do so, you should have the same standards - look at the Middle East," Li said. "How can you just single out the Xinjiang issue when ignoring atrocities in other parts of the world?"

Translation

正當西方聯盟動搖之際，中國試圖取悅感到筋疲力盡的歐洲(2/2)

（繼續）

早期跡象表明，歐洲在經歷了中歐關係動盪的幾年之後，受到特朗普政策打擊的歐洲的一些領導人可能會接受北京的推展。

一位未獲授權公開發言的歐洲外交官表示： “這是中國的巨大勝利。特朗普在不到一個月的時間內給他們帶來的是令人驚嘆的。”

在經歷了特朗普上任第一個月的艱難時期後，鷹派的歐盟委員會主席馮德萊恩對華態度已明顯軟化。她在兩次重要演講中表示，在 “超競爭和超交易的地緣政治時代” ，還有空間與北京深化貿易聯繫、甚至 “達成協議” 。

一個月前，曾警告德國企業投資中國「是一個涉及巨大風險的決定」現有望成為下一任德國總理的 Merz 在慕尼黑改變了他的態度。

根據北京方面的版本，Merz對王毅表示： “德國堅定支持自由貿易，支持深化德中、歐中合作。”

特朗普引起的中歐關係緩和將與2017年的事件相似，當時雙方各自為應對與華盛頓的貿易戰而彌合分歧。

然而，自那以後，雙邊關係明顯下滑而造出障礙，如果北京方面想充分利用這一局勢，雙方可能要付出努力克服這些障礙。

特別是自 2022 年俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭以來，中國與俄羅斯的密切關係已經損害了中國與歐盟幾乎所有領域的積極接觸。

雙方也在貿易問題上發生廣泛衝突，歐洲敦促北京採取行動解決工業產能過剩問題，這個問題對從德國汽車製造商到丹麥風力渦輪機製造商的歐洲工業構成了重大威脅。

美國前駐北約大使 Kurt Volker 在慕尼黑接受採訪時表示： “與八年前特朗普首次當選時相比，歐洲對中國構成的威脅的認識有了更大的提高。”

Volker說: 「他們有自己的評估，對中國帶來的風險有自己的認識，他們正在採取一些自己的措施來應對。他們不會因為不喜歡特朗普政府的說話方式而改變這一點，」。

經驗豐富的李姓學者表示，球在中國手裡去向歐洲提出一份無法拒絕的提議。這將代表政策的重大轉變，因為布魯塞爾官員經常抱怨北京方面幾年來不願做出讓步。他說，中國「應該對歐洲對其高科技工業實力的擔憂保持敏感」。

李在慕尼黑接受採訪時表示：「中國應該向歐洲企業開放，不應該在一個領域接二連三地佔據主導地位。在經濟技術發展方面，雙方存在互補需求」。他還表示，就目前的情況來看，「歐洲並不認為中國是一個很好的機會」。

但如果歐洲想改善與中國的聯繫，亦必須就 “鑑於美國的獨裁傾向” ，做好 “翻開新篇章” 的準備，改變對中國的一些傳統上的不滿，包括人權問題。

李表示： “如果你這樣不滿，你應該有同樣的標準 - 看看中東”; “你們怎麼能只挑出新疆問題，而對世界其他地區發生的暴行視而不見呢？”

              So, Vance has conflicting views with European countries. Apparently, to Europe, the security threat from Russia is a daily and real, while to the US, the threat is not that immediate (at least they are separate by the Atlantic Ocean). When Vance said that "The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within", I don’t think Vance truly believes that. When the US asks all allies to increase their defense budgets, and expresses worry about the security of Greenland, I am wondering who are the enemies in their mind?

Note:

1. Hypercompetitive geopolitics (超競爭地緣政治) in current international relations refers to the fierce competition among countries in the fields of economy, military and technology. This competition is not limited to the traditional geopolitical scope, but also involves the diverse challenges and opportunities brought about by globalization.

2.  Hyper-transactional geopolitics (超交易地緣政治) is a model of international relations that emphasizes that interactions between countries are based primarily on immediate transactions and exchange of interests rather than long-term strategic cooperation.

正當西方聯盟動搖之際，中國試圖取悅感到筋疲力盡的歐洲 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on line picked up the following:

China courts frazzled Europe as Western alliance wavers (1/2)

South China Morning Post

Sun, February 16, 2025 at 1:30 a.m. PST·6 min read

The world shook this weekend as deep cracks appeared in the transatlantic alliance during a glitzy security summit in Munich. One guest was ready to capitalise: China.

Top officials from the United States and Europe spent a chaotic weekend trading barbs over values, Ukraine and democracy, with US Vice-President J.D. Vance clashing with a series of German leaders over his courting of the far-right ahead of next week's federal election.

"The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within," said Vance, who later met Alice Weidel, the leader of the insurgent Alternative for Germany, which has been branded "extremist" by German authorities, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Over lunch on Saturday, meanwhile, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg stoked further despair by saying Europe would not be included in peace talks, even as European boots would be expected on the ground in Ukraine. Vance and others also hinted that America's security guarantee for Europe was in question.

In the margins, Beijing was making hay.

In a diplomatic blitz, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative opponent Friedrich Merz, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, and counterparts from the EU, Germany, Spain, and France. On each occasion, according to foreign ministry readouts, he pitched China as a partner to Europe and a friend of the existing order.

"China is pleased to see Germany play an important role in the multipolar pattern and is willing to deepen all-round cooperation... and provide more certainty for the turbulent world," Wang told Scholz, according to a readout.

During a meeting with the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, Wang "emphasised that China supports all efforts conducive to peace and supports Europe's important role in the peace talks process," contrasting with Kellogg's assertions that Europe should not be involved.

Wang made a more blatant pitch to Europe during a keynote speech on Friday, where - right after Vance - he said talk of "China attempting to change the [global] order" has gone quiet in light of Trump's return.

"Now we don't see much talk of that because now there is a country that is withdrawing from international treaties and organisations and I think in Europe, you can feel chills almost every day," the veteran diplomat said.

While Wang's language was not new, it resonated in stark contrast with Vance's. The clear conclusion for many observers was that China sees an opening to improve ties with Europe and, potentially, drive a new wedge in the already fraught transatlantic alliance.

"On China's side, there's a great opportunity now that the ideological driven alliance between US and EU is subject to change," said Cheng Li, the founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong, who described the US' rhetoric at the summit as "astonishing".

(to be continue)

Translation

正當西方聯盟動搖之際，中國試圖取悅感到筋疲力盡的歐洲 (1/2)

本週末，在慕尼黑舉行的盛大安全峰會上，跨大西洋聯盟出現了嚴重裂痕，令世界震驚。有一位客人準備利用這一點：中國。

美國和歐洲的高層官員度過了一個混亂的周末，就價值觀、烏克蘭和民主等問題互相指責，美國副總統 J.D. 萬斯因在下週聯邦選舉前向極右翼示好而與多位德國領導人發生摩擦。

萬斯說: 「我最擔心的歐洲威脅不是俄羅斯，不是中國，也不是任何其他外部勢力。我擔心的是來自內部的威脅」。萬斯隨後在慕尼黑安全會議期間順道會見了德國反叛派另類選擇黨領袖Alice Weidel，該黨被德國當局定性為「極端分子」。

同時，週六午餐時, 特朗普烏克蘭事務特使 Keith Kellogg 表示，儘管歐洲軍隊預計將會在烏克蘭出現，但歐洲不會被納入和平談判，這進一步加劇了人們的絕望情緒。萬斯等人也暗示美國給歐洲的安全保障存在着問題。

在不被留意之間中，北京方面正爭取機會。

在一輪外交閃電戰中，王毅外長先後會見德國總理朔爾茨、反對派保守黨的 Friedrich Merz、北約秘書長呂特, 以及歐盟、德國、西班牙、法國等國外官員。根據外交部的記錄，在每一次活動中，他都將中國描述為歐洲的合作夥伴和現有秩序的朋友。

一份聲明稱，王毅對朔爾茨表示： “中方高興看到德國在多極格局中發揮重要作用，願深化全方位合作……為動蕩的世界提供更多確定性。”

同時，在會見歐盟外長 Kaja Kallas 時，王毅 “強調中國支持一切有利於和平的努力，支持歐洲在和談進程中發揮重要作用”，這與 Kellogg 關於歐洲不應參與的主張形成了鮮明對比。

在周五的主題演講中，王毅更加公然地向歐洲推銷 - 在萬斯之後，他表示，隨著特朗普的回歸，他說對「中國試圖改變[全球]秩序」的討論已經變得沉默。

這位資深外交官表示： “現在我們很少聽到這方面的談論，因為現在有一個國家正在退出國際條約和組織，我認為在歐洲，你幾乎每天都能感受到寒意。”

儘管王的語言並不新鮮，但卻與萬斯的語言形成了鮮明的對比。許多觀察家得出的明確結論是，中國看到了改善與歐洲關係的機會，並暗地在本已緊張的跨大西洋聯盟中製造新的分裂。

香港大學當代中國與世界研究中心創始主任 Cheng Li表示：「對中國而言，現在有一個很好的機會，因為美國和歐盟之間受意識形態帶動的聯盟可能會發生變化」。他認為美國在峰會上的言論「令人震驚」。

（未完待續）

Transplantation of retinal cells made from iPS cells applied for as "advanced medical treatment"

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

iPS細胞から作った目の網膜細胞の移植 「先進医療」に申請

2025年2月3日 18時28分

iPS細胞から作った目の網膜の細胞を重い目の病気の患者に移植する治療について、開発を進める神戸市の病院のグループは、医療費の一部に公的な保険が適用される「先進医療」に申請したと明らかにしました。認められればiPS細胞を使う治療としては初めてのケースとなります。

神戸市にある神戸アイセンター病院の栗本康夫院長らのグループは、「網膜色素上皮不全症」という重い目の病気の患者3人にiPS細胞から作った網膜細胞をひも状に加工して移植する臨床研究を行いました。

グループは3人に移植した細胞が1年後も定着していることや、このうち1人は見え方も改善していることが確認できたとして、この治療の計画を「先進医療」として厚生労働省に申請し、1月末に受理されたと連絡があったということです。

先進医療は治療そのものの費用は患者負担となる一方、入院費など関連する医療費の一部に公的な保険が適用されるもので、一定の基準を満たせば実施する医療機関を増やすこともできます。

申請された計画は今後、厚生労働省の専門家会議で審議される予定で、認められればiPS細胞を使う治療としては初めてのケースとなります。

栗本院長は「承認されれば、治療を広く届けられるようになり、改めて身が引き締まる思いだ。日本中のいろいろな施設で治療ができる準備も整えていきたい」と話していました。

グループは将来的に治療そのものの保険適用を目指すとしています。

Translation

Transplantation of retinal cells made from iPS cells applied for as "advanced medical treatment"

A group at a hospital in Kobe City developing a treatment to transplant retinal cells made from iPS cells into patients with serious eye diseases had revealed that it had applied for "advanced medical treatment" to have part of the medical expenses covered by public insurance. If approved, it would be the first case of a treatment using iPS cells.

A group led by Dr. Yasuo Kurimoto (栗本康夫), director of Kobe Eye Center Hospital in Kobe City, conducted a clinical study to process retinal cells into string-like shape for transplanting them into three patients with a serious eye disease called "retinal pigment epithelium deficiency."

The group confirmed that the cells transplanted into the three patients had taken root one year later and that one of the patients' visions had improved, so they applied to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for this treatment plan be accepted as "advanced medical treatment",  and they were informed at the end of January that it was under consideration.

While the cost of advanced medical treatment itself was to be borne by the patient, some related medical expenses such as hospital fees were to be covered by public insurance, and the number of medical institutions that would perform the treatment could be increased if certain criteria were met.

The plan submitted would be discussed at an expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and if approved, it will be the first case of treatment using iPS cells.

Director Kurimoto said, "If approved, we will be able to provide the treatment widely, I feel invigorated again. I also want to prepare to make the treatment available at various facilities across Japan."

The group hoped to have the treatment itself covered by insurance in the future.

So, the treatment to transplant retinal cells made from iPS cells into patients with serious eye diseases may be considered as “advanced medical treatment" to have part of the medical expenses covered by public insurance. If approved, it would be the first case of a treatment using iPS cells. Apparently, it will be good new for many patients.

特朗普稱希望烏克蘭向美國供應稀土

Recently Reuters News on-line reported the following:

Trump says he wants Ukraine to supply US with rare earths

By Reuters

February 4, 20258:02 PM PST

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he wants Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth minerals as a form of payment for financially supporting the country's war efforts against Russia.

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Ukraine was willing, adding that he wants "equalization" from Ukraine for Washington's "close to $300 billion" in support.

"We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths," Trump said. "We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earths and other things."

It was not immediately clear if Trump was using the term "rare earths" to refer to all types of critical minerals or just to rare earths.

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cellphones and other electronics. There are no known substitutes.

The U.S. Geological Survey considers 50 minerals to be critical, opens new tab for the country's economy and national defense, including several types of rare earths, nickel and lithium.

Ukraine contains large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium, although none are considered to be among the world's five biggest by volume and the U.S. has its own untapped reserves of those and other critical minerals.

The U.S. has only one operating rare earths mine, which is owned by MP Materials (MP.N), opens new tab. Several other companies are working to develop U.S. rare earths projects.

In 2024, the United States was reliant on China, Malaysia, Japan and Estonia for 80 percent of its rare earths needs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Translation

特朗普稱希望烏克蘭向美國供應稀土

華盛頓 2 月 3 日（路透社）- 美國總統特朗普週一表示，他希望烏克蘭向美國供應稀土礦物，作為對美國對俄羅斯戰爭努力提供經濟支持的回報。

特朗普在白宮對記者表示，烏克蘭願意配合，並補充說，他希望烏克蘭「平衡」華盛頓提供的「近 3000 億美元」援助。

特朗普說： “我們告訴烏克蘭，他們擁有非常寶貴的稀土”; “我們希望與烏克蘭達成協議，用稀土和其他資源, 以抵押我們給他們的東西。”

目前尚不清楚特朗普使用的「稀土」一詞是否指所有類型的關鍵礦物或僅指稀土。

稀土是一組 17 種金屬，用於製造磁鐵，將電能轉化為電能用於動車、手機和其他電子設備。目前沒有知到的替代品。

美國地質調查局認為有50種礦物至關重要，開發關乎國家經濟與國防的新資源，其中包括幾種稀土、鎳和鋰。

烏克蘭擁有豐富的鈾、鋰和鈦礦產資源，但就藏量而言，這些礦產均未躋身世界五大礦產之列，而且美國自己也擁有尚未開發的上述礦產和其他關鍵礦產藏量。

美國目前僅有一座正在運作的稀土礦，由 MP Materials (MP.N) 擁有, 以開發新資源。另有幾家公司正在致力於開發美國稀土計劃。

根據美國地質調查局的數據，在 2024 年，美國 80% 的稀土需求依賴中國、馬來西亞、日本和愛沙尼亞。

       So, when Trump says that he wants "equalization" from Ukraine for Washington's "close to $300 billion" support given to Ukraine to fight against Russia’s aggression, my initial feeling is that the amount of $300 billion is a much-inflated figure.  Probably Trump is deliberately using “fake” information to help stress his argument (or perhaps a trick often used by a businessman when negotiating for a good deal). If he makes political judgements bases on that, I think it will be dangerous for the American and the whole world. May God bless the American.

美國太空總署的小行星貝努樣本揭示了生命成分的混合（2/2）

Recently NASA Headquarters made the following announcement:

NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life’s Ingredients (2/2)

Jessica Taveau

Jan 29, 2025

NASA Headquarters

(continue)

While Glavin’s team analyzed the Bennu samples for hints of life-related compounds, their colleagues, led by Tim McCoy, curator of meteorites at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, and Sara Russell, cosmic mineralogist at the Natural History Museum in London, looked for clues to the environment these molecules would have formed. Reporting in the journal Nature, scientists further describe evidence of an ancient environment well-suited to kickstart the chemistry of life.

Ranging from calcite to halite and sylvite, scientists identified traces of 11 minerals in the Bennu sample that form as water containing dissolved salts evaporates over long periods of time, leaving behind the salts as solid crystals.

Similar brines have been detected or suggested across the solar system, including at the dwarf planet Ceres and Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Although scientists have previously detected several evaporites in meteorites that fall to Earth’s surface, they have never seen a complete set that preserves an evaporation process that could have lasted thousands of years or more. Some minerals found in Bennu, such as trona, were discovered for the first time in extraterrestrial samples.

“These papers really go hand in hand in trying to explain how life’s ingredients actually came together to make what we see on this aqueously altered asteroid,” said McCoy.

For all the answers the Bennu sample has provided, several questions remain. Many amino acids can be created in two mirror-image versions, like a pair of left and right hands. Life on Earth almost exclusively produces the left-handed variety, but the Bennu samples contain an equal mixture of both. This means that on early Earth, amino acids may have started out in an equal mixture, as well. The reason life “turned left” instead of right remains a mystery.

“OSIRIS-REx has been a highly successful mission,” said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA Goddard and co-lead author on the Nature Astronomy paper. “Data from OSIRIS-REx adds major brushstrokes to a picture of a solar system teeming with the potential for life. Why we, so far, only see life on Earth and not elsewhere, that’s the truly tantalizing question.”

NASA Goddard provided overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator. The university leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and provided flight operations. NASA Goddard and KinetX Aerospace were responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Curation for OSIRIS-REx takes place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. International partnerships on this mission include the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and asteroid sample science collaboration with JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 mission. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Translation

美國太空總署的小行星貝努樣本揭示了生命成分的混合（2/2）

美國太空總署總部

（繼續）

當 Glavin 的團隊分析貝努樣本以尋找與生命相關的化合物的線索時，他們的同事在華盛頓Smithsonian 國家自然歷史博物館隕石館長 Tim McCoy 和倫敦自然歷史博物館宇宙礦物學家 Sara Russell 的帶領下，尋找這些分子形成環境的線索。在《自然》雜誌的報導中，科學家進一步描述了適合啟動生命化學反應的古老環境的證據。

科學家在貝努樣本中發現了從方解石到岩鹽和鉀鹽等 11 種礦物質的痕跡，這些礦物質是在含有溶解鹽的水經過長時間蒸發後形成的，留下的是固體鹽晶體。

整個太陽係都曾發現或顯示存在類似的鹽水，包括矮行星穀神星和土星的衛星土衛二。

儘管科學家先前曾在墜落地球表面的隕石中發現過幾塊蒸發岩，但他們從未見過一組完整地保存著可能持續數千年甚至更長時間的蒸發過程的蒸發岩。貝努中發現的一些礦物，例如天然鹼，是首次在地外樣本中發現的。

McCoy說： “這些論文確實相連關並同時試圖解釋生命個別成分是如何結合在一起, 並形成我們在這顆被水改變的小行星上看到的生命景象的。”

儘管貝努樣本提供了所有答案，但仍有幾個問題尚待解答。許多氨基酸可以以兩個鏡影版本建造成，就像一雙左手和右手一樣。地球上的生命幾乎只產生左手性種類生命，但貝努樣本同時含有兩種版本生命。這意味著在早期地球上，氨基酸也可能是以均等的混合物的形式出現的。生命「向左轉」而不是向右轉的原因仍然是個謎。

美國宇航局 Goddard 太空飛行中心 OSIRIS-REx 項目科學家、《自然天文學》論文聯合作者 Jason Dworkin 表示：「OSIRIS-REx 是一次非常成功的任務」; 「OSIRIS-REx 的數據為充滿生命潛力的太陽系圖景增添了重要一筆。為什麼到目前為止我們只在地球上看到生命而在其他地方卻看不到，這才是真正誘人的問題」。

美國太空總署 Goddard 為 OSIRIS-REx 提供了整體任務管理、系統工程以及安全和任務保障。亞利桑那大學圖森分校的Dante Lauretta 是首席研究員。該大學領導科學團隊和任務的科學觀測規劃和數據處理。位於科羅拉多州 Littleton 的 Lockheed Martin Space 建造了該太空船並提供飛行操作。美國太空總署Goddard和 KinetX Aerospace 負責導航 OSIRIS-REx 太空船。 OSIRIS-REx 的策展在美國宇航局位於休士頓的約翰遜航天中心進行。這項任務的國際合作夥伴包括加拿大太空總署 (CSA) 的 OSIRIS-REx 雷射高度計儀器, 行星樣本科學是與日本宇宙航空研究開發機構 (JAXA) 的隼鳥 2 號任務合作。 OSIRIS-REx 是美國太空總署新疆界計劃的第三次任務，由位於阿拉巴馬州Huntsville的 馬歇爾太空飛行中心管理, 代表著華盛頓的美國太空總署科學任務理事會。

       So, studies of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu have revealed molecules that, on our planet, are key to life, as well as a history of saltwater that could have served as the “broth” for these compounds to interact and combine. The findings do not show evidence for life itself, but they do suggest the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early solar system.

Note:

1. An evaporite (蒸發岩)is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments. (Wikipedia)

2. Trona (天然碱) is a non-marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced the Solvay process used in most of the rest of the world for sodium carbonate production. (Wikipedia)

3. The Science Mission Directorate (SMD) (科學任務理事會) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engages the United States' science community, sponsors scientific research, and develops and deploys satellites and probes in collaboration with NASA's partners around the world. (Wikipedia)

美國太空總署的小行星貝努樣本揭示了生命成分的混合（1/2）

Recently NASA Headquarters made the following announcement:

NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life’s Ingredients (1/2)

Jessica Taveau

Jan 29, 2025

NASA Headquarters

Studies of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft have revealed molecules that, on our planet, are key to life, as well as a history of saltwater that could have served as the “broth” for these compounds to interact and combine.

The findings do not show evidence for life itself, but they do suggest the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early solar system, increasing the odds life could have formed on other planets and moons.

“NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission already is rewriting the textbook on what we understand about the beginnings of our solar system,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Asteroids provide a time capsule into our home planet’s history, and Bennu’s samples are pivotal in our understanding of what ingredients in our solar system existed before life started on Earth.”

In research papers published Wednesday in the journals Nature and Nature Astronomy, scientists from NASA and other institutions shared results of the first in-depth analyses of the minerals and molecules in the Bennu samples, which OSIRIS-REx delivered to Earth in 2023.

Detailed in the Nature Astronomy paper, among the most compelling detections were amino acids – 14 of the 20 that life on Earth uses to make proteins – and all five nucleobases that life on Earth uses to store and transmit genetic instructions in more complex terrestrial biomolecules, such as DNA and RNA, including how to arrange amino acids into proteins.

Scientists also described exceptionally high abundances of ammonia in the Bennu samples. Ammonia is important to biology because it can react with formaldehyde, which also was detected in the samples, to form complex molecules, such as amino acids – given the right conditions. When amino acids link up into long chains, they make proteins, which go on to power nearly every biological function.

These building blocks for life detected in the Bennu samples have been found before in extraterrestrial rocks. However, identifying them in a pristine sample collected in space supports the idea that objects that formed far from the Sun could have been an important source of the raw precursor ingredients for life throughout the solar system.

“The clues we’re looking for are so minuscule and so easily destroyed or altered from exposure to Earth’s environment,” said Danny Glavin, a senior sample scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and co-lead author of the Nature Astronomy paper. “That’s why some of these new discoveries would not be possible without a sample-return mission, meticulous contamination-control measures, and careful curation and storage of this precious material from Bennu.”

(to be continued)

Translation

美國太空總署的小行星貝努樣本揭示了生命成分的混合（1/2）

美國太空總署總部

美國國家航空暨太空總署 (NASA) 的 OSIRIS-REx（即起源、光譜解釋、資源識別和安全 - 風化層探測器的缩寫）太空船將小行星貝努 (Bennu) 的岩石和塵埃帶回地球，對其進行了研究，揭露了它有地球上關乎生命的主要分子，及可能作為這些化合物相互反應和結合的「培養液」的鹽水的歷史。

這些發現並沒有顯示出生命本身存在的證據，但它們確實表明生命出現所必需的條件在早期太陽系中廣泛存在，這增加了生命在其他行星和衛星上形成的可能性。

美國宇航局華盛頓總部科學任務理事會副局長 Nicky Fox 表示： “美國宇航局的 OSIRIS-REx 任務已經改寫了我們對太陽繫起源的認識”; “小行星為我們了解地球的歷史提供了一個時間囊，而貝努的樣本對於我們去了解地球生命開始之前太陽系中存在哪些成分至關重要。”

在周三發表在《自然》和《自然天文學》雜誌上的研究論文中，美國宇航局和其他機構的科學家分享了對貝努樣本中礦物質和分子的首次深入分析結果，OSIRIS-REx 是於 2023 年將這些樣本帶回地球。

《自然天文學》論文詳細介紹了最令人信服的發現，包括氨基酸 - 地球生命用來製造蛋白質的20種氨基酸中的14種，以及地球生命用來在更複雜的陸地生物分子（如DNA和RNA）中存儲和傳輸遺傳指令的所有五種核鹼基，包括如何將氨基酸排列成蛋白質。

科學家也描述了貝努樣本中異常高含量的氨。氨對生物學很重要，因為它可以與樣本中檢測到的甲醛反作出化學應，在適合的條件下形成複雜的分子，例如胺基酸。當胺基酸連接成長鏈時，它們就會形成蛋白質，進而為幾乎所有的生物功能提供動力。

在貝努樣本中檢測到的這些生命構成要素, 以前也曾在外星岩石中發現過。然而，在太空中收集的原始樣本中能發現它們, 支持了這樣一種觀點：即遠離太陽形成的物體, 可能是整個太陽系原始生命的前驅的重要來源。

美國宇航局馬裡蘭州 Greenbelt 的 Goddard 太空飛行中心的高級樣本科學家、亦是《自然天文學》論文的共同主要作者 Danny Glavin 說: 「我們正在尋找的線索非常微小，而且很容易因暴露在地球環境中而被破壞或改變」; 「這就是為什麼如果沒有把樣品送回的任務、沒有細緻的污染控制措施, 以及對來自貝努的珍貴材料的精心管理和儲存，這些新發現就不可能實現」。

（待續）

消息人士稱特朗普下令停止向貧窮國家供應愛滋病毒和瘧疾藥物

 Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Trump order set to halt supply of HIV, malaria drugs to poor countries, sources say

Tue, January 28, 2025 at 4:26 a.m. PST·2 min read

By Jennifer Rigby

LONDON (Reuters) - The Trump administration has moved to stop the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by USAID around the globe, a memo reviewed by Reuters showed.

On Tuesday, contractors and partners who work with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began receiving such memos to stop work immediately, sources said. The move is part of a wider freeze on U.S. aid and funding put in place since Trump took office on Jan. 20, while programmes are reviewed.

One such memo went to Chemonics, a large U.S. consulting firm which works with USAID on the supply of medicines for a range of conditions worldwide.

The memo covers the firm's work on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis as well as contraception and maternal and child health supplies, one USAID source and one former USAID official told Reuters.

"This is catastrophic," said Atul Gawande, former head of global health at USAID who left the agency this month. "Donated drug supplies keeping 20 million people living with HIV alive. That stops today."

Chemonics and USAID did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Interruptions in treatment for diseases mean that patients risk getting sick, as well as, in the case of HIV in particular, transmitting the virus to others. It also means drug-resistant strains may emerge, Gawande said.

He said other partners had also received notices that meant they would be unable to deliver medicines to clinics even if they had them in stock, or open the clinics if they are funded by the U.S.

That includes organizations working with 6.5 million orphans and vulnerable children with HIV in 23 countries, he said.

Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance on Jan. 20, the day he took the oath of office, pending assessments of efficiencies and consistency with U.S. foreign policy.

His administration has also put on leave about 60 senior career officials at the USAID, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion in assistance. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Translation

消息人士稱特朗普下令停止向貧窮國家供應愛滋病毒和瘧疾藥物

倫敦（路透社）—路透社看到的一份備忘錄顯示，特朗普政府已採取行動，停止向美國國際開發署 (USAID)在全球支持的國家供應治療愛滋病毒、瘧疾和肺結核的救命藥物以及新生兒醫療用品。

消息人士稱，從週二開始，與美國國際開發署（USAID）合作的承包商和合作夥伴開始收到此類備忘錄，要求立即停止工作。此舉是美國自 1 月 20 日特朗普上任以來實施的更廣泛援助和資金凍結措施的一部分，同時對相關項目進行審查。

其中一份備忘錄發給了 Chemonics，這是一家美國大型顧問公司，該公司與美國國際開發署合作，為世界各地供應治療多種疾病的藥品。

一位美國國際開發署消息人士和一位前官員向路透社透露，備忘錄涵蓋了該公司在愛滋病毒、瘧疾和結核病以及避孕和婦幼保健用品方面的工作。

本月剛離職的美國國際開發署前全球衛生負責人Atul Gawande 說: 「這是災難性的，」。 “捐贈的藥品讓 2,000 萬愛滋病毒感染者得以存活。這一行動今天停止了。”

Chemonics 和美國國際開發署尚未立即回應路透社的置評請求。

Gawande 說疾病治療中斷意味著患者面臨患病的風險，甚至可能將病毒傳染給他人,尤其是愛滋病毒患者。這也意味著可能出現抗藥性菌株。

他說，其他合作夥伴也收到通知，即使有庫存，他們也不能將藥品運送到診所，如果診所是由美國資助的，他們也無法運作診所。

他說，這包括在 23 個國家為 650 萬名孤兒和弱勢愛滋病毒兒童提供服務的組織。

特朗普於1月20日宣誓就職當天下令暫停對外發展援助90天，以等待對其效率和與美國外交政策的一致性進行評估。

知情人士週一告訴路透社，他的政府還令美國國際開發署約 60 名高級職業官員休假。

該政府的行動威脅到全球最大單一捐助國提供的數十億美元的救生援助。 2023財年，美國發放了720億美元的援助。 2024年，它提供了聯合國跟進的所有人道主義援助的42%。

 So, the Trump administration stops the supply of lifesaving drugs for HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as medical supplies for newborn babies, in countries supported by USAID around the globe. The administration's actions threaten billions of dollars of life-saving aid from the world's largest single donor. All along the US is a generous country. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion in assistance. I am wondering if China can takeover some of the financial burden as the leader of the third world.

中國因反對聲音強烈而禁止政府向民眾提供藥品數據

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

In China, Government Data on Drugs Blocked from Public After Backlash

Criticism over how the Chinese government buys drugs for its public health care system has ignited frustration over the quality of medicine.

The New York Times - By Alexandra Stevenson and Zixu Wang

Reporting from Hong Kong

Jan. 27, 2025, 5:51 a.m. ET

When a group of prominent Chinese doctors publicly raised worries last week about the quality of domestic drugs, China’s government sent officials to investigate.

But now data about the drugs that appeared on a government website as recently as Friday is no longer publicly available. A social media post from a doctor who scrutinized the data has been taken down.

The criticism in China over how the government buys drugs for its public health care system, which most people use, has ignited frustration over the most basic of concerns: the effectiveness of medicine.

Two separate groups of medical experts and political advisers in Shanghai and Beijing are sounding the alarm over the country’s centralized drug procurement system and the drugs on a list of medications for public hospitals.

The drugs at issue are almost entirely generic versions of drugs that had been largely imported in the past. Among the products doctors are questioning include anesthesia they said often fails to put patients to sleep and stroke medication that has failed to prevent strokes. Even some of the most basic drugs, like laxatives, seem to be ineffective, the doctors have said.

The scrutiny is focusing attention on a campaign by Beijing to reduce costs in its national public health care system, which is coming under increasing financial pressures as the population ages.

The centralized drug system, known as volume-based procurement, has saved the government tens of billions of dollars. But the cost cutting could now come at the expense of drug effectiveness, said Zheng Minhua, the director of surgery at Ruijin Hospital.

Mr. Zheng was one of more than 20 doctors who proposed that the government allow patients access to brand-name drugs even if they are not on the government list.

Another doctor and political adviser in Beijing submitted his own proposal last week calling for similar changes. On Chinese social media, doctors and patients shared their frustrations about domestic drugs and complained about how difficult it was to get the original versions.

Amid the outcry last week, some experts began to dig into public data showing how the generic drugs stacked up against their originals. One doctor and former editor at a popular online health platform, Xia Zhimin, noticed that the data provided by different drugmakers was so similar they had to be fraudulent.

The National Medical Products Administration, which approves generic drugs and published the data, acknowledged the similarities and said they were caused by “editing errors” related to specific years of publication. But that did little to assuage concerns and instead elicited criticism on Chinese social media that a simple apology was not enough.

Then the agency removed the data from its platform and China’s internet censors scrubbed Dr. Xia’s analysis of the data from his WeChat account.

Over the weekend, an article in the state-owned China News Weekly quoted experts calling on the agency to make more data available rather than less. It also raised questions on over whether the staff at the agency might have known the data was plagiarized by did not speak up.

“A good pharmaceutical quality control system requires adequate information disclosure and transparency,” the article said.

Translation

中國因反對聲音強烈而禁止政府向民眾提供藥品數據

中國政府為其公共醫療體系採購藥品的方式受到批評，引發了人們對藥品品質的不滿。

上週，當一群著名中國醫生公開對國產藥品品質表示擔憂時，中國政府派出官員進行調查。

但現在，最遲於上週五, 政府網站上出現的有關藥物的數據已不再向公眾開放。一位仔細研究過該數據的醫生在社交媒體上發佈的貼文已被刪除。

中國政府為大多數人使用的公共醫療體系採購藥品的方式受到批評，這引發了人們對最基本問題的擔憂：藥品的有效性。

上海和北京的兩個不同的醫療專家小組和政治顧問小組對國家的集中藥品採購系統, 和公立醫院藥品清單上的藥品發出了警告。

涉的藥品幾乎都是過去大量進口藥品的仿製藥。醫生質疑的藥品包括麻醉藥被他們認為經常無法令病人麻醉和中風藥無法預防中風。醫生表示，即使是一些最基本的藥物，如瀉藥，似乎也無效。

這次審查的焦點是北京因隨著人口老化，財政壓力越來越大而要降低國家公共醫療體系成本而採取的行動。

集中藥品制度，即所謂大規模採購，為政府節省了數百億美元。但瑞金醫院外科主任Zheng Minhua表示，削減成本現在可能會以犧牲藥物療效為代價。

Zheng 先生是20多名醫生之一，他們提議政府允許病人使用品牌藥，即使這些藥物不在政府名單上。

北京的另一位醫生兼政治顧問上週也提交了自己的提議，呼籲進行類似的改革。在中國社群媒體上，醫生和病人分享了他們對國產藥品的不滿，並抱怨要取得正版藥品有多麼困難。

在上週的強烈抗議中，一些專家開始深入研究公開數據，以了解仿製藥與原廠藥的比較情況。Xia Zhimin 是曾任熱門線上健康平台編輯的一位醫生，他發現不同製藥商提供的數據非常相似，必定是造假。

負責批准仿製藥並發布數據的國家藥品管理局承認了這些相似之處，並表示這些相似之處是由於特定某年份出版的「編輯錯誤」所造成的。但這無助於緩解人們的擔憂，反而引發中國社群媒體的批評，表示簡單的道歉是不夠的。

隨後，該機構從其平台上刪除了這些數據，中國的網路審查人員也從Xia醫生的微信帳戶上刪除了他對這些數據的分析。

上週末，國營媒體《中國新聞周刊》的一篇文章引述專家的話，呼籲該機構公開更多數據，而不是更少。這也引發了人們的疑問：該機構的工作人員是否知道資料是抄襲的，但卻沒有說出來。

文章稱： “良好的藥品品質控制系統需要充分的資訊揭露和透明度。”

              So, a group of prominent Chinese doctors have publicly raised worries about the quality of domestic drugs. The drugs at issue are almost entirely generic versions of drugs. Among the products, doctors say that anesthesia often fails to put patients to sleep and stroke medication fails to prevent strokes. Some doctors have said that even some of the most basic drugs, like laxatives, seem to be ineffective. I am shocked by the complaints raised by the doctors.

華爾街進入較黑箱作業時代，多數股票交易被隱藏

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Wall Street Enters Darker Age with Most Stock Trading Hidden

Katherine Doherty

Fri, January 24, 2025 at 7:48 a.m. PST·4 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Here’s a surprising new fact about the world’s largest and most-liquid public equity market: Most of the activity on it isn’t public anymore.

For the first time on record, the majority of all trading in US stocks is now consistently occurring outside the country’s exchanges, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

This off-exchange activity — which happens internally at major firms or in alternative platforms known as dark pools — is on course to account for a record 51.8% of traded volume in January. Barring an unexpected dip, it will be the fifth monthly record in a row, and the third month running that hidden trades make up more than half of all volume.

In other words, the shift “appears to be developing into a longer-term trend and quite possibly a permanent one at that,” Anna Ziotis Kurzrok, head of market structure at Jefferies, wrote in a note to clients this month.

Off-exchange trading has been a growing feature on Wall Street for years, but until now public venues including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have retained overall dominance of market activity. That’s important because exchanges display the quotes that most participants use to price stocks.

The shift toward off-exchange trading is the culmination of a years-long trend, which if it continues could eventually have implications for how the market functions, according to Larry Tabb, head of market structure at Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Theoretically the more trading that goes off-exchange, the fewer orders there are on-exchange competing to determine the best price,” he said. “This means the pricing on and off-exchange could get worse.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission has in recent years taken steps to try to push more activity back on-exchange by revamping market structure. Of four proposals made by the SEC, only two rules — that tweak the way stocks get priced and trades are executed on and off-exchange — were ultimately passed.

For now the threat to market efficiency remains a distant concern, with 48.2% of trades in January still happening on-exchange. Instead, the change is perhaps more useful as an indicator of the evolving market landscape.

Kurzrok at Jefferies notes that the surge in off-exchange activity corresponds with increased volumes in stocks worth less than $1, which are typically traded by retail investors. That makes sense, since that business is often handled internally by market-making giants like Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial.

When those sub-dollar stocks are stripped out of the data, off-exchange trading remains below 40% of total volume, according to calculations by Jefferies. So the apparent shift away from exchanges “doesn’t necessarily mean trading in one stock or all stocks is going to be worse off on any particular day,” Kurzrok said.

Meanwhile, the number of off-exchange venues that offer an alternative, anonymous way to process trades has been growing.

These alternative-trading systems, or ATS, use different mechanisms to match buyers and sellers without the desired price being displayed on a public exchange, or automated auctions where parties express the value they are willing to buy or sell stocks for. Using those venues helps institutional investors limit information leaking to the market and adversely affecting prices.

“This new style of trading is different,” said Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading. “The bigger institutions seem to have a better experience where they can command more value.”

About 1.7 billion shares a day changed hands on an ATS in November, the most since March of 2020 and 36% more than a year prior, according to analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence.

At Nasdaq, the second-largest US exchange, Head of Strategic Operations and Public Policy Chuck Mack says the worry is that the move toward off-exchange could ultimately make pricing less efficient and drive up costs for investors and issuers.

“Sometime down the road we may look back and say, ‘how did we get here?’” Mack said. “It’s like boiling a frog. If you boil a frog, the temperature slowly rises, it doesn’t realize and doesn’t jump out so it dies. You don’t realize until its too late.”

Translation

華爾街進入較黑箱作業時代，多數股票交易被隱藏

(彭博社)－關於全球最大、流動性最強的公開股票市場，有一個令人驚訝的新事實：市場上的大部分活動不再是公開的。

彭博社彙編的數據顯示，有史以來第一次，美國股票的絕大部分交易都持續在美國交易所之外進行。

這種場外交易活動（在大型公司內部或被稱為暗池的替代平台進行）預計將佔 1 月交易量的 51.8%，創歷史新高。除非出現意外下滑，否則這將是連續第五個月創下紀錄，也是連續第三個月隱藏交易佔總交易量的一半以上。

Jefferies 市場結構主管 Anna Ziotis Kurzro 在本月給客戶的報告中寫道，換句話說，這種轉變「似乎正在發展成為一種長期趨勢，而且很可能是永久趨勢」。

多年來，場外交易一直是華爾街日益增長的特色，但到目前為止，包括紐約證券交易所和納斯達克在內的公共場所仍然佔據著市場活動的主導地位。這很重要，因為交易所顯示的是大多數參與者用來為股票定價的報價。

彭博產業研究市場結構主管 Larry Tabb 表示，轉向場外交易的改變是多年趨勢的結果，如果這種趨勢持續下去，最終可能對市場運作產生影響。

他說： “理論上，場外交易越多，場內可供決定出競爭最佳價格的訂單就越少”; “這意味著場內和場外的定價可能會變差。”

美國證券交易委員會近年來已採取措施，試圖透過改革市場結構來推動更多的交易活動回歸到交易所。在美國證券交易委員會提出的四項提案中，只有兩項規則, 即調整股票定價, 以及執行場內外交易兩項最終獲得通過。

目前，對市場效率的威脅仍是一個遙遠的問題，1 月 有48.2% 的交易仍在交易所進行。反而，這種變化或許更有用於作為市場格局不斷演變的指標。

Jefferies 的 Kurzrok指出，場外交易活動的激增與價值低於 1 美元的股票交易量的增加是相對應的，這些股票通常由散戶投資者交易。這是有道理的，因為該業務通常由 Citadel Securities 和 Virtu Financial 等做市巨頭內部處理。

根據 Jefferies 的計算，當這些低於一美元的股票從數據中剔除時，場外交易仍佔總交易量的 40% 以下。因此，Kurzrok表示，明顯的場外交易的轉變「並不一定意味著某一天某隻股票或所有股票的交易情況都會變差」。

同時，提供替代性、匿名交易方式的場外交易場所的數量也在增加。

這些替代交易系統（ATS）使用不同的機制來配對買家和賣家，而無需在公共交易所顯示期望價格，或透過自動拍賣讓各方表達願意買賣股票的價值。使用這些場所有助於機構投資者限制資訊洩漏到市場並對價格產生不利影響。

Themis Trading 的 Joe Saluzzi 表示： “這種新的交易方式與眾不同” ; “規模較大的機構似乎有更好的感受，能夠獲取得更佳的股票價值。”

根據 Bloomberg Intelligence 分析，11 月 ATS 每日均成交量約為 17 億股，為 2020 年 3 月以來的最高水平，比一年前增長了 36%。

美國第二大交易所納斯達克的策略營運和公共政策主管 Chuck Mack表示，人們擔心轉向場外交易最終可能會降低定價機制的效能，並推高投資者和發行人的成本。

Mack 說: 「將來有一天我們可能會回顧過去並問自己，『我們是怎麼走到這一步的？』」; 「這就像煮青蛙一樣。如果你煮一隻青蛙，溫度慢慢上升，青蛙卻沒有意識到，也沒有跳出來，所以它就死了。直到為時已晚，你才會意識到」。

So, it is surprising to note that the world’s largest and most-liquid public equity market has most of its activity done not in public. The majority of all trading in US stocks is now consistently occurring outside the country’s exchanges, according Bloomberg. This new style of trading favors the bigger institutions that seem to have a better experience where they can command more value when they do transactions. The worry is that the move toward off-exchange could ultimately make pricing less efficient and drive-up costs for investors and issuers.