Foreign
Spring Festival in Chinese folk arts

By Yin Bo
The Spring Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the Chinese nation.
In the long agrarian civilization, the ancient Chinese people marked a year from the sowing of seeds to the harvest of grains, and this agricultural cycle has set the rhythm of people’s lives – growing crops in spring, seeing them mature in summer, harvesting them in fall and storing them in winter.
As winter faded into spring at year’s end, people celebrated the good harvest of the year and welcomed a new cycle. They worshiped the heaven and ancestors, prayed for blessings, hosted feasts, bid farewell to the old year and ushered in the new, which helped form a series of solemn yet joyful folk customs. These customs provided people with an opportunity to express their feelings, make wishes, enjoy the joyful atmosphere, and voice their longing for a good life.
The Spring Festival is about folk customs, as well as art and aesthetics. The art of the Spring Festival is the collective creation and experience of beauty by the Chinese people and Chinese nation, a process that everyone joins.
During the Spring Festival, every household would paste images of Menshen, or door gods, traditional Chinese New Year paintings, Fu characters, paper cuttings, and Spring Festival couplets to the doors, creating a joyous and lively atmosphere.
The couplets on the doors and the paper cuttings on the windows reflect the spirit of a family. Symbolizing the vigor and energy of the household, those decorations are mostly in fiery red color, with gorgeous and vibrant complementary colors. The patterns are highly familiar to commoners – vivid and distinctive.
The auspicious characters, calligraphy, images of gods, and depictions of ideal life with good weather, national peace and prosperity, family happiness and longevity express people’s hopes and aspirations for a better life.
These folk paintings and paper cuttings not only fully convey the tastes and pursuits of the common people, but also can serve as decorations in traditionally furnished houses.
Apart from pasted decorations, there are other decorative items placed at home during the Spring Festival, including seasonal fruits, potted flowers, antiques, and more. The Spring Festival decorations, ornate and elegant or simple and fresh, are always joyful, pleasing to the eye, and full of hope.
The food prepared for eating and ancestor worship during the Spring Festival, which is more sumptuous than usual, not only provides a rich culinary experience, but also contains auspicious meanings of prosperity.
For instance, families in the Jiaodong region of east China’s Shandong province would make various steamed buns and cakes, as well as auspicious dough sculptures, starting from the kitchen god day, also known as the Little New Year, several days around the Spring Festival. They are a part of the festive cuisine and serve as gifts and offerings. The beauty and symbolism of the Spring Festival food, when shared through social interactions, creates a spiritual bond among people.
During the Spring Festival, there are splendid recreational and celebratory activities. Folk arts like stilt walking, lion and dragon dancing, drumming, and Yangge dancing are presented at carnival-like events. Spontaneous performances, crowds of onlookers, cheerful and stirring drum beats, as well as the costumes and masks worn by performers that carry elements of local culture and traditions jointly make up the lively festival celebrations.
In addition, from New Year’s Eve to the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, large red lanterns are often hung in shops and homes in both cities and rural areas.
Villagers in northern Shaanxi province would visit the Jiuqu Yellow River Lantern Array, a popular traditional folk event hosted on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. On the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwest China, people of various ethnic groups would dance around bonfires to celebrate the festival. This showcases the purity and sincerity of the Chinese nation.
Throughout the ages, the Chinese nation has transitioned from tradition to modernity, from an agricultural civilization to an industrial and information civilization. The ceremonies celebrating the Spring Festival have changed to varying degrees, but they remain grand and solemn. The art and aesthetics of the Spring Festival have been innovated and passed down.
Today, the Spring Festival travel rush has become a cultural phenomenon. A number of Spring Festival-themed cultural products and clothing are emerging, with Chinese red, auspicious patterns and Chinese zodiac animals becoming trendy elements. Traditional Spring Festival rituals and customs also strike a chord among the young generations.
The Spring Festival is a cultural vein of the Chinese nation that has developed over thousands of years. It carries on the power of life and the pursuit of ideals from generation to generation. The Spring Festival, presented in folk arts, transcends history and materiality. In the pursuit of beauty, kindness and happiness, it reveals the ideals and meaning of life.
(Yin Bo is a professor at the Shandong University of Art & Design)
Foreign
Trump begins mass layoffs at Voice of America

The Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, effectively dismantling institutions long seen as critical for American influence abroad.
On Sunday, contractors working for VOA received an email notification that their employment would be terminated by the end of March. “You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems,” the email read, according to multiple staff members who confirmed the development.
The move, which comes just a day after all employees were placed on administrative leave, disproportionately affects non-English-language services, where contractors make up a significant portion of the workforce. Many of these contractors are not U.S. citizens and may now face visa issues, further complicating their status in the country.
While most full-time staff remain employed for now, they have been told not to work, leaving VOA and its sister organizations in a state of uncertainty. Some services, unable to produce new programming, have resorted to playing music.
VOA, founded during World War II, has been a critical tool for U.S. public diplomacy, broadcasting in 49 languages to audiences in countries where press freedom is restricted. However, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of broader federal budget cuts.
The cuts extend beyond VOA, affecting other U.S.-funded media entities such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda (which broadcasts in Persian to Iran), and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. The administration argues that taxpayers should not fund what it calls “radical propaganda,” despite VOA’s longstanding editorial independence.
Liam Scott, a VOA journalist covering press freedom and disinformation, expressed concern over the decision. “I’ve covered press freedom for a long time, and I’ve never seen something like what’s happened in the U.S. over the past couple of months,” he wrote on social media.
The move has drawn international attention, particularly from China and Russia, which have been expanding their own state-funded media efforts. The Chinese state-run *Global Times* reacted with an editorial declaring that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”
Trump’s administration has pursued aggressive cuts across federal agencies, including eliminating most foreign aid and significantly reducing the Department of Education. With input from tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has focused on reducing government size to facilitate tax cuts.
As the global media landscape shifts, the dismantling of U.S.-funded broadcasters leaves a vacuum that could be filled by rival state-controlled networks. Whether Congress or legal challenges will intervene remains to be seen, but for now, the future of America’s international broadcasting efforts hangs in the balance.
Foreign
Judge blocks Trump from deporting non-citizens using wartime law

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to deport migrants allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under a wartime law.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued a restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel undocumented migrants accused of gang ties. The order initially protected five individuals challenging the deportation but was later expanded to all affected noncitizens in US custody.
Boasberg also directed that any planes carrying these migrants be returned to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned,” he ruled. The restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further court action.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, citing Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization that has “unlawfully infiltrated the United States” and is engaging in hostile actions. However, civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the gang’s activities do not meet the legal definition of an invasion.
The Justice Department has appealed the ruling, while the case continues in court.
Foreign
China’s new chapter in global innovation

By Gu Yekai, Liu Yiqing, People’s Daily
At a smart construction project site managed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a quiet technological revolution is underway. Amid cranes and concrete, engineers are deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that could fundamentally reshape the construction industry.
Li Fengjian, an AI specialistwith Xianyuan Technology, detailed how the company’s latest intelligent system – built on a large model – adapts to complex construction environments.”Engineering machinery equipped with intelligent agents can adjust its operations automatically in response to weather conditions,” Li explained, adding that a spatiotemporal sensing network further enhances the system, providing real-time tracking of both personnel and materials throughout the construction site.
In February this year, Xianyuan Technology rapidly integrated its self-developed model with DeepSeek-R1, effectively blending a general-purpose framework with industry-specific models. This integration, Li noted, has produced a solution capable of delivering expert-level performance in challenging, dynamic environments. The firm is based in the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, aburgeoning AI incubator that now hosts over 200 innovative enterprises.
China’s technological transformation extends well beyond the construction sector. Overthe past three decades, the country has evolved from its initial forays into internet connectivity to becoming a key player in global digital innovation.
Here, a steady stream of technological innovations are emerging, from the early days of emails and web browsing to the cutting-edge technologies represented by DeepSeek and the dynamic evolution of social media.
Wu Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and headof the Zhongguancun Laboratory, pointed out that while China had introduced only one internet standard before 2005, it now contributes to over 200 worldwide. Such strides illustrate the country’s concerted push toward high-level technological self-reliance – a journey marked by both persistence and determination.
Beyond the digital realm, China is makingsignificant inroads in aerospace, new energy, and other high-tech sectors. It has transitioned from being a follower to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global leaders, and in some areas, even taking the lead. Wu attributed these achievements to a dynamic ecosystem of policy reforms and talent cultivation that encourages creativity and technical expertise at every level.
Amid intensifying international competition, collaborative research and the integration of new technologies with traditional industries are central to China’s high-quality economic development.
Mei Linhai, a researcher at China’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence, remarked that the age of AI calls for continuous exploration. “In this era, everyone is an innovator. Only by persistently pushing the boundaries can we remain at the forefront of both technological and industrial development,” Mei observed.
In the field of general-purpose AI, Mei emphasized that independent innovation is paramount. He advocates for a self-driven industrial ecosystem that leveragesbreakthrough technologies to boost productivity and unlock new possibilities, Mei said.
-
News8 hours ago
SDGs must be integrated into development plans – FG
-
News10 hours ago
2027: Stakeholders allege Akpabio, others have sold APC to PDP in Akwa Ibom
-
News8 hours ago
Nnamdi Kanu’s trial under ‘repealed’ law, mere charade – Lawyer
-
Foreign9 hours ago
Trump begins mass layoffs at Voice of America