Hi, you're about to go through 2023, how are you?
Maybe you'll smile and answer, pretty good. Ok, you might put it mildly, ......Maybe you're just so genuine: it doesn't feel good, no, it's bad!
We who pay attention to international hot spots, just like you, have joy, sadness, excitement, and decadence, a small flame of hope is beating in our hearts for a while, and a big stone falls from the sky to scare ourselves enough - because the world in 2023 is too changeable and too difficult to explain.
This year, we lamented the impermanence of the world, empathized with the sorrow of the same kind, and had grief and frustration.
In Gaza, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea—
Millions of lives struggle hopelessly in the swamp of misery. Once upon a time, it was also a prosperous place for merchants, but now it has become a children's graveyard and a hell on earth, full of corpses, complete and mutilated, filled with endless despair and boundless hatred.
How can such a parting not make people's hearts ache!In the cacophony of air raids, the father wrote his name on the child's calf in black ink, so that at some point, when the lost flesh and bones lay in the morgue waiting to be counted, at least someone would know whose life seed he was.
Donetsk in the Ukrainian steppes -
Do the millions of roses planted 5 years ago still have a refreshing floral fragrance?When the Soviet composer Prokofiev exclaimed the power of mechanical civilization with his fast-paced "toccata wind", he would never have imagined that now, in his homeland, fraternal peoples who were originally in one big family were killing each other with all kinds of war machines.
How can such a last word not be suffocating!Young Russian soldier Roman Rudakov was tragically killed in the Donetsk town of Maryinka. Before his death, he wrote these words on a gray wall: "Whoever finds me, please take care of my mother, sister, and brother." Roman Aleksandrovich Rudakov. The city of Bataiysk. ”
This year, how many people fell into the battlefield and suffered death;How many people do not have enough to eat, and they have no fixed place to live. War and disasters have become the background color of the world in 2023, and poverty and suffering continue to ferment on our planet.
Turkey's century has claimed more than 50,000 lives, and in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the epicenter, a father held the hand of his dead daughter and refused to let go for a long time. Powerful earthquakes in Iran, Afghanistan and Morocco were equally devastating. Behind the death toll is the pain of a family that will never be healed.
Sudan's armed conflict has left more than 7 million people fleeing the chaos of hunger and cholera. And that's just one of the 183 conflicts recorded by a British think tank in 2023. This year saw a record number of global conflicts in nearly 30 years, and a record number of displaced people worldwide – more than 11.4 billion people.
In addition, in Syria, which has been ravaged by war for more than 10 years, nine people live below the poverty line, and two-thirds of the population lives on humanitarian aid. Khalil Becker, 63, angrily asked: "Why did the US military take our wheat?"Why steal our oil?”
In addition, in Afghanistan, which is stumbling on the road to peacebuilding, more than 3 million children are malnourished, and more than 10 million people "don't know where the next meal is" Herdsman Mohammad Karim originally planned to build a hut with remittances from relatives abroad to spend the winter, but due to US financial sanctions, the plan fell through.
These stories of suffering, both near and far, have hit our hearts again and again, and have also touched our thinking again and again
It turns out that human civilization does not always move in a straight line.
In the face of bloodshed, the forces of peace have not always been strong. In many cases, hegemony will still empty morality, hatred will still annihilate conscience, and life-and-death violence will still become the first choice for resolving contradictions and disputes.
It turns out that the quiet years will not fall from the sky.
It is only because we live in a peaceful China that we have the opportunity to climb step by step up the pyramid of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and have the right to pursue dignity, prosperity and rejuvenation after achieving tranquility and well-off.
In the past year, we have witnessed irrational restlessness, witnessed the reconstruction of the international order, and had confusion and unease.
In the world of 2023, there are still a lot of things that are unreasonable, common-sense, and common-sense.
The United States on the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean-
Homelessness is at a new high, as is military spending. According to common sense, common sense, and common sense, people will ask: Why is the US military spending increasing by nearly $30 billion in the new fiscal year when the national debt is piling up, and why can't it allocate a piece of the pie to help the 650,000 poor homeless?
If you look at how the U.S. giants have been soft-handed, and how their stock prices have easily outperformed the S&P 500 and continue to hit new highs, the answer is clear: this is a country that serves the rich and the poor, and a country that takes the gap between the rich and the poor for granted, so it can be the only one in all developed countries to insist that "human rights do not include the right to be free from starvation, free from having no money for medical care, and free from growing up in extreme poverty."
Germany at the western end of Eurasia -
While the people were busy compiling various "Christmas money saving tips", their defense minister, Pistorius, signed an agreement to "burn money". 5,000 German troops will be stationed in Lithuania, and it is estimated that more than 5 billion euros will be spent on the army's supplies** alone.
Pistorius called the agreement a "lighthouse project at the turn of the times" because for the first time, the Germans would permanently deploy combat brigades outside their borders. According to common sense, common sense, and common sense, people will ask: Why does Germany have to make frequent military moves when the economy is almost stagnant?One will also ask: Why is it that two countries that could have formed mutually beneficial partners are locked in a stalemate between two countries that could have formed mutually beneficial partners, once a prerequisite for the strong power of Germany's "locomotive".
In the contest between the logic of capital and the logic of the people, in the game of development logic and security logic, in the balance between self-security and common security, and in the trade-off between winning and win-win cooperation, we ......This year, we have been disappointed to see that irrational choices have sometimes prevailed.
For example, despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund, if the world economy is divided into two camps, global GDP will suffer.25% to 7% of the huge loss, but some countries still continue to use security as an excuse to engage in "decoupling and chain breaking", or continue to engage in restrictions under the banner of "de-risking".
For example, while it is self-evident that China, Japan, and South Korea will work together to benefit the tripart, Asia, and the world, Japan has insisted on positioning China as "the greatest strategic challenge to date" and has increased its defense budget by a significant 16 percent in the new fiscal year.
Some are unreasonable, and some are unexpected.
It is surprising that extreme weather visits our homes so frequently.
2023 is the hottest year in human history on record. The Hawaiian island of Maui is home to the deadliest wildfire in the United States in nearly a centuryThe city of Cairns, Australia's "gateway to the Great Barrier Reef", has suffered its heaviest rainfall in decades. Also affected is the world-famous French cheese, which experts say may taste different when you put a slice of Camembert cheese in your mouth with freshly baked sourdough bread because of changes in the flora caused by climate changes, which in turn changes in the composition of the milk.
Unexpectedly, extremist positions have received such a wide popular response.
In the Netherlands, Hyrant Wilders, who has a golden "big back" and is known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Islam rhetoric, could become the country's first far-right prime minister in history. In Argentina, the ultra-liberal Javier Milley opened an "unprecedented political experiment" in his position. Of course, Trump is also gearing up to try to return to the White House. Some political scientists have called elections "a 'civilized civil war' in which the use of force is not allowed." It is this "civilized civil war" that has brought extremist positions to "the top of the alternating political landscape that has revolved around centrists or controlled for decades."
These irrationalities, these unexpectedness, are the concrete representations of the world that has entered a new period of turbulence and change.
In this world, various trends of thought and various paradigms are fiercely contested. Liberalism, which has gone to the extreme, is being confronted with ultra-conservative reaction, and all sides are shifting left and right on the spectrum of various isms in an attempt to find a solution to the governance dilemma.
The EU has finally reached a "historic" agreement to control immigration, but it has been criticized by IOM and international organizations. In fact, the problem of migration in Europe is not only a symptom of the predicament of globalization, but also the evil result of the intervention of Western powers in the Middle East.
In this world, forces are being reorganized, and orders are being reshaped. Although 32 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the shape of the post-Soviet space is still unclear. The outcome of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue became a footnote to Russia's declining ability to control regional authorities. NATO's expansion in the direction of Northern Europe and the EU's wooing of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia show that the collision and integration between the post-Soviet space and Europe's existing security and economic architecture are still to be continued.
Europe is torn between "cooperation" and "separation," Latin America is oscillating between "left" and "right," and the Middle East is struggling between "war" and "peace." But the restructuring of the regional order is only one dimension of our understanding of turbulent change. Population migration, industrial transformation, global challenges, the expansion and contraction of the power of major powers, and the rise and fall of the international balance of power are all wrapped up in the wind of world changes. When the last of the French planes flew away before the deadline set by the Niger side, this lonely scene seemed to announce the end of an old empire.
How to face the change, how to participate in the change, how to shape the change and build a better world from it should be a proposition of the times that all politicians should seriously consider.
On November 7, 1918, Liang Shuming's father, Liang Ji, was about to go out when he met Shuming, and the two talked about a news about the European war. "Will the world be okay?Liang Ji asked. Shuming replied: "I believe that the world is getting better day by day. ”
"Will the world be okay?More than 100 years later, this question is being asked again and again. Although we have been saddened, depressed, confused, and uneasy, we still have to answer: "I believe that the world is getting better day by day." ”
Because, we understand, enemies can be reconciled.
The news of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran has brought shocks comparable to the "Nixon shock wave" to the world. From the reopening of embassies and consulates to the visits of leaders to their joint attendance at many meetings in the Islamic world, the friendly interaction between the two Middle Eastern powers has injected surging impetus into the "wave of reconciliation" in the region. The latest news is that Iran is expected to resume diplomatic relations with Egypt, thus ending more than 40 years of grievances. The Middle East, which has endured hardship, is increasingly aware of the preciousness of solidarity.
Because we are convinced that differences can be bridged.
...... different historical responsibilities, different stages of development, and different interests and demandsThe 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was once noisy. It was the sleepless nights of the negotiators, the full mediation of the chairman's team, and the active efforts of the countries concerned that finally "helped the building to fall". At the moment when the "UAE Consensus" was adopted, the hugs and tears of representatives of about 200 parties became a shining moment for a community with a shared future for mankind.
Because, we see the efforts of common development.
The pandemic has cast a heavy shadow over global development, with only 15% of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development advancing as expected. At the "defining moment" of global development, the UN Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals sent a strong signal to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The forward-looking political declaration adopted at the summit pledged to provide financial assistance to developing countries and called for changes in the business models of multilateral development banks. Whether it is the South or the North, the East or the West, development is the most powerful link between them.
Because, we hear the cry of fairness and justice.
From the material level to the spiritual level to the institutional level, the full awakening of the countries of the "Global South" is unstoppable. They have strengthened their organizations and achieved a smooth expansion of the SCO and BRICSThey adhere to an independent stance and do not take sides on the Russia-Ukraine issue and the Palestinian-Israeli conflictThey are more active in exploring the path of modernization suited to their national conditions and more united in their efforts to realize the dream of a just world. Two things are intriguing: the first time Portugal apologized for a criminal slave, and the Pope formally vetoed a 15th-century edict legalizing the violent plundering of other people's lands by colonists. The awakening of self-consciousness and the struggle to defend rights will continue to rewrite the history of the world.
Because we understand the meaning of innovation and creation.
2023 is known as the "first year of AI". Humanity is excited about the enormous potential unleashed by technological iterations, but also worried about the uncertain future of human-machine relationships. In any case, technology is still the primary productive force and provides us with the help to live a better life. It has brought Chinese-made electric vehicles to all over the world, and has also brought surprises and fun to the ordinary lives of countless people. For example, the newly invented upright vacuum cleaner, which can both suck up debris, wipe away wet stains, and clean hard surfaces with steam, is undoubtedly a boon for domestic workers. As more and more women are freed from tedious housework to do more meaningful and valuable things, the simultaneous growth of social wealth and social vitality will follow.
"Will the world be okay?"I believe that the world is getting better day by day. ”
If so, it is because we are in China, and we are with China.
From Xi'an to Chengdu, from Hangzhou to Beijing, stories of friendship and cooperation tug at the heartstrings of thousands of peopleIn the Kremlin in Moscow, the Cedar Congress Center in Johannesburg, the Philori Estate in California, and the Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, the pictures of great power diplomacy have attracted the attention of the world.
Gathering with guests and friends from all continents, taking responsibility for the progress of mankind, self-confidence, self-reliance, open-mindedness, openness and inclusiveness in the new era, China and the world jointly interpret the wonderful stories of mutual integration and mutual achievement, and continue to bring warmth, confidence and hope to the world.
I really like two sentences from Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alekseevich. The first sentence was what she said during a symposium at Peking University: "Maybe our memory will decline, but the soul will remember everything." The second sentence is what she said to a journalist: "Don't surrender to despair, but sit down and write." ”
No matter how turbulent the world is, how cold and warm human feelings are, please believe that the right way in the world is the vicissitudes of life.
No matter what kind of sadness, anger, anxiety, confusion, depression, and depression you have, please don't surrender to your emotions.
Please continue to hold the candle in your hand and light the way to 2024.
Please use this candle to illuminate your heart, dispel selfish calculations and irrational impulses, and let truth, goodness and beauty shine more.
Please use this candle to illuminate the sorrows of your fellow kind, or listen silently, or carefully guard, or support each other and grow together.
Please use this candle flame to illuminate the ordinary daily life. When we stepped out of the house, we saw the winter sun shining up the blue sky;When we get together with friends, we talk and laugh in the heat of the hot potWhen we see our parents in the distance through **, everything is okay ......These small fortunes are enough to resist the great torrent of the times.
The world in 2024 may inevitably be difficult, maybe the economy will continue to be sluggish, maybe the conflict will be more intense, maybe the weather will still be moody, and maybe there will be "black swans" flying to stir up the world.
But we still believe that the world will eventually get better day by day. When every life can be taken seriously, when every kindness can be cherished, when every perseverance will bear fruit, we will usher in a better world.
The era is our common family of origin, but everyone can walk out of a different wonderful way.
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