Kids, most joyful group during Spring Festival in China

Kids are probably the most joyful group during the Spring Festival as they have the chance to taste snacks and take part in festive activities.

File photo taken on Feb. 1, 2014 shows a child watching a humorous pig mask at a temple fair in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

The most meaningful thing for them is that these moments will become one part of their tradition as they grow up.

File photo taken on Jan. 26, 2016 shows a kid laughs as she holds a rare-seen black abalone in Wujiazhuang Village of Luochuan County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Spring Festival, or better known as Chinese Lunar New Year, is the most important festival for all Chinese, which has a history of more than 4,000 years. It is an occasion for home returning, New Year goods preparing, celebrating, and foremost, family reunion.

File photo taken on Jan. 19, 2017 shows kid Chen Yufei is praised for eating well in Pingding Village of Tongxin Township in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

File photo taken on Jan. 11, 2012 shows a boy's face illuminated as he sees New Year ornaments at a market in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Huang Zhe)

File photo taken on Feb. 2, 1984, shows a girl performing at a temple fair in Fengtai District of Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Lyu Quancheng)

File photo taken on Jan. 8, 2012 shows a father and his toddler walk at the platform on a journey back home at Hangzhou Railway Station in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

File photo taken on Jan. 20, 2012 shows children holding New Year goods on their way home at Baisha Village of Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.(Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

File photo taken on Jan. 20, 2014 shows kids rehearsing a dance for a local Spring Festival gala show in a village of Anyang City, central China's Henan Province.(Xinhua/Liu Xiaokun)

File photo taken in March 1999 shows a kid wearing a flowery hat during the Spring Festival in a village of central China's Henan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian newspaper says 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive to doping because world governing bodies agreed with Chinese authorities and ruled that the tests had been contaminated.

The Daily Telegraph in Sydney said Saturday that the swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication, at a training camp held months before the start of the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese anti-doping authorities found the results of the tests were Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) but cleared the swimmers without any penalties after finding that the samples were flagged as positive as a result of contamination.

The 30-member Chinese swim won six medals in Tokyo, including three golds.

The newspaper said that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and World Aquatics — then called FINA — were both notified of the positive samples but that both groups agreed the results of the tests were caused by contamination and did not sanction any of the athletes who tested positive.

“World Aquatics is confident that these AAFs were handled diligently and professionally, and in accordance with all applicable anti-doping regulations, including the World Anti-Doping Code,” the newspaper quoted World Aquatics as saying.

It also quoted WADA’s senior director of science and medicine, Professor Olivier Rabin, as saying that WADA’s science department reviewed the case in the months leading up to the Tokyo Games.

“We even sought pharmacokinetic and metabolism information from the manufacturer of (trimetazidine) in assessing the plausibility of the contamination scenario that was presented to WADA,” Rabin said.

“Ultimately, we concluded that there was no concrete basis to challenge the asserted contamination. Indeed, the contamination scenario was further supported by the combination of the consistently low concentrations of (trimetazidine) as well as no doping pattern with several athletes presenting multiple samples collected over the course of several days which fluctuated between negative and positive (and vice versa).”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

FILE - A Chinese flag is unfurled on the podium of a swimming event final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 29, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. An Australian newspaper said Saturday, April 20, 2024, 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive to doping because world governing bodies agreed with Chinese authorities and ruled that the tests had been contaminated.(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)