A large-scale multinational media event dubbed "Thousands of Miles on the Silk Road 2024 · Road to Prosperity" was launched on Thursday in Xi'an International Port, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, marking the start of a journey traversing 13 countries across Asia and Europe to Paris, France. Meanwhile, a China-Europe freight train also joined the cultural activity to embark on the magnificent journey that covers 16,000 kilometers across the Eurasian continent by both highway and rail.
Founded about 3,100 years ago, Xi'an, now the capital of China's Shaanxi Province, served as the capital for 13 dynasties in Chinese history. This is also the place where Zhang Qian began his journey to the Western regions via Central Asia during the Western Han Dynasty (around 202 BC-AD 25) as an envoy of China. This expedition eventually led to the opening of the ancient Silk Road.
The city is also known for one of its most sacred monuments, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, where eminent Monk Xuanzang translated volumes of Buddhist scriptures during Tang Dynasty (618-907). Monk Xuanzang is known for traveling thousands of miles to the revered Indian monastery of Nalanda, where he studied Buddhism for five years under the guidance of Abbot Silabhadra.
The 52-day event will follow the footsteps of such Silk Road pioneers as Zhang Qian and Xuanzang. Using new media formats and technological tools, this initiative aims to build a platform for cultural trade exchanges and educational cooperation among Belt and Road countries, and comprehensively showcase the Silk Road in the new era.
The multimedia team will host a series of cultural and economic activities in 13 countries along the route. They will sign agreements for international cooperation in vocational education resources under the Belt and Road Initiative with media and cultural institutions in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and France.
Ancient silk road city of Xi'an launches transnational cultural exchange activities
Japan's ongoing push to revise its pacifist constitution and expand military buildup escalate regional tension, warned Japanese lawyer Kyoko Oe, who urged adherence to pacifism and vigilance against the government's dangerous moves.
Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office last October, the Japanese government has renewed its push to revise the country's pacifist constitution and accelerated a series of military expansion measures, including increasing defense spending, deploying long-range missiles, and easing restrictions on arms exports.
Speaking on the dangerous policy shifts, Oe criticized the Takaichi administration for bypassing public will.
"We believe that when Japanese citizens are not demanding constitutional reform, pushing it forward through a parliamentary majority clearly violates the principle of popular sovereignty and the obligation to respect the constitution. Moreover, the content of the revision itself is extremely dangerous. [The government] is attempting to change pacifist principles of the Japanese constitution -- the most fundamental part -- and abandon basic concepts, including the renunciation of war and not maintaining military forces," said Oe.
The Japanese government has aggressively accelerated war readiness even under the current constitution, said Oe, adding that amending it will grant the Self-Defense Forces even greater freedom of action at the constitutional level.
"If the constitution is amended, the Self-Defense Forces will gain greater freedom of action at the constitutional level than they have now, and legal interpretations will develop in that direction. Even while the current constitution remains effective, the Japanese government has already forcibly advanced war preparations. For example, manufacturing long-range missiles, which were previously considered unacceptable to possess, and deploying them domestically; conducting joint war games and military exercises with the United States; and massively manufacturing and exporting weapons overseas," said Oe.
The lawyer also criticized Takaichi's provocative remarks on China, saying they have sharply strained bilateral ties and undermined peace and stability in the region.
"We believe that due to Takaichi's remarks made last November, China-Japan relations have become very tense and are deteriorating. Legal experts believe that Takaichi's remarks contain multiple obvious errors. Takaichi should frankly retract the relevant remarks and apologize. Only by building mutual trust with neighboring countries can we maintain our peace, and the peace of East Asia and even the peace of Asia. We believe that what the Takaichi administration is doing runs completely counter to what the Japanese people truly wish to achieve," Oe said.
Japan's constitution revision, military buildup fuel regional tensions: lawyer
