Richer countries must take the lead in climate action, given their financial resources and substantial contribution to historical greenhouse gas emissions, Timor-Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta said in an interview in Beijing on Tuesday.
During the interview, Ramos-Horta emphasized that Western countries should provide unconditional support to help developing countries such as East Timor transition to renewable energy, rather than criticize their continued use of fossil fuels for survival.
"Because some in the West, whether environmentalist groups whom I commend and some in government, they seem to forget that it was the West that rapaciously used coal and all other non-renewable energy to reach where we have reached-the devastation of the planet. It was the West that benefited the most from industrial revolutions, benefited the most from coal extraction, forest logging and all of that. So they are the ones who should use their wealth to rebuild the planet without expecting or lecturing us in the third world," he said.
"Timor-Leste, we are a very small oil and gas producing country. Particularly gas, we are not going to stop the development of our potential gas resources because we need them for our survival. But at the same time, we are already looking at renewable energy, gradually. But the richer countries have to support without preconditions, without conditionalities, the transition of the developing countries towards renewable energy over several decades. For us, a fair just transition to renewable energy is precisely this. But so far, we have seen a lot of talk, a lot of pledges, but still very little money actually delivered to the Global South. And when the money is available, the formalities, the layers of bureaucracy is such, we are bogged down by all the bureaucracy and conditionalities imposed by the rich countries," he added.
Ramos-Horta paid a state visit to China from July 28 to 31 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This is the president's first visit to China after he took office in 2022 and the first state visit by a Timor-Leste president to China since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2002.
Timor-Leste president calls on richer countries to spearhead climate action, aid green transition
A magnificent immersive theatrical performance has transported the audience through the epic history of ancient China's Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The super-large-scale stage show "The Great Qin" was performed at the opening ceremony of the 10th Silk Road International Arts Festival on the night of Oct 12.
This 80-minute show was staged in a state-of-the-art theater featuring 1,500 mobile seats, multi-space theater layout, and the use of cutting-edge multimedia technology, lighting design and stage mechanical systems.
With six incredible scenes, the spectacular drama recreates the imperial palaces and battlefields back 2,200 years to the Qin dynasty, allowing the audience to experience grand history and culture of the empire and the Chinese nation through immersive technologies.
"In the 32,000-square-meter theater, the show innovatively integrates opera, dance drama, music drama and stage play. In the spatial changes between six scenes, various special effects such as water, lightning, wind and fog are staged in turn, allowing the audience to enjoy the unprecedented visual impact and soul-stirring moments brought by the integration of history and art in the huge indoor space," said Pang Bo, chairman of the Shaanxi Culture Industry Investment Group, the producer of "The Great Qin."
The Qin dynasty is China's first united state and the Qin culture is one of the roots of Chinese culture.
"The Great Qin" uses the story of a historical figure during the Qin dynasty as the main line, presenting the process of the rise of the empire from the perspective of an ordinary person. It not only depicts Qin people's course of hard struggle, but also conveys the spirit of patriotism in the Chinese culture.
"We use the method of real-scene performance in a large indoor space to transform the history into a warm and touchable product by combining cultural content with modern technology, and present the historical significance and value of the Qin dynasty as well as the struggle spirit and open mind of the Qin people to today's people in a more vivid form," said Pang.
"The Great Qin" was debuted in the ancient city of Xi'an on Sept 27, 2024, and has since been set as a regular performance for tourists.
Theatrical show immerses audience in history of China's Qin dynasty
