China is ramping up efforts to accelerate financial reform in accordance with a landmark resolution adopted by the country's leadership, a Central Finance Commission official said in a recent interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing.
At its third plenary session held in Beijing in mid-July, the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance China's ongoing modernization drive, which makes comprehensive arrangements for the deepening of the financial system reform.
Wang Jiang, executive deputy director of the Office of Central Financial Commission, said for the various tasks outlined in the financial system reform, they will first understand the reform requirements, the positioning, direction, and content of each measure, and grasp the logical connections between the different reform tasks. Authorities will then formulate a detailed implementation plan and strengthen supervision to ensure the delivery of the necessary reform measures.
"We will specify the tasks, roadmap, time schedule, priorities and persons in charge, and strive hard to transform the resolution from 'freehand brushwork into claborate-style painting'. With a sense of urgency and responsibility, we must advance various reforms in a solid and orderly manner, implement all must-do reforms as soon as possible, and ensure the timely promotion of all reform tasks," said Wang
The official also stressed the importance of establishing a sound follow-up supervision mechanism to advance the reform, and continuously and dynamically assess the implementation of the reform tasks.
China ramps up efforts to accelerate financial reform
Israel bombed a school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people including staff members with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and wounding dozens of the displaced seeking shelter there.
UNRWA has confirmed that six of its staff were killed in two airstrikes on the Al-Jaouni School in Central Gaza's Al Nuseirat refugee camp, including the shelter's manager.
UNRWA said the deaths mark the highest number of its staff killed in a single incident over the past 11 months.
In a statement on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the fatal attack on the school housing refugees, and called the lack of civilian protection in Gaza "unconscionable".
He also said the lack of accountability for Israel's killing of UN staff and humanitarian workers in Gaza is completely unacceptable.
Meanwhile, an Israeli government spokesperson said the attack was legitimate, accusing Hamas of using the school as a command and control center.
Hamdi Ali, the father of one of the children who died in the Israeli bombing, shared the hardships they've lived through. But despite everything, he said he will remain in the school because there is no safe place to go.
"We are peaceful civilians. We were displaced to this school in search of safety and reassurance. I lost my son Obaida in the bombing, and I don't know who else I’ll lose next time. Maybe I'll lose my wife, the rest of my children, or even myself. I could be one of the next victims, or any of the other displaced people here in the school," said the father.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, dozens of people injured in the attack on the school have been sent to Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospita, among whom a large number are women and children.
"We were surprised by a missile that penetrated three floors and hit the place where we were. Half of the floor collapsed and my sister fell down. My other sister and I were injured by missile shrapnel and were trapped under the rubble. One of my sisters had a broken arm, and the other had injuries on her head and back," said Lubna Jalo, a witness of the airstrike.
The Al-Jaouni School shelters about 12,000 displaced Palestinians, with most of them being women and children. It is run by UNRWA and has been bombed five times since the beginning of the ongoing war.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had risen to 41,084, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israeli airstrike on Gaza school kills UN staff, displaced Palestinians
