Air search team to undertake challenging nighttime flight to ensure safe return of Shenzhou-18 crew

The air search and rescue team at north China's Dongfeng Landing Site is ready to undertake a challenging nighttime flight in complicated desert terrain with next to zero visibility in Monday wee hours to guarantee a safe return of the homecoming Shenzhou-18 crew.

The team is making final preparations and performing maintenance checks on its five helicopters: a command helicopter, a communications helicopter, a medical monitoring helicopter, and two for medical rescue.

The team, stationed approximately 40 kilometers from the anticipated landing point, has intensified its preparations for this nighttime rescue, led by members with extensive experiences in Shenzhou recovery missions.

Wang Wenjuan, an air search and rescue team member, said the two major challenges of this mission are next to zero visibility and sandy desert terrain.

Wang said the team stationed at the Dongfeng landing site in early October for comprehensive drills and site inspections, fully preparing themselves to handle the mission's challenges.

"In these training sessions, we enhanced our preparations in all aspects to tackle the mission's key challenges. For equipment, we installed high-power searchlights, infrared optical pods, and both binocular and quad-night vision goggles. As for personnel, each mission crew has two captains and two mechanics, with an additional navigator assigned. Our pilots each have over 3,100 hours of flight time, bringing extensive experience to the task. The navigator plays a crucial role in supporting the whole crew receiving navigation signals, planning search route, and providing real-time positioning data. They assist the pilots with precise calculations to approach the return capsule and ensure a smooth and accurate landing without deviating by a single meter or degree. Overall, our air search and rescue team is fully prepared with the highest level of expertise, safety, and reliability to bring our astronauts home," she said.

Air search team to undertake challenging nighttime flight to ensure safe return of Shenzhou-18 crew

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that Seoul firmly adheres to the one-China principle, in comments made ahead of his upcoming state visit to China.

The remarks were made in an interview with China Media Group (CMG). The visit is scheduled for Jan 4–7.

"The consensus reached between governments of the Republic of Korea and China when diplomatic relations were established continues to be the fundamental principle governing our relations, and its effectiveness remains steadfast. I want to clearly state that the ROK has always adhered to the one-China principle. Maintaining peace and stability in regional matters, including in Northeast Asia and concerning the Taiwan issue, holds significant importance to us," said Lee.

"The foundational relationship between the ROK and China was established on a very principled and fundamental basis from the beginning. It is clear that the ROK government has always adhered to this position and has never wavered from it. I believe that the sound development of ROK-China relations depends on both sides fully respecting each other's core interests and being mutually tolerant of each other's positions. In this context, we will, as always, uphold the one-China principle as the Taiwan issue is China's most fundamental concern," he said.

ROK president reiterates firm adherence to one-China principle