Overseas Chinese worldwide look forward to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

The overseas Chinese worldwide are eagerly looking forward to the 2025 Spring Festival Gala, a grand celebration presented by the China Media Group (CMG).

At the recent receptions held in the Chinese embassies in Egypt and Iran to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year which falls on on January 29 this year, the promotional video of the gala was screened, captivating the audience in attendance.

"The Spring Festival Gala has grown along with our generation. I was born in 1979, and the first gala was aired in 1983. As far back as I can remember, I have spent every Chinese New Year's Eve with my family enjoying the gala. I hope that the CMG gala will continue to improve and bring together all Chinese people around the world," said Song Chao, a reception attendee in Egypt.

"The promotional video I watched today features a wealth of technology and other elements, and it truly amazed me," said Ma Tianyuan, a reception attendee in Iran.

In Honduras, the local Chinese Cultural Exchange Association will host a variety of activities to celerate the Spring Festival, including karaoke competitions, lion dance performances, and calligraphy activities.

"We have always watched the Spring Festival Gala on the Chinese New Year's Eve, as it holds a special place in our childhood memories. We all love this program," said Hou Wenguang, deputy head of the association.

The gala, also known as "Chunwan" in Chinese, has been broadcast live annually on the Chinese New Year's Eve since 1983, and has been seen as a major cultural symbol for the traditional Lunar New Year celebrations in China.

The 2025 Spring Festival gala will be the first edition since the Spring Festival's successful inclusion on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

For Chinese people, the gala has evolved beyond a mere television show. It represents a nationally shared experience, a collective memory, and its evolution is in many ways representative of China's wider technological growth and social development.

Overseas Chinese worldwide look forward to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

Qatar said on Tuesday that contacts with the United States and Iran are continuing in an effort to bring the two sides back to negotiations.

"Our officials are on the phone on a daily basis trying to workshop ideas, workshop ways of getting back to the negotiations," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said at a weekly media briefing.

On the Strait of Hormuz, Al Ansari urged dialogue and diplomacy, saying the priority is "to go back to the freedom of navigation and to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz the way it was before the war."

Regarding the latest U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, Al Ansari called them unilateral and reiterated that Qatar prioritizes a diplomatic settlement.

"We are urging the parties to engage fully in the talks and the mediation that is led by Qatar and Pakistan and the other regional players and we find that to be the only way out of this crisis," he said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced a new wave of sanctions to further isolate Iran, warning of what he called "an economic D-Day."

Qatar says contacts ongoing to revive US-Iran talks