Post-90s NPC deputy dedicated to elderly care service

A young deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's highest organ of state power, has dedicated herself to improving elderly care services for senior residents in rural areas of southwest China.

Gashi Wangmo, in her 30s, has been working in the elderly care industry since 2009. Now serving as the director of the nursing home of Barkam City in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, she still finds time to personally take care of the 61 elderly people in her facility.

She said it was challenging for a young woman to take care of senior residents, as she provides hands-on care for seniors who are disabled or suffer from Alzheimer's disease, bathing them, feeding them, and doing their laundry.

Having been raised as an orphan in a local welfare home, Wangmo says she found the care and affection she longed for at the nursing home.

"Many people asked me if I do this job because I care about the elderly. I care about them and love them, and I like their company. They accompany me while I accompany them," she said.

As an NPC deputy, Wangmo has submitted motions calling for better welfare for young staff, increased investment in the elderly care industry, and encouraging enterprises to contribute to the sector.

At the upcoming annual session, Wangmo said, she will focus on advocating for an increase in old-age insurance for the elderly.

Barkam City, where Wangmo lives, has a population of over 50,000. However, most young people prefer to seek employment in larger cities, leaving behind only the elderly in rural villages.

Due to the high altitude, many elderly individuals suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, and even with old-age insurance, the cost of medication remains a significant burden for them.

"The old-age insurance was raised by 20 yuan (about 2.75 U.S. dollars) last year, but I think it's far from enough to meet the needs of the elderly. Now the young people are all working in other places, leaving behind only the elderly. These senior residents in the rural area need money for medical treatment, for food, and for everything else, and they have to bear the cost themselves. If their children can earn a lot, they can enjoy a good life; if not, they have to rely only on their monthly old-age insurance," Wangmo said.

Post-90s NPC deputy dedicated to elderly care service

Nicaragua's co-foreign minister Valdrack Jaentschke has warned that militarism must never be allowed to rise again, as Japan's recent moves to lift its arms export ban and revise the pacifist Constitution continue to draw international concern.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, where Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II were brought to justice.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Valdrack Jaentschke voiced his concern that today's world order is being undermined by interventionism and other challenges.

"It is necessary for us to remember that after the end of World War II, countries worked hard to build a new international order based on international law. However, regrettably, more than 80 years later, we are seeing that this once explored and attempted order is being challenged by interventionism, a confrontational mindset, and tendencies like 'might makes right.' These are precisely the conditions that gave rise to fascism and militarism in the past, which ultimately led to the tragedy of World War II," he said.

He said the international community has a responsibility to pursue a new international order -- one fundamentally grounded in peace.

"Looking back at the history more than eight decades ago and comparing it with today's reality, it is our responsibility to recognize that the world should, and must, build a new international order that is more just, fairer, rooted in international law, based on a logic of mutual benefit and shared success, and fundamentally grounded in peace," said the minister.

"Today, as we revisit the Tokyo Trials, it is meant to remind the world that such a tragedy must never be repeated -- and that we must do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again. We must stop that dark world -- born from militarism, interventionism, and fascism -- from ever returning," he said.

Nicaraguan FM warns of militarism revival