CPPCC steps up efforts on rejuvenating traditional culture

Chinese political advisors have been dedicated in promoting China's traditional culture in the past year and have achieved frutiful results, a spokesperson said at a press conference in Beijing.

The press briefing was held by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, on Monday, one day before the opening of its annual session.

Liu Jieyi, the spokesperson for the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, briefed the press on the progress that the advisory body has made in promoting Chinese traditional culture.

He first elaborated on some remarkable phenomena happened during China's first Spring Festival after being included in the list of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage.

"During the first Spring Festival following the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage listing, Chinese people had a greater time, with stronger consumption. We've witnessed both the box office and cinema attendance broke records. The integration of traditional culture and high-tech technologies is also shaping merchandise. China's visa-free transit policy has boosted its tourism, with the number of inbound tourists increasing by 150 percent year on year, a new historic high. Experiencing Chinese New Year customs has turned into a fashion trend," said Liu.

He then introduced the work that CPPCC National Committee had done in 2024 to further protect and revitalize Chinese traditional culture.

"Last year, CPPCC members visited Shandong, Shanxi, Henan and some other places to conduct dedicated studies in museums, historic sites, ancient cities, research institutions and universities. They held discussions with front-line cultural industry insiders to learn more about the progress of important programs, such as the project on tracing the origins of Chinese civilization, and put forward suggestions on how to rejuvenate China's rich culture with the spirit of the new era," Liu noted.

He emphasized that the CPPCC National Committee will continue promoting the fine traditional Chinese culture, constantly enhancing the spiritual strength of the people, as well as helping to lay a solid cultural foundation for building a strong country and national rejuvenation.

CPPCC steps up efforts on rejuvenating traditional culture

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to invest 38.3 billion U.S. dollars as to the end of 2026 to purchase and renovate additional detention facilities for undocumented immigrants, amid a sharp rise in arrests over the past year.

According to the ICE Detention Reengineering Initiative released Friday by the office of Kelly Ayotte, governor of the U.S. state of New Hampshire, ICE intends to buy 16 buildings and convert them into small-scale detention centers to expand custody capacity. The facilities are expected to be put into use by November, 2026.

Each facility would accommodate between 1,000 and 1,500 people, with an average detention period of three to seven days.

Meanwhile, the document says that the ICE also plans to establish eight large-scale detention centers, each capable of holding 7,000 to 10,000 detainees, with an average detention duration of about 60 days.

The document points out that the ICE is to recruit 12,000 additional law enforcement personnel for a potential surge in arrests and consequently, increased demand for detention facilities.

U.S. government data shows that the number of individuals detained by ICE has increased by approximately 74 percent since the current U.S. administration assumed office in January 2025.

ICE to invest 38.3 bln USD for new detention centers