Police department in Mianyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province has deployed robots to assist human officers with patrols, traffic management and law enforcement tasks.
The robot officers have been deployed on Mianyang's streets help manage traffic during rush hours, from 08:00 in the morning to 17:00 in the afternoon.
These humanoid robots, designed to interact with their surroundings with multi-model AI capabilities, work efficiently alongside human officers in maintaining smooth traffic flow.
"It's my first time to see a robot directing traffic, which is an impressive way to remind people of following traffic rules," said Xie Yun, a local resident.
The city's police department has also added robot dogs to their public safety toolkit. Police-released footage shows a robotic dog assisting SWAT teams in a training exercise, subduing a suspect by firing a non-lethal restraint net during a simulated school attack.
The robot dog's exceptional performance in the training was aided by four surround-view lenses it carried and a 360-degree panoramic camera on top of its head that is capable of capturing real-time surroundings scenes and transmitting the signals to the police monitoring system.
With the network, the robot dogs can conduct regular inspection and patrol on their own.
"Because the robot dogs are capable of assisting human police officers, conducting unobtrusive identity checks and autonomous patrol, and performing non-lethal restraint, we deploy them in business districts, by artificial lakes and in sci-tech parks to carry out policing duties such as routine patrol," said Wang Jianhai, director of the Intelligence Command Center of the Science and Technology City New District Branch of the Mianyang Public Security Bureau.
Sichuan police deploy robot officers to assist in law enforcement
Sichuan police deploy robot officers to assist in law enforcement
A civil group in Japan held a study session on Saturday to tell the historical truth about the Nanjing Massacre and called on the Japanese government and society to reflect on history and avoid repeating the tragedy of war of aggression.
Saturday marks China's 12th National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre which took place when Japanese troops occupied the then-Chinese capital on Dec 13, 1937, killing approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of WWII over the course of six weeks.
"Japan's army committed a brutal atrocity -- the Nanjing Massacre 88 years ago in 1937. Today, on this important day, let us observe a moment of silence for 30 seconds for the victims," said an organizer of the study session.
This study session was led by Jomaru Yoichi, a former journalist with the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese daily newspaper. Yoichi compiled numerous articles published in Japanese newspapers after the Nanjing Massacre. Among them, an article published on December 24, 1937 detailed the atrocities committed by the invading Japanese army in China.
"Around 08:00, about 400-500 defeated Chinese soldiers fled. The Japanese soldiers drove them into houses and bamboo groves, setting fires on all sides. Many of them were driven out by thick smokes. The Japanese soldiers killed them one by one with rifles and bayonets. The Japanese soldiers lost track of how many they had stabbed and killed all of them by 16:00," Yoichi recounted.
Many Japanese citizens said the Japanese government and society must confront the truth of history, and it's important to disseminate accurate historical information in contemporary Japan.
"The Nanjing Massacre is a real incident. The remarks that 'The Nanjing Massacre didn't exist' or 'The Japanese army was powerful and righteous' ignore historical evidence and deny the facts outright. I believe these are all attempts to hide the truth of history. I think these are all wrong. Facts are facts, and we must face history squarely," said a participant at the study session.
"I used to teach history in high school. In 1988, I spent two weeks in China and visited for the first time the site documenting the war crimes of the invading Japanese army. On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the social atmosphere in Japan is gradually becoming strange. We must seriously examine Japan's past history, and disseminating accurate history has become even more important," said another participant.
Some expressed their concern that the Japanese government's historical revisionism, its attempt to cover up the truth of history, and its path towards military expansion will prevent Japan from facing the future.
"The fact that the Japanese army's war of aggression is not taught in social studies or history courses. I have no choice but to learn this myself even now at my age. The idea of upholding the pacifist constitution is becoming increasingly strong. Current Japanese politicians are pursuing a military expansion strategy, which I find incomprehensible," said another participant.
In 2014, China's top legislature designated December 13 as a national memorial day for the massacre victims.
Japanese civil group calls for remembrance of Nanjing Massacre victims
