Hong Kong celebrated this year's Duanwu Festival with vibrant dragon boat races and intangible cultural heritage-themed activities, offering visitors a blend of sport and tradition.
The Duanwu Festival, also known as Dragon Boat Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it was celebrated on May 31, and the holiday runs from May 31 to June 2.
During this year's festival, Hong Kong hosted multiple dragon boat races, blending over a century of tradition with international events that drew paddlers and visitors from across the globe.
The Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships drew 5,000 paddlers of 200 teams worldwide, competing in 51 races.
"Dragon boat racing is not only a highly popular sport in Hong Kong but also an important cultural heritage. We all hope to further promote this tradition and invite participation from around the world. We also want to promote exchanges between the East and the West, and share the Chinese culture with the world," said Henry Lai, District Officer of Eastern District in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong inaugurated Intangible Cultural Heritage Month on Saturday, presenting more than 100 cultural heritage items, including the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade, Hakka Unicorn Dance in Hang Hau in Sai Kung, and Nanyin, a musical performing art central to the culture of the people of Minnan in southern Fujian Province.
Visitors explored the wonders of intangible cultural heritage through more than 80 live performances and 60 interactive activity booths.
Hong Kong celebrates Duanwu Festival with vibrant activities
The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.
On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.
Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.
Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.
"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.
US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar
