China Pavilion Day celebrated at Osaka World Expo with artistic performance

Celebrations with artistic performance featuring traditional Chinese culture were staged at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan's third-largest city, on Friday to mark the China Pavilion Day.

Themed "Splendid China, Shaping the Future Together," the China Pavilion Day celebrations were a dazzling showcase of China's rich history and cultural charm.

Performers at the event expressed their excitement at the opportunity to play roles in showcasing China's traditional culture and lively spirit to the rest of the world.

"I play the role of the 'Flying Long Silk' dance featuring the charm of ancient China's Qin (221-206 bc) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties. This dance is inspired by the ancient Dunhuang murals [in northwest China's Gansu Province] and represents the richness of traditional Chinese culture. I feel incredibly happy and excited to perform on the China Pavilion Day. It's a wonderful opportunity to share our outstanding Chinese culture with the rest of the world and to contribute to the platform of China-Japan friendship. I'm also grateful for this stage, as it allows me to better engage with the rest of the world," said a performer.

"This is the first time for our team to travel abroad to stage performance, and I feel deeply honored. Our piece is titled 'Red: The Dragon and the Youth.' The dragon symbolizes the totem of the Chinese nation, while the youth refers us -- the new generation. Through this performance, we want to showcase the spirit and vitality of Chinese youth to the rest of the world and to international friends," said another performer.

The celebrations also drew attention from international representatives. Sasha Leban, Commissioner General of the Republic of Slovenia to the BIE (Bureau of International Expositions) Expo, extended congratulations to China.

"First of all, I want to congratulate the [People's] Republic of China for their National Day here, because I think that they already have a very impressive pavilion here. I'm also a colleague of their Commissioner General. We're together in the sitting committee. And I think that today's performance really conveys the story of China, everything, the story of the pavilion. And I'm impressed, as always, with Chinese impeccable performance, acrobats, excellent voice. I mean, no mistakes, the whole immersion of the background, singing, dancing is just impressive. And I think really, really good representation of where China today is," she said.

Friday also coincided with the 90th day since the China Pavilion opened. Since its opening in April, the pavilion has registered over 770,000 visits. More than 200 officials and notable guests from 75 countries and regions have visited China's National Pavilion.

"We work to promote dialogue and cooperation among different civilizations, and contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to building a vibrant future," said Wu Shengrong, Commissioner General of the China Pavilion.

The Expo 2025 Osaka runs from April 13 to October 13.

China Pavilion Day celebrated at Osaka World Expo with artistic performance

Italian political and social figures have strongly condemned the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, in which the U.S. special forces kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Critics argue that the United States, driven by its desire for Venezuela's oil resources, has violated international law by forcibly interfering in the country's internal affairs, an act that not only infringes on Venezuela's national sovereignty but also threatens peace and stability in Latin America.

"A major power like the United States has repeatedly violated international law. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last. The U.S. action is extremely blatant, extremely shocking. We have become accustomed to it," said Italian MP Riccardo Ricciardi.

"They (the United States) can kidnap, kill, invade, and plunder other countries' resources. By what right? The right of the powerful? The right of gangsters? This is precisely the problem facing the world today. We must build a new international system -- a system in which such actions are no longer permitted and will be held accounted to pay dearly," said Pino Arlacchi, former UN under-secretary-general, who is also an Italian sociologist.

"The incident is an unprecedented international crime, an armed aggression against a sovereign state resulting in over 100 deaths. The forced control of a sitting head of state violates at least 30 international laws, including the UN Charter and other international customary laws," said Fabio Marcelli, an Italian legal expert.

"Donald Trump's objective is not to combat drug trafficking, which is only a pretext. The true U.S. objective is to gain control of Venezuela's resources. The United States does not represent the entire American continent, nor is it the sole protagonist in the global landscape. Ultimately, it is U.S.-led unilateralism challenging multilateralism," said Clara Statello, an Italian journalist.

Italian figures condemn US intervention in Venezuela