Flag raising ceremonies held to mark 98th PLA Day

China

Flag raising ceremonies held to mark 98th PLA Day

2025-08-01 15:06 Last Updated At：19:17

Chinese troops across the country have staged solemn national flag-raising ceremonies to mark the 98th founding anniversary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) which falls on Friday, with soldiers vowing to hone their combat skills and safeguard the security of their motherland.

At an air force unit, the national anthem "March of the Volunteers" was played on Thursday morning while the Five-Star Red Flag was being hoisted slowly.

The officers and soldiers solemnly saluted the national flag, expressing their loyalty to the motherland. After the flag-raising ceremony, they also carried out activities such as revisiting the military oaths, recounting heroic stories, and watching revolutionary films to remember the history and strive to build a strong military.

Meanwhile, crew members of the Chinese Navy's destroyer Nanchang held a flag-raising ceremony during their mission in the waters of the Yellow Sea, pledging to continue writing new glories and making new contributions in the new era.

Also on Thursday, a brigade of the 77th Group Army currently stationed for training on a snow-covered plateau at an altitude of 4,500 meters held a national flag raising ceremony using a drone.

At the barracks of a brigade under the 82nd Group Army, the troops also held a solemn flag-raising ceremony to stimulate their sense of honor and mission.

At the same time, Armed Police Force units also organized solemn flag-raising ceremonies. The officers and soldiers vowed to shoulder the duty and mission of safeguarding the country and the people with loyalty.

UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"

The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.

In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.

The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.

She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.

The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."

"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.