World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo on Wednesday hailed China's contributions to global climate cooperation, especially its commitment to bridging the capacity gap between developed and developing countries in addressing climate issues.
Talking to China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Beijing, Saulo emphasized the importance of collaboration in today's increasingly divided world.
"WMO was created more than 150 years ago. In those days, there was a clear recognition that no single country could be prepared for the weather without having collaboration across borders. Because as we usually say, climate has no boundaries. Water has no boundaries. This recognition that without collaboration, we are all in a way affected. It becomes quite obvious that collaboration should be above everything. And even in the world that is fermented and exposed to different types of crisis, still weather and climate information must be shared for decision making. It's about building trust through shared knowledge," said the WMO chief.
She also expressed her belief that China can contribute more under the Global Development Initiative (GDI).
"The huge commitment of China to work with the Global South, and to increase the capacity of the Global South is a key piece where we can build more and more. In particular, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) through several developments, including MAZU, their early warning system based on AI, is a critical tool that can be expanded. And it's already being expanded through several collaborations. China is doing a lot. It can continue doing that through the efforts of the GDI. We believe that this will reinforce the commitment of China, to continue to collaborate with the Global South, to assist them in developing their own tools for being prepared for the extreme weather that we are all experiencing," said Saulo.
WMO head hails China's contribution to global climate cooperation
Japan's House of Representatives approved a bill to establish a national intelligence committee on Thursday, prompting widespread public questions and concerns. In March, the Japanese government approved a resolution to submit the relevant bill to the Diet, proposing a new intelligence mechanism centered on a national intelligence council with the national intelligence committee serving as its executive body.
According to the bill, the new committee will be tasked with coordinating "important intelligence activities" in areas such as national security and counter-terrorism, as well as "overseas intelligence activities" involving foreign espionage.
The bill also states that the committee's secretariat will "comprehensively coordinate" intelligence work across government ministries and agencies, with the authority to request that they share information.
The bill now moves to the upper house for review.
The bill and a series of reckless moves by the Takaichi administration have fueled deep public concern. Protesters gathered to voice their opposition to the legislation before its passage.
"Right now, the Takaichi administration is trying to drag Japan into war, through actions like promoting weapons imports and exports, provoking China, and failing to offer the apologies it should have made afterward. Against this backdrop, opposition voices are actually quite strong, but these remarks will be regulated. Once such a bill passes, not even opposing voices will be able to speak out. This is something I do not want to see," said a protester.
These grave concerns were widely echoed by other rally attendees, who said they cannot accept a string of radical moves by the Japanese government and the Takaichi administration, including the lifting of the ban on lethal weapons exports and the relentless push to amend Japan's pacifist constitution.
"Takaichi is forcing all of these moves through. Promoting this bill and lifting the ban on arms exports mean heading towards war," said another rally participant.
"I believe amending the Constitution is completely unacceptable. The Constitution is not something that members of the National Diet can revise on a whim, and it should never be revised in the first place," said another protester.
Japanese lower house approves bill to establish national intelligence committee, sparking protests
