The three-member Shenzhou-23 crew is making steady progress aboard China's Tiangong space station following a seamless handover with the Shenzhou-21 crew.
On May 25, the three Shenzhou-23 astronauts -- mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying -- joined their Shenzhou-21 colleagues aboard the space station. Over the following days, the two crews worked side by side to complete a detailed handover of station operations and experiment plans before the Shenzhou-21 trio returned to Earth on May 29.
In the coming months, the Shenzhou-23 team will carry out more than 100 new scientific projects, focusing on frontiers such as space life sciences, materials science, microgravity fluid physics, aerospace medicine, and new space technologies.
After having gradually adapted to the microgravity environment, the Shenzhou-23 astronauts are steadily continuing their assigned work as scheduled.
Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.
Shenzhou-23 astronauts make steady progress after crew handover
The ninth Cross-Strait Youth Development Forum has officially opened in the city of Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province on Friday, aiming to promote youth exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
Over 1,000 guests and youth representatives from both sides of the Strait gathered in Hangzhou for the forum, which will run through July 21. Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang party Hung Hsiu-chu attended the opening ceremony.
Addressing the opening event of the forum on Friday, Song said that young people on both sides of the Strait should aspire to set lofty goals and shoulder responsibilities of the times. The Chinese mainland will provide more opportunities for the growth and development of young people across the Strait, and inject greater youthful vitality into promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advancing the cause of national reunification.
"All compatriots on both sides share the same cultural heritage. No one can sever it or erase it. Chinese culture is the source of strength that ensures the steady and sustained progress of the Chinese nation. It is also the very root of young people on both sides of the Strait. Young people across the Strait should strengthen their confidence in Chinese culture, and let it radiate with even more brilliant splendor in the new era," he said. Hung said that people on both sides of the Strait, particularly young people, are descendants of Emperors Yan and Huang, sharing the same roots, ancestry and origin. She expressed the hope that young people across the Strait would eliminate prejudice and estrangement, build a bridge for communication, and advance integrated cross-Strait development and peaceful reunification through concrete actions.
"In recent years, due to the rising tide of so-called 'anti-China' sentiments and separatist fallacies of 'Taiwan secession,' cross-Straits relations have become mired in the tension and confrontation. Yet today, young people from Taiwan have broken through numerous obstacles to gather here with all of you, expressed willingness to engage in mutual exchange and sincere dialogue. Through concrete actions, you have proven that no matter how wide the Strait may be, it cannot block the hearts of our young people in pursuit of peace and friendship. And no matter how difficult the situation is, it cannot alter the aspiration of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to grow together and move forward hand in hand," Hung said.
During the forum, a number of young people from Taiwan will also visit multiple locations across Zhejiang to participate in study tours and other programs, as they seek out new opportunities and pursue their aspirations on the mainland. "Entrepreneurship is truly the best path for young people to turn their dreams into reality. It allows you to paint the vision you hold in your heart. So I believe that if [I] have the chance to launch a venture in Zhejiang, with the support of those who came before us, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous opportunity," said Tien Jin-yu, a Taiwan youth.
Initiated in 2018, the Cross-Strait Youth Development Forum serves as an important platform for youth from both sides of the Strait to exchange ideas, foster mutual understanding, and learn from each other.
Cross-Strait youth development forum opens in Hangzhou to promote youth exchanges
