A Shaolin kung fu festival opened in the Shaolin Temple in Central China’s Henan Province on Saturday, gathering over a hundred of participants to compete for the global kung fu star title, while exchanging cultures and making friends.
Over this weekend, 144 martial art masters from 47 countries and regions will compete in the finals of the 2024 Shaolin Games, contending for the title of “2024 World Shaolin Kung Fu Star.”
The games in the following days will include ranking matches, advancement matches, and the final round, with competition events including Shaolin boxing techniques and Shaolin weaponry, the Global Times learned from the temple.
“The Shaolin Games finals are not about competition of winning or losing, nor a contest of victory or defeat, but moments of life awakening, team development, and the inheritance and enrichment of the Shaolin spirit,” said the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin, in a statement, expressing his hope that the event will “foster cross-cultural exchanges, enhance mutual appreciation of civilizations, and contribute to the well-being, health, and peace of humanity.”
Selay Marius Kouassi, a participant from Côte d’Ivoire who is also leading the Team Africa over this year’s Games, told the Global Times that, “I’m very happy to be part of the global community – not just a local, regional, or national community, but a global one. Shaolin has united us as one big family all over the world. I especially love the Chinese wisdom that says ‘Tian Xia Yi Jia’ – the concept that the whole world is one family. This is truly who we are, and it is because of Shaolin kung fu.”
In 2023, the Shaolin Temple completed the continental kung fu competitions across six continents in one year. Tens of thousands of Shaolin kung fu practitioners of different races, colors, and ages participated, with competitors from 101 countries gathering in Zambia, Singapore, Argentina, the US, Italy, and Australia to compete.
During the Shaolin Games finals, various events will also be held at the Shaolin Temple, including overseas Shaolin kung fu performances and a conference on the transmission and innovation of Shaolin kung fu’s intangible cultural heritage, providing visitors with opportunities to experience and study Shaolin culture.
The Shaolin Temple, located on Songshan Mountain of Dengfeng city, Henan, is one of the world’s most famous Buddhist temples. It was first established in 495 AD by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534) to accommodate the Indian monk Batuo.
The Shaolin Temple is now renowned for its long history, profound cultural heritage, unique Buddhist culture, and martial art traditions. It is not only a treasure of Chinese Buddhist culture but also an important part of the world’s cultural heritage.
According to incomplete statistics, there are about 100 million different Shaolin disciples, Shaolin culture enthusiasts, and practitioners of Shaolin kung fu worldwide, and among which approximately 60 million are located overseas, as reported by the China News Service.
China voiced strong opposition and lodged stern representations on Thursday with NATO after the Cold War mentality-driven bloc issued a direct warning to China for the first time regarding the so-called support to Russia in the Ukraine crisis, which, some experts said, is essentially another attempt to shift the blame and smear China.
The NATO Washington Summit Declaration exaggerates tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, which is filled with Cold War mentality and belligerent rhetoric, containing prejudiced, defamatory, and provocative content regarding China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press conference on Thursday.
NATO's so-called security comes at the expense of others' security, and much of the security anxiety NATO peddles is of its own making. The so-called success and strength NATO boasts of pose a significant threat to the world, the spokesperson said.
Establishing imaginary enemies to maintain existence and expand power is NATO's usual tactic. Its persistence in the erroneous positioning of China as a systemic challenge and smearing of China's domestic and foreign policies are exactly that, the spokesperson added.
The Chinese Mission to the EU also refuted NATO's claims on Thursday, emphasizing that China's position on Ukraine is open and above board, and it is known to all that China is not the architect of the Ukraine crisis. China aims to promote peace talks and seek political settlement, and this position is endorsed and commended by the broader global community.
After decades of viewing China as a distant threat, NATO on Wednesday accused Beijing of becoming "a decisive enabler of Russia's war against Ukraine," and demanded that it halt shipments of "weapons components" and other technology critical to the rebuilding of the Russian military, the New York Times reported.
The US media also called the statement "a major departure for NATO," which until 2019 never officially mentioned China as a concern, and then only in the blandest of language.
"I think the message sent from NATO from this summit is very strong and very clear, and we are clearly defining China's responsibility when it comes to enabling Russia's war," NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg was quoted as saying in a report by The Guardian. Stoltenberg also called the statement an important message.
"NATO's shift in rhetoric toward China is partly driven by the US and partly due to NATO's own difficulties as it is struggling with the Ukraine issue, and the more they struggle, the more they look for excuses," Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.
From the beginning, the US and NATO's narrative was that Russia would fail quickly, and they have been talking about launching a counteroffensive, whose effects we have not seen, Lü said, noting that as the conflict drags on, "they need to find an excuse, and the ready-made excuse now is that China is supporting Russia, backing it from behind."
Baseless accusation
Besides NATO's accusation against China on the Ukraine crisis, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed at a public forum at the NATO summit that China is being "the major contributor to Russia's defense industrial base." The Chinese Foreign Ministry also voiced strong opposition, saying that the US has been spreading false information.
"Most countries have not participated in sanctions against Russia or cut off trade with it, so the US cannot blame China for its own actions. The US has passed large-scale aid bills for Ukraine while baselessly accusing China and Russia of normal economic and trade exchanges. This is blatant hypocrisy and double standards," Lin said.
The China-Russia cooperation is important as it acts as a balance force against the reckless actions of the US and the West, ensuring the world operates fairly and orderly, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday.
"The China-Russia cooperation is mainly in energy production chains and agricultural sectors, which is normal cooperation. The US-led West severed its cooperation with Russia while forcing others to do the same, which only demonstrates its arrogance, narrow-minded and self-centered mindset," the expert added.
Some experts also pointed out that NATO is essentially a military alliance that maintains its functionality and reinforces its existence through crises, conflicts, and even wars. The recent escalation in NATO's rhetoric toward China indicates that NATO is eager to achieve a globalized functional and institutional framework with global influence.
They are attempting to achieve NATO's globalization by hyping the so-called "China threat" and inciting challenges against China, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
The more they talk about China and the more aggressive their rhetoric, the more it indicates that NATO is using the China issue to showcase its role in the Asia-Pacific region and globally, Li noted.
"The hype and intensification of the China issue serve as a catalyst for NATO to accelerate and strengthen its presence, influence, and actions globally, especially in the Asia-Pacific region," the expert said.
Washington's strategic tool
Although the US President Joe Biden did not name China in his address at the NATO Summit, experts believe that the escalated rhetoric of the bloc toward China was pushed by Washington as NATO has been serving as a strategic tool for the US.
Such a NATO will inevitably be pushed by the US onto the track of the US-planned global strategic competition with China, therefore, the increase in NATO's current rhetoric and foreseeable actions against China is being orchestrated under the US' direction, Li noted.
"Also, by pulling NATO into the Asia-Pacific region to engage in geopolitical competition against China, the US is likely to adopt a strategy of 'gathering allies to confront opponents' or forcing parties to take side," the expert said.
NATO forges closer ties with Asia partners to counter China, some US media reports said, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was quoted as saying in a Fox News report that NATO allies and the Indo-Pacific partners will launch four new joint projects, which will be on Ukraine, artificial intelligence, disinformation and cybersecurity.
However, some experts said the likelihood of European military forces being projected into the Pacific remains quite low.
"Many European countries within NATO do not share the same view as the US. While NATO may issue strongly worded statements against China, truly pivoting to contain China is something NATO is neither capable of nor likely to achieve," a Beijing-based military expert who preferred not to be named told the Global Times on Thursday.
"Finally, we can apply for permit like other Hong Kong residents," Will Bedoucha, a business consultant, told the Global Times on Wednesday on the first day non-Chinese residents in Hong Kong could apply for a new travel permit to go to the Chinese mainland.
Starting from July 10, 2024, non-Chinese permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macao are eligible for a card-type mainland travel permit, to enhance convenience of clearance at entry points of the mainland, facilitating their visit to the mainland for business, traveling and visiting relatives.
Holders of the permit can travel to the mainland multiple times within the five-year validity period of the permit, with each stay not exceeding 90 days, China's National Immigration Administration announced on July 1.
The South China Morning Post reported that slots at a Hong Kong Island center offering registration for the new travel permit are booked out for the first three weeks after the policy was launched.
Foreigners living in Hong Kong hailed the new policy when talking with the Global Times on Wednesday. Bedoucha, a French passport holder who was born and raised in Hong Kong, said he applied for the document "the very day the news was launched."
"I travel once every two weeks to Shenzhen just for shopping and dining. It's so easy to go there as it's a good little break from the city and I live 15 minutes away from Shenzhen," he said.
"I carry a French passport and so I was not eligible for the Home Return Permit as I was not born Chinese. Unlike those with Chinese backgrounds, we previously couldn't apply for permits," he said, noting that crossing the border with a passport can take more than 40 minutes to an hour.
A Canadian living in Hong Kong since 2000 said he is going to apply for the permit. "My wife is Chinese, and I have many friends in the mainland and I go there almost every month," he told the Global Times. He said he also believes the integration of the Greater Bay Area is accelerating.
He noted that the application process should be smooth. "I suspect that there might be too many people applying at this moment so I will wait a bit for it to calm down."
Some business tycoons also showed up on Wednesday at the China Travel Service center for applying the permit, Ming Pao reported.
Sino Group chairman Robert Ng Chee Siong, who has Singaporean nationality, along with his children, applied for the permit this morning. He was quoted as saying in the media report after applying that the measure would bring great benefits to Hong Kong, demonstrating the country's strong support for the city under One Country, Two Systems.
The new policies facilitate non-Chinese permanent residents of both SARs to explore opportunities in the mainland, especially Beijing, Shanghai and South China's Guangdong Province. They may devote themselves to engaging in business, innovation, entrepreneurship, partnerships and pursuing studies, Chu Kar-kin, a veteran current affairs commentator and deputy secretary-general of the Hong Kong Association for Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
They may also consider China as their second home and input capital, patents, talent, workmanship, technology and overseas networks to the country, Chu said.
Government figures show that in the first half of 2024, China received 14.635 million foreign travelers, up 152.7 percent year-on-year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told at a press conference on Tuesday.
Among them, 8.542 million entered China visa-free, up 190.1 percent year-on-year. As more and more countries benefit from the visa-free policy and as China adopts more measures to ease cross-border travel, "on-a-whim travel" to China is becoming a reality, Lin said.
Competent government agency expects more foreigners to travel to China in the second half of this year. The "China travel" boom stems from China's unique charm, and more importantly, an open and inclusive Chinese society, and the warm and hospitable Chinese people. It is also the result of China's high-standard opening up, the spokesperson said.
