CHINESE President Xi Jinping reflected on a year of “exceptional significance” today as he asserted that China had set out on a new journey towards building a modern socialist country.
“From the beginning to the end of the year, the Chinese people have been hard at work in the fields, enterprises, communities, schools, hospitals, barracks and research institutes, among other places,” he said.
“Throughout the year, we have put in our efforts, contributed our part, and received much in return.”
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results
A chance find when clearing out our old office led us to renew a friendship across 5,000 miles and almost nine decades of history, explains ROGER McKENZIE



