Foreign Ministry Spokesperson announces:

At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal will visit China from June 14 to 17.

Asked to comment on China-related remarks made by intelligence agencies of the "Five Eyes" alliance, Chinese FM spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that "I addressed this question yesterday. It is ironic that the 'Five Eyes,' as an intelligence agency, has a long track record of conducting espionage across the globe, yet it leveled accusations against China over so-called espionage threats."

Newly discovered historical records have shed fresh light on the operations of a Japanese poison gas bomb factory during World War II, revealing details of chemical weapons production, workplace accidents and the wartime mobilization system that prioritized military expansion above all else.

The documents were recently uncovered by Seiya Matsuno, a historian and researcher at the International Peace Research Institute of Meiji Gakuin University, in Japan's National Archives. Matsuno said the materials not only provide new evidence about Japan's wartime production of poison gas munitions but also illustrate the dark reality of a government and military apparatus that placed war above society and human life.

The newly found document, titled "Compilation of Reports on the Implementation of Military Mobilization," is a production report covering fiscal 1941 operations at the Sone Manufacturing Plant of the Tokyo Second Army Arsenal. Matsuno analyzed the material and published his findings in the June 2026 issue of the Japanese magazine Sekai.

According to Matsuno's research, the Sone plant, formerly located in Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, was responsible for filling artillery shells with toxic chemical agents and assembling poison gas bombs. The facility also manufactured smoke shells and incendiary bombs.

The material documents accidents that occurred during poison gas bomb production and the injuries suffered by workers. Until now, such incidents had largely been known only through testimonies from former employees. The newly discovered records provide documentary evidence supporting those accounts.

Matsuno told Xinhua that the material also shows how poison gas bomb production expanded alongside Japan's growing war efforts. During fiscal 1941, the Sone plant increased its workforce and boosted output. He noted that, at the time, Japan was continuing its war in China, preparing for a possible conflict with the Soviet Union and planning military expansion into Southeast Asia.

Matsuno emphasized that the Japanese military's use of chemical weapons in China and elsewhere violated international law, adding that the military also conducted human experiments and committed other war crimes, which reflected the brutal nature of Japan's wartime aggression.

Under the rule of Japanese militarism, the country became increasingly consumed by war fervor. Matsuno said that the newly discovered records reveal a period in which the government and military subordinated all aspects of society to the war effort, while dissenting voices were systematically suppressed.

War brings only suffering and misfortune, Matsuno noted, stressing the importance of uncovering the realities of wartime history to prevent similar tragedies from recurring. Understanding how Japan became a country that inflicted serious harm on many Asian nations, and examining the conditions that made such developments possible, remain important tasks for contemporary Japanese society, he added. 

A spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that fear-mongering of so-called threats to justify military buildup is a go-to tactic for Japanese militarism.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks when asked to comment on recent social media post by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi which claimed the review of the three principles on Japan's defense equipment transfer is aimed at enhancing deterrence for the sake of "defense" and preventing conflicts before they occur, as well as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's welcome of this Japanese initiative and agreed to strengthen military cooperation with Japan. 

Mao said that as explicitly stipulated in international instruments such as the Potsdam Proclamation, Japan is obligated under international law to be "completely disarmed" and not to maintain industries that "would enable her to re-arm for war."

Japan, however, has been lifting the ban on lethal weapon export, rebuilding the war machine, and rapidly shifting to offense-oriented security and defense policies. Those dangerous moves bear an alarming resemblance to the course of actions taken by militarists in pre-war Japan, Mao noted.  

History has taught the world a painful lesson on appeasing and condoning militarism. Once that Pandora's box is opened, no one will be safe from the danger of raising a monster, Mao added.

Five people died and one was injured when a collapse occurred during illegal mining activities in Huize County of southwest China's Yunnan Province early on Sunday morning.

The incident took place at around 4:30 a.m. in Baiwu Village of Nagu Town, Huize County, according to local authorities.

Emergency response, public security, firefighting, health and natural resources departments from the city of Qujing and Huize County quickly launched rescue operations, pulling out all six trapped individuals and rushing them to hospital for treatment.

Five of the rescued people succumbed to their injuries despite medical efforts. The other survivor is now in stable condition and out of life-threatening danger.

An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway.

Historically, Japan's intelligence agencies paved the way for the country to pursue militarism in an all-round manner and launch wars of aggression abroad, committing heinous crimes against its Asian neighbors and the Japanese people. Japanese policymakers should draw profound lessons from history and act with prudence, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Thursday, in response to a Global Times question regarding Tokyo's latest enactment of a law to establish a new "national intelligence council" aimed at enhancing national intelligence capabilities.

China is concerned about relevant developments, which have sparked widespread controversy and doubts both within Japan and across the international community, said Mao. 

Some experts in Japan believed that such moves may blur the boundaries of "national security" and be exploited to build a full-spectrum war preparedness system. Some insightful figures also pointed out that this is not merely Japan's internal affairs, but touches on major issues including the country's constitutional system and the direction of its domestic and foreign security policies, said the spokesperson. 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in Beijing on Sunday, beginning his five-day state visit to China, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Experts said Vucic's visit could not only further strengthen bilateral relations, but also give Serbia greater room to pursue its balancing diplomacy among major powers, as many European leaders, along with leaders from other major countries, seek to lift their ties with China into a new phase.

Vucic's state visit to China runs from May 24 to 28, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday, according to Xinhua.

Upon arriving in Beijing, Vucic thanked the Chinese hosts for the attention and welcome they had extended to him, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) reported. 

Speaking to the media, Vucic said he would visit the Great Wall during the day and hold his first meetings in the evening, according to RTS. 

Later on Sunday, Vucic posted photos of his visit to the Great Wall, writing in Serbian that "I have visited China many times and admired its progress, dynamism and scale, but only now have I had the opportunity to see the Great Wall and experience a special emotion before one of the greatest symbols of human history and civilization."

Serbia is the first European country to agree with China on building a community with a shared future for the new era with China, and is an important partner of China in Southeast Europe. This visit marks Vucic's first state visit to China, Xinhua reported on Sunday. 

China stands ready to work with Serbia to build on the momentum of the visit to consolidate our iron-clad friendship, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, enrich people-to-people and cultural exchanges, strengthen coordination on multilateral affairs, and strive for more tangible outcomes in building our community with a shared future for the new era to deliver for both peoples, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday.

Ahead of his visit to China, Vucic met with Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming.

Vucic said the trip would be the most important visit of his political career, and that he looked forward to using the visit as an opportunity to further cement the iron-clad friendship between the two countries, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and deliver more tangible outcomes in building a China-Serbia community with a shared future for the new era for the benefit of both peoples, cctv.com reported on Sunday. 

Vucic also spoke highly of China's development achievements, saying China is not only a model of steady global economic growth, but also an example of upholding international principles. 

He said China, through its consistent and principled stance, wise policies and outstanding international reputation, has made significant contributions to world peace, stability and cooperation. Amid growing global uncertainties and changes, he noted, these qualities are particularly valuable, according to cctv.com.

Bilateral relations have remained at a high level in recent years, with notable progress in trade, economic cooperation and political mutual trust, Cui Hongjian, professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times. He noted that against this backdrop, Vucic's visit to China is clearly aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation. Serbia's demand for closer cooperation with China is also growing across economic, diplomatic and security spheres.

Serbia attaches great importance to this visit to China, showing its firm determination to deepen China-Serbia cooperation and accelerate bilateral collaboration, Cui said. The profound friendship between the two countries serves as a vivid embodiment of China's diplomatic philosophy that all countries, big or small, are equal and pursue mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Cui added that beyond traditional sectors like infrastructure, energy, manufacturing and trade, emerging industries including artificial intelligence and digital economy will be key cooperation areas. Deepening cooperation in these fields will facilitate Serbia's industrial upgrading and help it align better with European regional development systems, the expert said.

China and Serbia are also expected to voice fair and rational opinions on major international and regional issues, convey their consensus and solutions, and make positive contributions to addressing and resolving major international issues and challenges, Dong Yifan, an associate researcher at the Institute of Country and Regional Studies at Beijing Language and Culture University, told the Global Times. 

The same day as Vucic arrived in Beijing, he published an opinion piece on South China Morning Post, in which he wrote that "In Europe, discussions about China are too often clouded by suspicion and strategic anxiety. I understand that every major political community must guard its future, but I believe Europe should approach China not with fear and suspicion but with confidence and a serious, open-eyed willingness to cooperate."

"The friendship between Serbia and China is not directed against anyone. It is not exclusive, nor is it ideological. It is based on sovereignty and practical results. In Serbia, we judge partnerships by the factories that remain open, the railways that connect our people and the certainty our citizens feel about their future," wrote the Serbian president.

From the second half of last year until now, numerous European leaders are seeking to lift their countries' ties with China to a new phase, said Cui, noting that Serbia has always sought to strike a balance between China, the US, EU and Russia, thus, current international atmosphere also gives Serbia a chance to enhance cooperation with China. 

Moreover, China's relationship with Serbia has objectively created a certain demonstration effect. Other European countries are likely to reflect on why ties between China and Serbia have remained stable while cooperation continues to expand across various fields. Especially at a time when China's relations with some European countries, particularly EU member states, are facing difficulties in economic, trade and political areas, Serbia has, to some extent, become a point of reference, said Cui, adding that it could also encourage more rational reflection and adjustments to China policy within European countries, Cui noted. 

China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center warned on Thursday that a new "Silver Fox" Trojan variant has been identified, specially targeting Chinese users. The malware spread through files disguised with labels such as "internal investigation results," "disciplinary violation list" and "layoff compensation." Once a computer is infected, it could be remotely controlled, its data stolen, and potentially exploited by cybercriminals in telecom and online fraud schemes, according to the warning. 

According to a statement released by the center, the malicious software disguises itself as shortcuts, folders, documents, or compressed files, but is actually a remote-control Trojan targeting Windows users.

The new Trojan variant continues to use phishing and fraud tactics, extensively adopting deceptive human resources affairs-related file names such as "XX quarter disciplinary violation list," "personnel notification information," "layoff list" and "compensation plan," while disguising the icons as folders, shortcuts or recycle bins, and adding a "pdf" suffix to mislead users, the center warned. 

According to the center, the "Silver Fox" series of Trojan malware attacks are closely linked to telecom and online fraud, and have long been targeting Chinese users. The malware is characterized by rapid evolution and high level of stealth. 

The newly identified Trojan campaign targets employees at medium- and large-sized organizations, especially personnel involved in human resources-related work. Its primary objective remains to use Trojan malware to control a large number of victims' computers, steal sensitive corporate data and citizens' personal information, and subsequently carry out extortion or fraud.

The center advised users to adopt preventive measures. Users are advised to be cautious of "disciplinary" or "layoff" files shared through instant messaging tools or email, avoid opening files from unknown senders, and verify suspicious documents sent by colleagues from their own or other organizations through the individuals themselves or official channels. 

The center also advised users to upload suspicious files, executable files, and compressed files to the national computer virus collaborative analysis platform for security checks, keep antivirus real-time protection enabled, and regularly update operating systems and antivirus software.

Once users discover that their messaging or email accounts have been compromised, they should immediately stop using the potentially virus-infected computer device, disconnect it from the network, and inform the organization's network administrator, relevant colleagues, and friends and family of the situation, the center warned, reminding that users should back up important data, run a full antivirus and security scan, and replace all passwords with stronger credentials. 

A wildlife park in East China's Jiangsu Province donated coins from its wishing pool to a young mother battling leukemia after the woman originally contacted the zoo to request a refund for her annual membership card to help with her medical costs, the Yangtse Evening Post reported on Monday. 

Liu, a woman from Nantong, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on May 7 and transferred to a hospital in Suzhou the next day for emergency treatment. Soon after, she was admitted to the ICU due to severe lung infection and repeated bleeding, with medical bills quickly exceeding 100,000 yuan ($14,700).

After recovering from the ICU, Liu contacted Nantong Forest Safari Park hoping to get a refund for her annual membership card to help ease the financial burden of future treatment. Instead, the zoo decided not only to provide a full refund, but also to donate all coins collected from the park's wishing pool, along with additional financial support.

Staff members later emptied and counted the coins one by one, collecting a total of 4,361 yuan. Together with an extra donation of 10,000 yuan ($1,470) from the zoo, 14,361 yuan ($2,100) was transferred to Liu's bank account.

"I only wanted to refund my annual pass, but I never expected them to give me all this kindness," Liu said emotionally in a phone interview. "They turned all the wishes in the wishing pool into hope for me."

Many netizens also left warm comments. One commenter said the zoo had "truly fulfilled the purpose of a wishing pool," while another said the move had "maximized the value of kindness and compassion."

When asked to comment on Lai Ching-te’s post about so-called “five-point statement” on Facebook on May 17, claiming that “Taiwan is the defender of the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and the region, while the Chinese mainland is the root cause of regional instability and changes to the status quo,” and once again promoting the claim that the two sides of the Straits “do not belong to each other,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that Lai’s claims are filled with lies and deception, hostility and confrontation, as well as bias and arrogance, disregarding the international community’s opposition to “Taiwan independence.” 

Lai’s claims amounted to self-deception and empty posturing, and sought to mislead the residents of Taiwan and deceive international public opinion, fully exposing his true nature of being outwardly aggressive but inwardly weak, as well as his cunning and despicable character, Zhu stated.

Since taking office, Lai has stubbornly adhered to his separatist stance of "Taiwan independence," advocating the so-called "mutual non-subordination" between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, inciting cross-Straits confrontation, and constantly engaging in provocative actions aimed at "independence." He is a destroyer of the status quo in the Taiwan Straits and the biggest source of instability for peace and stability, Zhu said.

While aggressively promoting separatist rhetoric, he has also sought to obstruct and undermine cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation. These actions have met firm opposition from compatriots on both sides of the Straits as well as the international community, and are doomed to fail, Zhu said.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory; this reflects the true status quo across the Taiwan Straits, Zhu said. The future of Taiwan can only and must be decided by all Chinese people, including the 23 million residents in Taiwan, together with the more than 1.4 billion people in mainland. No matter what Lai says or does, he cannot change the historical and legal fact that Taiwan is part of China, nor can he stop the historical trend toward national reunification, which is inevitable, the spokesperson stated.