I could sign up with a google account, but can't bind my phone number, or start an account using my number. Do I need to get a canadian voip number, or what?

I yearn for freedom

China’s space programme is a step closer to securing more efficient and lightweight energy supplies after extensive testing of a new power switch and converter device built with third-generation semiconductor materials.

The silicon carbide (SiC) power device designed by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has been tested in orbit since it was delivered to China’s space station in November by the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft.

“The main task of this mission is to conduct space verification of domestically developed, high-voltage, radiation-resistant SiC power devices, and to verify their application in aerospace power supplies,” Liu Xinyu, a researcher at the CAS Institute of Microelectronics (IME) told state news agency Xinhua on Sunday.

“We will also research radiation effects, improve the output of China’s aerospace digital power supplies, and support future single modules to reach kilowatt level power,” Liu said.

Power semiconductor devices – or power devices – are considered the “heart” of electronics systems because they function as a switch or circuit converter.

The emerging third-generation material shows promise for use in electric vehicles and aerospace devices due to its ability to operate at higher temperatures, withstand higher voltage, and improve power density.

Electronics based on SiC will play a key role in future expeditions to the most hostile environments in space, including spacecraft missions near the sun and base construction on the moon and Mars, according to Nasa.

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Chinese scientists have used embryonic stem cell engineering to create the first mice with two fathers to reach adulthood, which has also revealed a possible way to enhance the developmental potential of embryos.

While scientists successfully created mice with two female parents over two decades ago, achieving the same feat with two male parents has proven a challenge.

The latest development was made possible through the targeted genetic engineering of imprinted genes. Those genes are typically expressed from only one copy from either the mother or father while the other copy is silenced.

“We show that correcting 20 imprinted loci enables the development of viable bi-paternal mice,” the team led by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Stem Cell on Tuesday.

“These findings provide strong evidence that imprinting abnormalities are the main barrier to mammalian unisexual reproduction,” Luo Guanzheng, co-corresponding author and a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, said in a journal press release.

“This approach can significantly improve the developmental outcomes of embryonic stem cells and cloned animals, paving a promising path for the advancement of regenerative medicine,” Luo said.

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The driver behind a deadly car attack in China’s southern city of Zhuhai in November was executed on Monday, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Fan Weiqiu, 62, was convicted of deliberately driving his SUV into a group of people exercising outside a sports centre in Zhuhai on November 11.

The attack killed 35 people and injured 43 others – an act of public violence that shook the nation, a local court ruled late last month.

The court found that Fan’s actions were driven by a broken marriage and dissatisfaction with his life, particularly regarding the division of property after his divorce. Fan was found guilty of “endangering public safety by dangerous means”.

The court sentenced Fan to death and deprived him of his political rights for life, citing his “despicable” motives, the “heinous” nature of the crime, brutal methods, and the severe consequences and significant social harm caused by his actions.

Fan’s behaviour warranted the most severe punishment under the law, the court emphasised.

After the initial sentencing, Fan did not appeal.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/36408345

"The DoJ further said 'no one disputes' China’s goal of undermining US interests by collecting sensitive data about Americans through 'ostensibly private companies subject to its control' and by positioning assets stateside to be used at strategically advantageous moments."

Categorically untrue. Many people doubt this.

Thanks @gnu2@gnusocial.jp for the link

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/24112301

Pekingology focuses on political-economical topics regarding China.

From the official description:,

True to the name Pekingology, or the study of the political behavior of the People’s Republic of China, this podcast aims to unpack the behavior of the Chinese Communist Party and implications these actions have within China and for U.S.-China relations. Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, is joined by various experts to analyze the activities of the Chinese governing system and how these impact the complex relationships relating to China.

„Mandarin Lernen“ tries to connect German-speakers with 以中文为母语的人。

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23007830

Several students were injured on Tuesday (Nov 19) after a car crashed outside a primary school in central China's Hunan province, state media said.

"Many schoolchildren were injured, the specific casualties are being investigated," state broadcaster CCTV said.

Footage circulating on Chinese social media - which matched online images of the school - appeared to show the aftermath of the incident, with dozens of children running in panic away from the site of the crash.

About eight to nine people were injured and they included both students and their parents, said the eyewitness, adding that all the victims have been taken to hospital.

The crash took place outside Yong'an primary school in the central city of Changde, home to over five million people.

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BYD’s total deliveries have exceeded perennial leader Volkswagen’s volume this year through October.

BYD is set to overtake perennial market leader Volkswagen as China’s biggest carmaker in 2024 after outselling the German company’s joint venture units in the first 10 months, as the growing popularity of battery-powered cars strengthens its market dominance..

“Its performance this year will largely beat Wang’s annual forecast of 3.6 million units,” said Phate Zhang, founder of the Shanghai-based company. “It now has an overwhelming advantage over all assemblers in China.”.

BYD also outsold Tesla in the third quarter in terms of volume and revenue. It delivered 1.13 million electric cars in the three months to September 30, a 38 per cent jump from a year earlier. Tesla recorded 462,890 units in the same period. Revenue jumped 24 per cent to 201.1 billion yuan (US$28.2 billion) versus Tesla’s US$25.2 billion..

Meanwhile, the Shenzhen-based company achieved a new milestone when it churned out its 10 millionth unit after more than two decades in the business. The Denza Z9 was delivered to Feng Ji, the founder and CEO of Game Science, which produced the hit video game Black Myth: Wukong.

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Beijing is set to spend 33 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion) building a 12-inch wafer fabrication facility, led by state-owned enterprises and funds, marking another step in China’s efforts to boost domestic semiconductor production.

Leading firms involved in the new facility include Beijing Yandong Microelectronics (YDME), which is listed on Shanghai’s Star Market, and BOE Technology, China’s top display maker.

This year, companies including Huahong Semiconductor, China Resources Microelectronics, and Guangzhou ZenSemi have all announced progress on 12-inch wafer fabs.

Meanwhile, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, which established the mainland’s first 12-inch foundry in 2004, reported full utilisation of its 12-inch capacity in the third quarter. Revenue from 12-inch wafers accounted for 78.5 per cent of its 15.6 billion yuan total for the quarter. The company expects to release an additional 30,000 wafers per month in the fourth quarter.

Recently, Chinese chip design firms have become concerned that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s leading contract chipmaker, might suspend 7-nanometre node services for certain AI chip clients due to mounting pressure from the US. The Taiwanese chipmaker recently told mainland clients that it would no longer accept orders from them for advanced chips after TSMC technology was found in a product from US-sanctioned Huawei Technologies.

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China’s shrinking population brings both negative and positive effects, President Xi Jinping has said, noting that a lighter environmental burden is among the benefits of a smaller population.

The Chinese leader also defended the “correctness and effectiveness” of past birth control policies, according to excerpts from a speech to the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission.

He made the speech in May last year but the excerpts were published for the first time on Friday in Qiushi, the Communist Party’s top theoretical journal.

The impact of population decline “must be viewed in a dialectical manner”, Xi told commission officials.

But Xi also acknowledged the negative effects, such as a reduced labour force and weaker consumer and investment momentum.

“Overall, the impact of population decline on economic and social development has both positive and negative aspects. We cannot look at it from just one side. Some issues require long-term consideration, and we should avoid rushing to conclusions … and we should work to maximise benefits while avoiding harm,” he said.

China faces deepening demographic challenges as its birth rate plummets. Only 9 million births were reported in the country in 2023, the lowest since records began in 1949, as the population dropped for the second year in a row to 1.4 billion, a decline of more than 2 million.

National and local governments have rolled out a raft of policies, such as cash subsidies and extended maternity and paternity leave. But demographers argue these have failed to address deeper issues such as high living costs, insufficient childcare support and persistent gender inequality.

“The pace of population transition is fast, the population decline has come earlier than expected, but overall it follows the general pattern of modernisation development worldwide,” he was quoted as saying by the party journal, which regularly highlights internal leadership speeches months after they are given.

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Taiwan’s laboured energy transition is straining its industry, with sudden electricity price jumps and growing outage risks affecting companies including Asia’s biggest — the semiconductor giant TSMC.

Following a series of price increases, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company now expects to pay more for power in its home country than anywhere else. The world’s largest chipmaker operates plants in the US and Japan and is building one in Germany.

“Basically, the price has doubled in the past few years. So next year, we think that [the] electricity price for us in Taiwan will be the highest in all the regions that we operate,” Wendell Huang, chief financial officer, told investors last month.

Although the pace of Taiwan’s power price increases since 2022 is still slower than in some other energy import-dependent advanced economies such as France and South Korea, government researchers expect industrial electricity cost to exceed that in Japan and South Korea, Taiwan’s closest competitors in export markets.

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Premier Li Qiang has called for better vocational education and cultivation of craftsmanship talent, as the world’s second-largest economy is building up a skilled industrial workforce amid an intensifying tech rivalry with the United States.

China needs to cultivate more sophisticated skilled talents to help the nation achieve “high-level scientific and technological self-reliance”, Li said on Sunday during an inspection tour in Shanghai.

The call follows a plan unveiled by the central government last month to enlarge its highly skilled talent pool as China pushes for independent technological innovation while the US continues with efforts to curb the former’s hi-tech access.

Calling it an adjustment to a changing landscape, Li emphasised “the spirit of model workers, labour and craftsmanship” during his visit to a vocational school in the city, state news agency Xinhua reported.

With a goal of strengthening the nation’s technological self-reliance, he underscored the urgency of developing expertise in fields critical to emerging technology and advanced industries amid a global industrial transformation.

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Alibaba Group Holding is scaling down its metaverse operations, according to a source familiar with the matter, making it the latest Big Tech company to pull back resources from the once-popular sector.

Dozens of employees at Yuanjing, the metaverse unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba, have been laid off, as part of a restructuring that aims to optimise and improve efficiency in the organisation, the source said.

The lay-offs, which were first reported by Chinese media on Friday, affected Yuanjing’s operations in both Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province. Yuanjing, which had received “billions of yuan” in investment, previously employed a few hundred workers, according to a report by online news outlet AI Jingxuanshe.

The source, however, said the Alibaba unit will continue to exist, with a focus on metaverse applications and tools, as well as providing metaverse-based services to customers.

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