Category: China

MIL-OSI China: Shawo radish industry fuels rural revitalization in N. China

Source: China State Council Information Office

Hao Lihong, general manager of Guli farm, an agricultural supply chain cooperative in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, shows the growth of Shawo radishes in Tianjin, north China, Jan. 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Song Rui)

Rows of green Shawo radishes are growing well in a technology demonstration base covering an area of around 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares) in the suburb of north China’s Tianjin Municipality.

It is currently the peak sales season for Shawo radishes, and most of the radishes in the greenhouses at the base are in cold storage, waiting to be distributed nationwide.

“Via the Internet of Things and sensors in the greenhouses, the amount of watering, the temperature, humidity and light can be managed intelligently, increasing the quality of the radishes. The process of growing the radishes including seed selection, planting and maintenance is recorded in the smart system,” said Hao Lihong, general manager of Guli farm, an agricultural supply chain cooperative in Tianjin.

Hao said that the smart planting technology would soon be introduced to more than 10 greenhouses in the area — allowing local farmers to plant in an automated way by using mobile phones.

The Shawo radish is named after its growth localities in Xiaoshawo Village and Dashawo Village in Xinkou Town, Tianjin’s Xiqing District. Local Shawo radish growing dates back more than 300 years. The soil in these areas is sandy near the surface and sticky deeper down — making radishes grown there both crisp and sweet.

In 2024, in order to promote the development of the Shawo radish industry, the district government made a plan and cooperated with towns, villages and enterprises to produce a well-known Shawo radish brand.

“In the past, the radish planting here lacked both scale and standardization. The production facilities were old, while seeds were not standard. The taste of radishes grown by different people was different, which restricted the brand-inheritance potential of the Shawo radish,” Hao said.

Notably, Guli farm and Dashawo Village have strengthened their cooperation efforts since last year. More than 300 contracted farmers have enjoyed technical training and guidance from experts with Tianjin Academy of Agriculture Sciences. They also did not need to find the sales channels by themselves, but instead sold radishes directly to Guli farm.

Thanks to this cooperation model, Sun Guoqiang, a 62-year-old living in Dashawo Village, has benefited a lot. “The peak sales season for Shawo radishes is from December to February of the following year. By the end of 2024, all 25,000 kilograms of Shawo radishes in my five greenhouses had been purchased by Guli farm, earning me roughly 100,000 yuan (about 13,638 U.S. dollars),” Sun said.

The price of the radishes has more than doubled compared with 2023, and Sun plans to expand his planting area this year to make even more money.

In recent years, marketing activities to promote the Shawo radish brand have been implemented, boosting sales. In addition, a special promotion meeting focused on the Shawo radish was held in Beijing, while many Chinese cities including Changsha, Hangzhou and Guangzhou hosted exhibitions, where visitors could get a closer look at this special radish variety. Online and offline sales channels for this brand have been expanded recently, serving as another boost for the Shawo radish industry.

“In 2024, we made a lot of efforts to expand the sales chain of Shawo radishes, and enhance their popularity and reputation through brand building and cultural tourism activities,” Hao said.

This year, the company will cooperate with enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to help farmers sell Shawo radishes to buyers in Hong Kong and Macao, Hao added.

The Shawo radish industry has had a significant impact on Xinkou Town, boosting rural revitalization there.

At present, the town has planted Shawo radishes across an area of about 7,000 mu — which is expected to yield an estimated output of around 32.5 million kilograms and an estimated sales value of 250 million yuan.

According to Zhao Jun, the town’s Party secretary, the town plans to expand the cultivation scale of Shawo radishes and strengthen the development of both deep processing of agricultural products and tourism, adding that they would also try to make the Shawo radish industry a good model of rural revitalization by continuously extending the industry chain and strengthening the Shawo radish brand.

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Tesla, BMW join Chinese EV makers in challenging EU tariffs

Source: China State Council Information Office

Tesla and BMW have joined Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in challenging the European Union’s (EU) tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, filing cases with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), according to the court’s website.

The automakers’ lawsuits follow similar filings last week by Chinese EV manufacturers BYD, Geely, and SAIC, contesting the EU’s additional import tariffs of up to over 35 percent.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the EU is prepared to respond to the case in court.

Despite strong opposition from industry stakeholders in EU member states, the Commission moved forward with its proposal to impose countervailing tariffs on Chinese EVs in October.

Under the EU tariff scheme, U.S. automaker Tesla, which manufactures vehicles in China, faces a duty of 7.8 percent after requesting an individual review. BMW, which also produces certain models in China, is subject to a 20.7-percent duty. Tariffs for Chinese manufacturers vary: 17 percent for BYD, 18.8 percent for Geely, and 35.3 percent for SAIC.

China appealed to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November last year against the EU’s final ruling on countervailing measures targeting Chinese EVs.

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Nasdaq celebrates Chinese Lunar New Year with closing bell

Source: China State Council Information Office

Nasdaq, a major stock exchange in the world, celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year on Monday afternoon by holding a closing bell ceremony in partnership with the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

Marking the 16th year of celebrating the Spring Festival at Nasdaq, Chen Li, the Chinese consul general in New York, rang the closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York City, one of the most populous cities in the United States.

“The Spring Festival embodies values of reunion, renewal and resilience, which are essential as we work together to deepen economic ties between China and the United States,” Chen said.

It is also meaningful to celebrate these values here at the heart of the global commerce center, Chen added.

“We welcome more investors and friends from the United States and beyond to explore opportunities in China… It is inspiring to see more Chinese enterprises listed on Nasdaq with the blessings of the Year of the Snake. I hope China-U.S. economic ties can be stronger and bring greater benefits to the world,” Chen said.

“The Lunar New Year has always been a time to express gratitude for our partnerships and look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead in 2025,” said Robert H. McCooey, Jr., vice chairman of Nasdaq, at the ceremony.

“Nasdaq’s commitment to China remains very strong and we are extremely proud to be the home of over 250 innovative Chinese companies who embody the entrepreneurial spirit that will help our two great nations continue to grow together,” said McCooey.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Spring Festival falls Wednesday this year, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Xi sends Chinese New Year card in return to friends in US state of Iowa

Source: China State Council Information Office

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a Chinese New Year card in return to friends in the U.S. state of Iowa, saying that China and the United States share extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation and can become partners and friends.

Xi said in the reply card that the warm reception he received when he visited the beautiful state of Iowa 40 years ago is still fresh in his memory.

China and the United States can achieve mutual success and common prosperity for the benefit of both countries and the world at large, Xi said.

The Chinese president expressed his hope that the two peoples will pay more visits to each other and have more exchanges, jointly write new stories of friendship between the two peoples, and make new contributions to the development of China-U.S. relations.

Earlier, 58 people from Iowa, including friends Luca Berrone, Gary Dvorchak and Sarah Lande, former U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and his wife, former President of the World Food Prize Foundation Kenneth Quinn, as well as representatives of teachers, students and parents from Iowa who participated in the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study for a five-year period, jointly sent a Chinese New Year card to President Xi.

In the card, they recalled Xi’s first visit to Iowa in 1985 and extended New Year greetings to President Xi in the Year of the Snake.

The representatives of teachers, students and parents thanked Xi for putting forward the “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, shared their feelings about visiting China, and expressed their expectations to visit China again.

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Women struggle in the boardroom to promote social responsibility initiatives

Source: University of South Australia

28 January 2025

It’s well documented that despite increasing awareness of gender equality, women remain underrepresented when taking a seat at leadership tables in the corporate world. But what about the challenges women face once they make it to the boardroom?

University of South Australia researchers have found that women encounter significant struggles when navigating power dynamics in leadership teams – specifically when it comes to driving corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This is despite many previous studies suggesting that having more women on boards will lead to stronger social outcomes.

CSR is when a business makes a conscious effort to make the world a better place. It could be a small enterprise making a simple charity donation or large corporation giving a portion of its profits to a worthy cause.

Researchers in UniSA’s Centre for Markets, Values and Inclusion, Associate Professor Wei Qian, Dr Kathy Rao and Dr Xin Deng conducted a study recently that revealed the power dynamics at play when CSR decisions are being considered by boards and companies.

Twenty senior women directors and managers from both small and large companies were interviewed from a variety of industries including banking, metal and mining, health care, finance, telecommunication, real estate and insurance.

Assoc Prof Qian says the women expressed biases and difficulties in promoting CSR to their boardroom colleagues.

“When speaking with these women, we heard several examples of women finding it hard to navigate power imbalances when it comes to driving social initiatives. One participant said she was told she ‘wears her heart on her sleeve’ when she was expressing concerns about a social initiative and wanting the company to go in a certain direction,” Assoc Prof Qian says.

“We found that when women leaders were assigned ‘soft’ tasks that are assumed to be less important, such as CSR projects, they were often either marginalised or completely silenced, making them less likely to challenge board decisions or have an impact on changing performance. This created discomfort and sometimes even an intimidating environment for women to raise CSR concerns or ideas.

“Men predominantly hold the powerful positions, such as executive directors or chairs, and they dominate the ‘hard’ business issues.”

Some women also explained how they had to take a gentler approach to advocacy, choose their words carefully and sometimes adjust their CSR ideas to make them more receptive to their male colleagues – often by reframing it as a business opportunity or a chance for the business to gain competitive advantage.

One research participant explained, “The best example was talking about the climate change program. You have to build a good story, sort of start at the economic (s) … and work your way up to (it), and then (say) ‘by the way, this would be a good and responsible thing to do’.”

Assoc Prof Qian says stereotypes play into the question of whether women are more receptive to CSR agendas, but overall, she believes women are more often associated with strong performance in environmental and social goals and community engagement.

“Stereotypically, women are perceived as more emotional, sensitive, caring and empathetic towards others. In contrast men are viewed as more independent, masterful and assertive,” she says.

“Women directors are keener to build connections that offer social support and foster a sense of belonging, which in turn can lead them to engage more in CSR activities,” she says. “This confirms that gender equality on boards matters.”

The research involved participants from Australia and China, neither of which have gender quotas. The researchers say although the two countries are distinctive in terms of political, social and economic structures, female leaders experienced similar struggles in the boardroom when promoting CSR.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Contact for interview: Associate Professor Wei Qian, UniSA E: Wei.Qian@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Melissa Keogh, Communications Officer, UniSA M: +403 659 154 E: Melissa.Keogh@unisa.edu.au

MIL OSI News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Harbin Ice-Snow World receives more than 2 million visitors in over one month

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

Harbin Ice-Snow World receives more than 2 million visitors in over one month

Updated: January 28, 2025 08:23 Xinhua

People visit the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 23, 2025. As of 10 p.m. Sunday, the bustling Harbin Ice-Snow World had received more than 2 million visitors since it opened on Dec. 21, 2024. As the city’s iconic landmark, the Harbin Ice-Snow World, with this year’s edition, the largest in its history, boasts 1 million square meters, up from last year’s 800,000 square meters. More than 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow were used in its construction. [Photo/Xinhua]

People experience ice slide at the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 23, 2025 shows a night view of Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

A tourist poses for photos at the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tourists take selfies at the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

People visit the Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 23, 2025 shows a night view of Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 26, 2025 shows a night view of Harbin Ice-Snow World in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: NZ-Kiribati fallout: Maamau govt minister says ‘impacts to be felt by the people’

By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Bulletin editor/presenter

Kiribati President Taneti Maamau was unable to meet New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters because he had “a pre-planned and significant historical event”, a Cabinet minister in Kiribati says.

Alexander Teabo, Education Minister in Maamau’s government, told RNZ Pacific that “it is important for the truth to be conveyed accurately” after the “diplomatic tiff” between the two nations was confirmed by Peters as reported.

Maamau is currently in Fiji for his first state visit to the country.

Peters said New Zealand could not commit to ongoing monetary aid in Kiribati after three cancelled or postponed visits in recent months.

A spokesperson from Peters’ office said the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit to Tarawa was set to be the first in over five years and took a “month-long effort”. However, the NZ government was informed a week prior to the meeting that Maamau was no longer available.

His office announced that, as a result of the “lack of political-level contact”, Aotearoa was reviewing its development programme in Kiribati. It is a move that has been described as “not the best approach” by Victoria University’s professor in comparative politics Dr Jon Fraenkel.

Minister Teabo said that Peters’ visit to Kiribati was cancelled by the NZ government.

“It is correct that the President was unavailable in Tarawa due to a pre-planned and significant historical event hosted on his home island,” he said.

Date set ‘several months prior’
“This important event’s date was established by the Head of the Catholic Church several months prior.”

He said Maamau’s presence and support were required on his home island for this event, and it was not possible for him to be elsewhere.

Teabo pointed out that Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister was happy to meet with Kiribati’s Vice-President in a recent visit.

“The visit by NZ Foreign Minister was cancelled by NZ itself but now the blame is on the President of Kiribati as the reason for all the cuts and the impacts to be felt by the people.

“This is unfair to someone who is doing his best for his people who needed him at any particular time.”

‘Tried several times’ – Luxon
The New Zealand aid programme is worth over NZ$100 million, but increasingly, Kiribati has been receiving money from China after ditching its diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2019.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the country was keen to meet and work with Kiribati, like other Pacific nations.

Luxon said he did not know whether the lack of communication was due to Kiribati and China getting closer.

“The Foreign Minister has tried several times to make sure that as a new government, we can have a conversation with Kiribati and have a relationship there.

“He’s very keen to meet with them and help them and work with them in a very constructive way but that hasn’t happened.”

New Zealand’s Minister of Defence Judith Collins agrees with Peters’ decision to review aid to Kiribati.

Collins said she would talk to Peters about it today.

“I think we need to be very careful about where our aid goes, how it’s being used and I agree with him. We can’t have a disrespectful relationship.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall Joins Newsmax National Report: RFK Jr. Will Execute President Trump’s Agenda

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. joined Newsmax: National Report to discuss CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s recent release of declassified COVID-19 origins documents confirming the intelligence community’s long-suspected lab leak theory, as well as former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardoning of Covid Czar Dr. Anthony Fauci. Senator Marshall has been an advocate in calling for transparency around the lab leak theory and the Biden Administration’s lack of transparency.
Additionally, Senator Marshall shared his support for President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Nominee, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as he prepares for his confirmation hearings this week in the Senate Finance and Health Committees. As the leader and founder of the Senate Make America Healthy Again Caucus, Senator Marshall discussed how RFK Jr. will combat America’s chronic disease epidemic.
You may click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview.
Highlights from Senator Marshall’s interview include:
On CIA Director John Ratcliffe Releasing Classified Covid Origin Reports:
“I think number one is this is a sign of President Trump’s more transparency model. But look, most of the evidence, the preponderance of the evidence, supports that this virus came from a lab in Wuhan China, partially funded by Dr Fauci. We’ve known that for years. Look, China’s had five years to show us some type of an intermediate species, how this virus could have came from a bat, to some type of an animal, and then to humans. We’ve known from day one that this was very suspicious.”
“This is just transparency. Promises made, promises kept. President Trump has promised that he would make everything more transparent. Here’s John Ratcliffe implementing that plan.”
On President Biden’s pre-emptive pardoning of Dr. Fauci:
“Once again, what are they hiding? And of course, he did this with the entire Biden cartel as well. He pardoned them from future charges, which is just unheard of.”
“I think there’s going to be a preponderance of evidence coming out showing that Dr. Fauci is partially responsible for the 1 million Americans that died due to COVID, that he funded the research to develop this COVID virus, and it was then accidentally leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. It’s a horrible, horrible [precedent] for the President to do this.”
On President Trump’s Nominee for HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:
“I don’t agree with RFK Jr. on everything, but I fully support him. I think he’s absolutely going to be a game-changer. I think there’s a groundswell of people, Americans who support RFK Jr. as well – and we need those people to reach out to their senators this week as RFK Jr. goes into nomination hearings. He actually has two hearings going forward, so we need folks to reach out and say ‘this is why we support him.’”
“Look, RFK Jr. is going to execute the President’s agenda. There’s some things in the past that RFK Jr. and I disagree with, but he’s going to put those beside him and focus on making America healthy again, and that’s all President Trump’s goal is here.”
“60% of Americans have some type of a chronic disease, and mostly that’s determined by what they eat and the toxins they’re exposed to. So I’m just looking forward to working with RFK Jr. again. He’s going to be a game changer and is going to give us an opportunity to address some of these challenges. He’s going to do a great job.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Readout: Foreign Secretary meeting with US Secretary of State
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

Foreign Secretary call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio: 27 January 2025
Foreign Secretary David Lammy spoke with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio today.

The Foreign Secretary congratulated Secretary Rubio on his appointment as Secretary of State and the pair discussed their shared links to the Caribbean, with the Foreign Secretary’s family ties to Guyana and Secretary Rubio’s family links to Cuba.

They both welcomed the opportunity for the UK and the US to work together in alignment to address on shared challenges including the situation in the Middle East, Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, the challenges posed by China and the need for Indo-Pacific security.

The pair said they looked forward to working together and to meeting in person soon.

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Published 27 January 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: What to watch about China’s Spring Festival travel rush

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, Jan. 24 — Chunyun, the world’s largest annual human migration, officially kicked off on Jan. 14 in China ahead of the Spring Festival. Authorities predict travel volumes will hit new highs during the 40-day travel rush.

The latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, spotlighted key trends shaping this year’s travel season, including record-breaking travel numbers, booming tourism, transformative technologies, the rise of electric vehicles and a surge in inbound travel.

TRAVEL PEAK

The annual travel frenzy is driven by the movement of people working, studying or living far from their hometowns as they head back to celebrate China’s most important festival.

It is estimated that 9 billion passenger trips will be made, with car journeys accounting for 80 percent. Railway trips are projected to surpass 510 million, while air passenger volume will likely exceed 90 million.

Faced with such a massive travel demand, transportation systems are undergoing their annual tests. “Safety remains our top priority,” Wang Xiuchun, an official of the Ministry of Transport, said on the show.

Rail and aviation authorities have deployed robust safety measures to ensure secure and efficient operations, including addressing weather-related challenges and improving risk prevention.

TOURISM TAKING OFF

While family reunions remained the primary reason for travel, tourism saw a notable surge this year.

Wang predicted a 25-percent increase in travel for leisure purposes. Popular destinations include tropical hotspots like Hainan and Yunnan, as well as winter wonderlands in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Xinjiang, said Shang Kejia, an official of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Local tourism authorities are seizing the opportunity to attract visitors with unique offerings. Guangzhou’s Flower City Square is holding a spectacular lantern festival, while Tianjin’s cruise market is already bustling with holiday travelers. Harbin, the host of the 9th Asian Winter Games, is blending winter sports with holiday festivities, a combination that is a real boost to the ice-and-snow economy.

“The way people celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year is becoming more diverse and enriched, reflecting changing travel habits,” said Shang.

TECHNOLOGY RESHAPING TRAVEL

Technology has also reshaped the Spring Festival migration. Online purchases now account for over 93 percent of railway ticket sales, said Zhu Wenzhong from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, 12306, the railway booking platform, had sold 235 million tickets since Dec. 31. Travelers no longer need paper tickets, as ID cards grant seamless access to trains. The app also offers a wide range of additional services like hotel bookings, car rentals and food delivery.

Beyond ticketing, innovations like smart inspection robots, drone-assisted traffic monitoring, and highway ice warning systems are also helping ensure safer and smoother journeys.

RISE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES

New energy vehicles (NEVs) are joining the chunyun in growing numbers.

NEVs accounted for 15.9 percent of road trips during the National Day holiday in October last year, and their share is expected to rise further this Spring Festival, experts said.

To meet the rising charging demand, the country has accelerated the construction of charging infrastructure. By the end of 2024, 98 percent of highway service areas had charging facilities, with 35,000 charging stations in place. “Aside from a few remote, high-altitude areas, nearly all service areas now offer charging options,” said Hua Lei, an official with the Ministry of Transport.

In 2024, China’s NEV production and sales hit record highs, exceeding 12.8 million units, which solidified the country’s position as the global NEV leader for a tenth consecutive year.

CHINA TRAVEL

Another notable highlight this year is the surge in inbound tourism. According to preliminary statistics, ticket bookings for inbound flights during the chunyun period surged 47 percent year on year, Shang said.

“China Travel” has become a trending topic, globally. In 2024, 64.88 million foreign visitors traveled to the country, an 82.9 percent increase from the previous year. In particular, visa-free entries involved 20.12 million visits, more than double that of 2023.

China’s commitment to opening-up is driving this tourism boom.

Expanded visa policies, such as mutual visa waivers with 25 countries, unilateral visa-free policies for 38 countries, and transit visa exemptions for 54 countries, are making it easier for tourists to explore China.

Additionally, improvements in payment systems, accommodations and public transport also ensure foreign visitors can fully enjoy China’s cultural and technological charms, experts said.

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Chinese medical team provides free health checkups to rural community in South Sudan

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

Chinese medical team provides free health checkups to rural community in South Sudan

JUBA, Jan. 27 — The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team recently visited Juba Nabari, a local village north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan, to provide free medical checkups and treatment to hundreds of ailing patients.

Fauzia Lotombiko, a 50-year-old mother of eight, was one of several patients who braved the sweltering heat to seek treatment under a mango shed. The Chinese doctors provided Lotombiko with medication to regulate her blood pressure and relieve some back pain.

Since 2014, Lotombiko has endured immense back pain after a fall, and her condition worsened when she was later diagnosed with high blood pressure. This condition has robbed her of the ability to do normal chores and forced her to stay at home.

“The arrival of the Chinese doctors in my home village gave me hope of recovery. In addition to giving me essential medicines, they also gave me advice,” Lotombiko said Saturday.

James Jada, 41, brought his daughter to the Chinese medical team. He said he had given up trying to find proper treatment for her severe flu and cough, which had been going on since last November.

Jada said he was hopeful that his daughter’s condition would improve with the medication he was given to treat her. The doctors did a complete physical exam on Jada’s daughter before recommending the medication.

“I thank the Chinese doctors for taking care of my daughter. I hope that my daughter’s condition will improve, and I believe that healing is not instantaneous, but a process,” said Jada.

Pierina Abraham Norah, a 50-year-old woman who suffered from severe back and joint pain, was visited at home by Chinese doctors to assess her condition. She thanked the Chinese doctors for their compassion for the needy in her community.

Natalie Kon Justine, Abraham’s son, who organized the arrival of the Chinese medical team to conduct outreaches in his village, commended them for reducing the burden of disease in his community.

“This village has a good number of health clinics, but they are very expensive, and many citizens cannot easily afford the cost of treatment at these private health facilities around here,” Justine said. “This medical outreach has eased the burden of treatment for many families because the medicines provided by the Chinese doctors are effective.”

Du Changyong, leader of the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team, said the visit to Juba Nabari was aimed at implementing the outcomes of the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the program of “100 Medical Teams in 1,000 Villages” to provide medical services to people at the grassroots level.

According to Du, the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team arrived in South Sudan in September 2024, and they have already served 6,300 outpatients, carried out 64 surgical operations, and treated 441 patients in critical condition. The team has also provided traditional Chinese medicine treatment to 1,200 patients, carried out laboratory tests on 850 patients, provided image testing to 800 patients, and introduced the new medical technology used at the Juba Teaching Hospital.

In early December 2024, the 12th batch of the Chinese medical team provided medical outreach services to hundreds of patients in Lobonok town on the outskirts of Juba.

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Local power supply bureau carries out inspection, maintenance work in Liupanshui, China’s Guizhou

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

Local power supply bureau carries out inspection, maintenance work in Liupanshui, China’s Guizhou

Updated: January 28, 2025 07:41 Xinhua

Staff members of local power supply bureau check power lines in Liupanshui City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, Jan. 26, 2025. In case of power disruption due to continuous snowfall, local power supply bureau carried out an urgent inspection and maintenance work to ensure the safe and stable operation of local power grid. [Photo/Xinhua]

Staff members of local power supply bureau patrol in Liupanshui City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, Jan. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Staff members of local power supply bureau check power lines in Liupanshui City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, Jan. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 26, 2025 shows staff members of local power supply bureau on their way to a check point in Liupanshui City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 26, 2025 shows staff members of local power supply bureau on their way to a check point in Liupanshui City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Staff members of local power supply bureau patrol in Liupanshui City, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, Jan. 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

MIL OSI China News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Fischer Introduces Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Telecommunications Against Foreign Adversaries

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency (FACT) Act.
The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publicly identify entities that hold FCC licenses, authorizations, or other grants of authority that are owned, wholly or partially, by foreign adversarial governments. This includes the governments of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined Senator Fischer as original cosponsors of the bipartisan bill.
U.S. Representatives Thomas Kean (NJ-07), Rob Wittman (VA-01), Kathy Castor (FL-14), and Ro Khanna (CA-17) will lead companion legislation in the House.
“Authoritarian regimes like China and Russia are actively working to undermine the security of our domestic communications. My bill will better position the FCC to evaluate the risks foreign ties pose to America’s national security so that we can respond to these network infrastructure threats,” said Senator Fischer.
“The U.S. must protect our telecommunications systems from global adversaries that are trying to do us harm,” said Senator Rosen. “That’s why I’m helping to introduce this bipartisan bill to increase transparency and publicly keep track of companies with influence from adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran. I’ll always work to support our national security.”
“It’s no secret that foreign adversaries threaten our national security by exploiting both legal and illegal access to technology and communication infrastructure,” said Senator Cornyn. “The FACT Act would shine light on these vulnerabilities by identifying foreign entities that hold FCC licenses, helping to reduce national security risks and strengthen oversight.”
“Securing our telecommunications systems is crucial for our country’s national security,” said Senator Luján. “The FACT Act is a critical step to promote transparency and boost the FCC’s ability to detect risks posed by our adversaries. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill with my colleagues to safeguard our telecommunications networks.”
Background:Until now, there has been no mandated public disclosure of companies linked to foreign adversaries operating within U.S. technology and telecommunication markets.
Although the FCC is prohibited from granting licenses or authorizations deemed a national security threat, some entities with ties to adversarial foreign governments continue to hold certain approvals. As a result, more transparency is necessary.
Click
here to read the text of the bill.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI: Drugs Made In America Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $200,000,000 Initial Public Offering

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Fort Lauderdale, FL , Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Drugs Made In America Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: DMAAU) (the “Company”) announced today the pricing of its initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit. The units are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) and trade under the ticker symbol “DMAAU” beginning January 28, 2025. Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one right to receive one-eighth (1/8) of an ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “DMAA” and “DMAAR”, respectively. The underwriter has been granted a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units offered by the Company to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on January 29, 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

Clear Street is acting as the sole book-running manager in the offering. Loeb & Loeb LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company. Winston & Strawn LLP is serving as legal counsel to Clear Street.

A registration statement on Form S-1 (333-281170) relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and was declared effective on January 7, 2025, and a post-effective amendment to the registration statement was declared effective on January 27, 2025. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus may be obtained, when available, from Clear Street, Attn: Syndicate Department, 150 Greenwich Street, 45th floor, New York, NY 10007, by email at ecm@clearstreet.io, or from the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Drugs Made In America Acquisition Corp.
The Company is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands as an exempted company incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses. It has not selected any specific business combination target and has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination. While the Company may pursue a business combination target in any business, industry or geographical location, it intends to focus its search for businesses in the pharmaceutical industry. The Company believes that it is possible to mitigate risks in the U.S. medical supply chain by investing in companies that will reduce America’s overreliance on production of pharmaceuticals from concentrated geographic regions through investments in strategic on-shoring of advanced domestic manufacturing technologies for critical drugs.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms described, or at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Registration Statement and related preliminary prospectus filed in connection with the initial public offering with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov.

Contact Information
Drugs Made In America Acquisition Corp.
1 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 700
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Lynn Stockwell
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chair
Email: executive@dmaacorp.com
Phone: (954) 870-3099

The MIL Network –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Cornyn, McCaul Op-Ed: President Trump Must Focus on CHIPS Act for Texas, U.S. Manufacturing Success

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10) authored the following op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman highlighting the opportunity to strengthen and reclaim the nation’s CHIPS program created through their Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act, which was signed into law in 2022, to restore semiconductor manufacturing back to American soil.
President Trump must focus on CHIPS act for Texas, U.S. manufacturing success
Senator Cornyn and Congressman McCaul
Austin American-Statesman
January 27, 2025
https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2025/01/27/trump-must-keep-focus-on-chips-act-to-fulfill-promise-opinion/77880435007/
As President Donald Trump retakes the White House alongside Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress, the roadmap of policy priorities is quickly taking shape. One of his golden opportunities is to strengthen and reclaim the successful CHIPS program, a brainchild of his first administration that has transformed Texas and our national security posture.
We were proud to lead the Chips for America Act, which was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. This legislation created programs to bring the production of advanced semiconductors back to American soil after decades of decline. In 2022, we successfully secured funding for the programs in the larger CHIPS & Science Act. Since then, Texas cities, colleges, and universities and companies, including Texas Instruments, Samsung, GlobalWafers, X Fab, IntelliEPI and Sumika, along with thousands of Texas workers, have seen immense benefits.
The economic rewards from this law were so profound that the Texas Legislature followed suit. In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act, which builds on the law to further invest in semiconductor manufacturing capacity and expertise in the Lone Star State. This state law established the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium (TSIC) and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF), important, complementary programs that incentivize Texas investment in the semiconductor industry. A recent study indicates the technology industry contributes more than $469 billion to the Texas economy. Today, Texas has the second largest semiconductor workforce in the nation totaling more than 42,000 Texans with more to come thanks to our joint efforts.
As we see Texas companies, workers and communities benefit from this program, it would be a mistake to forget the impetus for this critical initiative. The vision for these successful programs originated in President Trump’s White House, and it was President Trump’s own national security team that first identified semiconductor chips as a vulnerability in American supply chains. Approximately 92% of the most advanced semiconductors are currently manufactured in Taiwan. Back in 1990, the United States produced nearly 40% of the world’s semiconductors. But by 2021, this figure decreased to 12%, and in 2024, our share represented only 8%. As demand for electronic goods dramatically increased during the pandemic, our supply chain vulnerabilities became more apparent.
In response to the threat of the Chinese Communist Party, and to address vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains, the first Trump administration asked Congress to address the chips issue with legislation and we took up this mantle. As part of this effort, President Trump’s team successfully persuaded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to bring their major operations back to the U.S.
Four years later, with President Trump back in the White House and with Republicans in control of Congress, we have an opportunity to refocus the implementation of CHIPS and reclaim rightful credit for its successes. President Biden prioritized partisanship at every turn at the expense of national security during the law’s implementation, from divisive DEI requirements for grant recipients to endless red tape on environmental impact requirements for new projects. The Trump administration can roll back criteria for grant recipients and reprioritize funding for the best and most efficient manufacturing facilities, many of which are in Texas. In addition, by streamlining the stringent regulatory requirements on new projects, America will be better positioned to increase our production capacity for semiconductors at an even faster speed, making sure this critical supply chain is not subject to the whims of our adversaries overseas.
We cannot let this program that has been so revolutionary for Texas job creators fall by the wayside. While President Biden’s misguided approach to implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act fell short of everything the law could be, we are optimistic that with President Trump back at the helm, Republicans can Make America Great Again by continuing to strengthen our investments in CHIPS.
By reclaiming CHIPS, President Trump has an opportunity to fulfill a core campaign promise: increase domestic manufacturing and decrease our reliance on China. By continuing to prioritize domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, we can increase manufacturing jobs in the United States and strengthen America’s edge in our strategic competition with China.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI: Aimfinity Investment Corp. I Announces Extension of the Deadline for an Initial Business Combination to February 28, 2025

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Wilmington, Delaware, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aimfinity Investment Corp. I (the “Company” or “AIMA”) (Nasdaq: AIMAU), a special purpose acquisition company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, today announced that, in order to extend the date by which the Company mush complete its initial business combination from January 28, 2025 to February 28, 2025, on January 27, 2025, I-Fa Chang, manager of the sponsor of the Company, has deposited into its trust account (the “Trust Account”) an aggregate of $55,823.8, or for $0.05 per Class A ordinary share held by public shareholders (the “Monthly Extension Payment”).

Pursuant to the Company’s fourth amended & restated memorandum and articles of association (“Current Charter”), effectively January 9, 2025, the Company may extend on a monthly basis from January 28, 2025 until October 28, 2025 or such an earlier date as may be determined by its board to complete a business combination by depositing the Monthly Extension Payment for each month into the Trust Account. This is the first of nine monthly extensions sought under the Current Charter of the Company.

About Aimfinity Investment Corp. I

Aimfinity Investment Corp. I is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The Company has not selected any business combination target and has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with it. While the Company will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region in its identification and acquisition of a target company, it will not complete its initial business combination with a target that is headquartered in China (including Hong Kong and Macau) or conducts a majority of its business in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).

Additional Information and Where to Find It

As previously disclosed, on October 13, 2023, the Company entered into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (as may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by and between the Company, Docter Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), Aimfinity Investment Merger Sub I, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Purchaser”), and Aimfinity Investment Merger Sub II, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Purchaser (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which the Company is proposing to enter into a business combination with Docter involving an reincorporation merger and an acquisition merger. This press release does not contain all the information that should be considered concerning the proposed business combination and is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the business combination. AIMA’s stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the proxy statement/prospectus and the amendments thereto and other documents filed in connection with the proposed business combination, as these materials will contain important information about AIMA, Purchaser or Docter, and the proposed business combination. When available, the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the proposed business combination will be mailed to stockholders of AIMA as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Such stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to AIMA’s principal office at 221 W 9th St, PMB 235 Wilmington, Delaware 19801.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the pending transactions described herein, and the parties’ perspectives and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proposed transaction, including the anticipated initial enterprise value and post-closing equity value, the benefits of the proposed transaction, integration plans, expected synergies and revenue opportunities, anticipated future financial and operating performance and results, including estimates for growth, the expected management and governance of the combined company, and the expected timing of the transactions. The words “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan” and similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, assumptions (including assumptions about general economic, market, industry and operational factors), known or unknown, which could cause the actual results to vary materially from those indicated or anticipated.

Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (i) risks related to the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the pending business combination, including the risk that the transaction may not close due to one or more closing conditions to the transaction not being satisfied or waived, such as regulatory approvals not being obtained, on a timely basis or otherwise, or that a governmental entity prohibited, delayed or refused to grant approval for the consummation of the transaction or required certain conditions, limitations or restrictions in connection with such approvals; (ii) risks related to the ability of AIMA and Docter to successfully integrate the businesses; (iii) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the applicable transaction agreements; (iv) the risk that there may be a material adverse change with respect to the financial position, performance, operations or prospects of AIMA or Docter; (v) risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; (vi) the risk that any announcements relating to the proposed transaction could have adverse effects on the market price of AIMA’s securities; (vii) the risk that the proposed transaction and its announcement could have an adverse effect on the ability of Docter to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with their suppliers and customers and on their operating results and businesses generally; (viii): risks relating to the medical device industry, including but not limited to governmental regulatory and enforcement changes, market competitions, competitive product and pricing activity; and (ix) risks relating to the combined company’s ability to enhance its products and services, execute its business strategy, expand its customer base and maintain stable relationship with its business partners.

A further list and description of risks and uncertainties can be found in the prospectus filed on April 26, 2022 relating to AIMA’s initial public offering, the annual report of AIMA on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2022, filed on April 17, 2023, and in the Registration Statement/proxy statement that will be filed with the SEC by AIMA and/or its affiliates in connection with the proposed transactions, and other documents that the parties may file or furnish with the SEC, which you are encouraged to read. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate only to the date they were made, and Aimfinity, Docter, and their subsidiaries undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made except as required by law or applicable regulation.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of any potential transaction and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of AIMA, Purchaser or Docter, nor shall there be any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act.

Participants in the Solicitation

AIMA, Docter, and their respective directors, executive officers, other members of management, and employees, under SEC rules, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies of AIMA’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under SEC rules, be deemed participants in the solicitation of AIMA’s shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination will be set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus on Form F-4 to be filed with the SEC.

Contact Information:

Aimfinity Investment Corp. I
I-Fa Chang
Chief Executive Officer
221 W 9th St, PMB 235
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
ceo@aimfinityspac.com

The MIL Network –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI: HZJL Cayman Limited Announces Entering into a Merger Agreement with Rising Dragon Acquisition Corporation

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HANGZHOU, CHINA, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HZJL Cayman Limited (“HZJL”), a comprehensive solution provider empowering local businesses with innovative branding, software, and supply chain services, announced the execution of an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) for a business combination with Rising Dragon Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: RDACU, RDAC, RDACR) (“RDAC”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.

Upon consummation of the transaction contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (i) RDAC will reincorporate by merging with and into Xpand Boom Technology Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of RDAC (“Xpand Boom Technology”), and (ii) concurrently with the reincorporation merger, Xpand Boom Solution Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly owned subsidiary of Xpand Boom Technology, will be merged with and into HZJL, resulting in HZJL being a wholly owned subsidiary of Xpand Boom Technology (the “Business Combination” and the transactions in connection with the Business Combination collectively, the “Transaction”). Upon the closing of the Transaction, the parties plan to remain Nasdaq-listed under a new ticker symbol.

HZJL Overview

HZJL is a dynamic solution provider dedicated to empowering local lifestyle businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, beauty salons, convenience stores, and massage centers, through innovative online social branding, software application, and supply chain services.

HZJL’s core service offering is its online branding service, which leverages the power of social media to promote compelling success stories for both businesses and their founders. This service helps businesses build strong, authentic identities that resonate with their target audience, and enhance brand visibility and customer loyalty. In addition, HZJL offers a sophisticated online application designed to streamline operations and optimize customer relationship management. HZJL also provides comprehensive supply chain solutions, with a special focus on supporting local restaurants.

With a mission to fuel scalable growth for business owners, HZJL combines these three key service areas that work together to drive operational excellence, customer engagement, and efficient growth strategies.

Key Transaction Terms

Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, RDAC’s wholly owned subsidiary, Xpand Boom Technology, will acquire HZJL, resulting in Xpand Boom Technology being a listed company on the Nasdaq Capital Market. At the effective time of the Transaction, HZJL’s shareholders and management will receive 35 million ordinary shares of Xpand Boom Technology. In addition, certain HZJL shareholders will be entitled to receive earn-out consideration of up to an additional 20 million ordinary shares of Xpand Boom Technology, subject to HZJL meeting certain revenue targets in the two subsequent years as set forth in the Merger Agreement. The shares held by certain HZJL’s shareholders will be subject to lock-up agreements for a period of six months following the closing of the Transaction, subject to certain exceptions.

The Transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both RDAC and HZJL, is subject to regulatory approvals, the approvals by the shareholders of RDAC and HZJL, respectively, and the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions, including, among others, a registration statement, of which the proxy statement/prospectus forms a part, being declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the approval by Nasdaq of the listing application of the combined company.

The description of the Business Combination contained herein is only a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement relating to the Business Combination. A more detailed description of the Transaction and a copy of the Merger Agreement will be included in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by RDAC with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Comments on HZJL

“We are excited for the proposed Business Combination with HZJL and admire the company that Mr. Xiong Bin and the HZJL management team have built,” said Xing Lulu, Chief Executive Officer of RDAC. “I look forward to working with HZJL’s first-class management team to help them thrive as a public company while they continue to grow.”

Xiong Bin, founder of HZJL, stated: “For several years, HZJL has been evolving with the local lifestyle business services market. Our motto, ‘Scalable Growth-Engine Empowering Local Business,’ underlines our ongoing commitment to delivering innovative solutions that foster substantial local business growth and scalability. We have garnered valuable industrial experience and know-how from assisting our customers from various industries in achieving their goals, including with respect to brand building, business operations and supply chain optimization. Our solutions specifically address the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, providing them critical assistance in overcoming marketing and management hurdles. We are excited to collaborate with RDAC, with which we share similar market visions and business strategies. We are confident that the RDAC team will play a key role in helping us achieve our aspirations and long-term success.”

Advisors

Loeb & Loeb LLP, Joint-Win Partners, and Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP serve as legal counsel to RDAC. Han Kun Law Offices, Han Kun Law Offices LLP, and Harney Westwood & Riegels serve as legal counsel to HZJL. Chain Stone Capital Limited (CTM) serves as the financial advisor to HZJL.

About Rising Dragon Acquisition Corporation

Rising Dragon Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The company’s efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region.

About HZJL Cayman Limited

HZJL is a comprehensive solution provider empowering local businesses with innovative branding, software, and supply chain services. The company is dedicated to fuel the scalable growth of business owners by combining technology, customer service, and operational excellence to unlock new levels of success. The company’s innovative solutions can help small and medium-sized enterprises better leverage social platforms to build their own stories in the rapidly changing Internet era, use online applications to improve efficiency and engage new customers, and use optimized supply chain services to produce better products and services, helping these companies grow bigger and faster.

Participants in the Solicitation

Xpand Boom Technology Inc., Rising Dragon Acquisition Corp., and their respective directors, executive officers and employees and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of RDAC ordinary shares in respect of the proposed Transaction. Information about RDAC’s directors and executive officers and their ownership of RDAC’s ordinary shares is currently set forth in RDAC’s prospectus related to its initial public offering dated October 11, 2024, as modified or supplemented by any Form 10-K, Form 3 or Form 4 filed with the SEC since the date of such filing. Other information regarding the interests of the participants in the proxy solicitation will be included in a registration statement on Form F-4 (as may be amended from time to time) that will include a proxy statement and a registration statement/preliminary prospectus (the “Registration Statement”) pertaining to the proposed Transaction when it becomes available. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated below.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the Transaction and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of RDAC or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Important Information about the Proposed Business Combination and Where to Find It

In connection with the Transaction, Xpand Boom Technology will file relevant materials with the SEC, including the Registration Statement. Promptly after the Registration Statement is declared effective, the proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all RDAC shareholders entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the Transaction. Before making any voting decision, securities holders of RDAC are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about the Transaction and the parties to the Transaction.

Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus, and other documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC through RDAC through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to the contacts mentioned below.

Wenyi Shen
Chief Financial Officer
Rising Dragon Acquisition Corp.
Email: woody.shen@hywincapital.cn

Zhiguo Sun
HZJL Cayman Limited
Investor Relations Officer
Email: ir@xpandboom.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. RDAC’s and HZJL’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, RDAC’s and HZJL’s expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the Business Combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the Business Combination and the timing of the completion of the Business Combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Most of these factors are outside the control of RDAC or HZJL and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement relating to the proposed Business Combination; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against RDAC or HZJL following the announcement of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the Business Combination, including due to failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of RDAC or other conditions to closing in the Merger Agreement; (4) delays in obtaining or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (including approval from PRC regulators) required to complete the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement; (5) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement or could otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; (6) the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the post-acquisition company’s ordinary shares on Nasdaq following the Business Combination; (7) the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; (8) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (9) costs related to the Business Combination; (10) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (11) the possibility that HZJL or the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (12) other risks and uncertainties to be identified in the Registration Statement filed by RDAC and Xpand Boom Technology (when available) relating to the Business Combination, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in other filings with the SEC made by RDAC and HZJL. RDAC and HZJL caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. RDAC and HZJL caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Neither RDAC or HZJL undertakes or accepts any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, subject to applicable law. The information contained in any website referenced herein is not, and shall not be deemed to be, part of or incorporated into this press release.

The MIL Network –

January 28, 2025

MIL-OSI: Preferred Bank Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC), one of the larger independent California banks, today reported results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. Preferred Bank (“the Bank”) reported net income of $30.2 million or $2.25 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2024. This represents a decrease in net income of $3.2 million from the prior quarter and a decrease of $5.6 from the same quarter last year. The decrease compared to both periods was mainly due to a one-time $8.1 million increase in occupancy expense this quarter due to the previously disclosed error in the calculation of ASC 842, Accounting for Leases. As previously disclosed, this calculation error goes back to the adoption of ASC 842 in 2019 and the $8.1 million item represents the cumulative erroneous calculation through the years from 2019 to present.

Net interest income was $69.2 million, up by $325,000 compared to last quarter’s $68.8 million and down slightly from the $69.4 million recorded one year ago. Noninterest expense was $28.2 million, an increase of $6.2 million from the previous quarter and an increase of $10.4 million over the same quarter last year. These increases were due to the aforementioned non-recurring occupancy expense item. The provision for credit losses was $2.0 million this quarter compared to $3.2 million last quarter and compared to $3.5 million this quarter last year. Despite the non-recurring expense item, Preferred Bank continues to deliver top-of-peer group profitability metrics and long term shareholder returns.

Highlights for the Quarter:

Return on average assets was 1.74%
Return on beginning equity of 16.03%
Net interest margin (NIM) held strong at 4.06%
Total loans increased by $71 million or 1.3%
Efficiency ratio was 38.8%

Highlights for the Year:

Return on average assets was 1.91%
Return on beginning equity of 18.80%
The NIM was 4.08%
Total loans increased by $369 million or 7.0%
Efficiency ratio was 31.47%

Li Yu, Chairman and CEO, commented, “We completed the year 2024 with net income of $130.7 million or $9.64 per diluted share. Return on assets was 1.91% for the year and return on beginning equity was 18.8%, which should be well above peer group and the industry average.

”Fourth quarter net income of $30.2 million or $2.25 per diluted share was negatively impacted by a correction to our lease expense of $8.1 million. This correction was previously announced and is non-recurring in nature. The after-tax effect of this item was approximately $0.42.

“Under a high interest rate and high inflation environment, Preferred Bank’s loan growth and deposit growth were less than our historical performance. 2024 loan growth of 7.0% and deposit growth of 3.6% were still in- line with industry averages.

“At December 31, 2024, our credit metrics improved from September 30, 2024. Non-performing loans decreased by $10.0 million or 52% and criticized loans decreased by $76.7 million or 32.6%. The Bank’s allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.27% as of December 31, 2024.

“The recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area have wrought unprecedented damage to our community. We at Preferred Bank will be dedicated to making the utmost effort to help rebuild the homes and businesses lost in this tragedy. At this time, the Bank has confirmed the existence of one property that secures a commercial loan which was affected by the fires but we can confirm the property had the appropriate insurance. We are most grateful that none of our residential home mortgage borrowers have been affected and that none of our employees have been directly impacted.

“In December, our Board of Directors announced an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.70 per quarter to $0.75 per quarter, the first of which is payable in January of 2025. For the year, we also repurchased 464,314 shares of our common stock for total consideration of $34.3 million. At December 31, 2024, the Bank’s tier 1 leverage ratio improved to 11.33% from 10.85% as of December 31, 2023. Tangible book value per common share increased from $50.54 at the end of 2023 to $57.86 as of December 31, 2024, a 13.1% increase.

“We look forward to continue our consistently strong financial performance into 2025.”

Results of Operations – Quarter

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin. Net interest income before provision for credit losses was $69.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. This was a $325,000 increase from the $68.8 million recorded in the prior quarter and a $223,000 decrease from the same quarter last year. Compared to the prior quarter, interest income was down by $3.6 million but interest expense also decreased by $3.9 million. In comparison to the same quarter last year, interest income increased by $894,000 but interest expense increased by $1.1 million. The Bank’s net interest margin came in at 4.06% for the quarter, this is down slightly from the 4.10% recorded last quarter and was down by 18 basis points from the 4.24% margin achieved in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Management believes that efforts to reduce the Bank’s asset sensitivity have been largely effective as the margin has held up much better than originally anticipated when the first rate cut occurred in September of 2024.

Noninterest Income. For the fourth quarter of 2024, noninterest income was $3.6 million compared with $2.1 million for the same quarter last year and compared to $3.5 million for the third quarter of 2024. The increase over the prior quarter was primarily due to other income and fees which increased by $131,000. In comparing to the same quarter last year, letter of credit (LC) fee income was up by $491,000 and last year the Bank recorded a loss on sale of investment securities of $929,000. Finally, other income was up by $303,000 over last year.

Noninterest Expense. Total noninterest expense was $28.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $22.1 million for the third quarter of 2024 and compared to the $17.9 million recorded in the same period last year. The primary reason for the increase over the prior year and over the prior quarter was the $8.1 million occupancy expense adjustment related to accounting pronouncement ASC 842 mentioned earlier. In comparing to the prior quarter; personnel expense was down by $246,000, business development expense was up by $99,000 and OREO expense was lower by $1.8 million due to a $1.6 million valuation allowance recorded last quarter. In comparing to same quarter last year; personnel expense was up by $1.2 million due to additional personnel, professional services was up by $251,000 and other expense was up by $360,000. For the quarter ended December 31, 2024, the Bank’s efficiency ratio was 38.8%, higher than the 30.6% posted last quarter and higher than the 25.0% posted this quarter last year.

Income Taxes. The Bank recorded a provision for income taxes of $12.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. This represents an effective tax rate (“ETR”) of 29.0% which is identical to the ETR for last quarter and up from the 28.5% ETR recorded in the same period last year. The Bank’s ETR will fluctuate slightly from quarter to quarter within a fairly small range due to the timing of taxable events throughout the year.

Balance Sheet Summary

Total gross loans at December 31, 2024 were $5.64 billion, an increase of $369 million from the total of $5.27 billion as of December 31, 2023. Total deposits were $5.92 billion, an increase of $207.5 million from the $5.71 billion as of December 31, 2023. Total assets were $6.92 billion, an increase of $264.2 million over the total of $6.66 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Results of Operations – Year

The Bank’s net income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $130.7 million or $9.64 per diluted share. This is down from $150.0 million or $10.52 per diluted share for 2023. The decrease was due to net interest income which was down by $16.7 million as well as noninterest expense which increased by $13.4 million. This was partially offset by noninterest income which increased in 2024 by $6.5 million over 2023. Despite this decline, the Bank’s earnings metrics still remain top-of-class as ROA was 1.91%, ROBE was 18.8% and the Bank’s efficiency ratio was 31.5%. Also, during 2024 the Bank repurchased 464,314 shares at an average price of $73.76 which contributed approximately $0.17 per diluted share for 2024.

Asset Quality

Non-accrual loans and loans 90 days past due and still accruing totaled $9.4 million as of December 31, 2024, a decrease of $10.0 million from $19.4 million on September 30, 2024 and a decrease of $19.3 million from the $28.7 million in nonperforming loans as of December 31, 2023. Total net charge-offs for the quarter were $6.6 million and all were previously fully reserved.

Total criticized loans decreased to $158.1 million from $234.8 million last quarter. The Bank expects to upgrade a number of the remaining credits in this cohort once more collateral is in place.

Allowance for Credit Losses

The provision for credit losses for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $2.0 million compared to $3.2 million last quarter and compared to $3.5 million in the same quarter last year. The Bank’s allowance coverage ratio declined to 1.27% of loans as compared to 1.36% in the prior quarter.

Capitalization

As of December 31, 2024, the Bank’s leverage ratio was 11.33%, the common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 11.80% and the total capital ratio stood at 15.11%. As of December 31, 2023, the Bank’s leverage ratio was 10.85%, the common equity tier 1 ratio was 11.57% and the total capital ratio was 15.18%.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call with simultaneous webcast to discuss Preferred Bank’s fourth quarter 2024 financial results will be held tomorrow, January 28, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern / 11:00 a.m. Pacific. Interested participants and investors may access the conference call by dialing 844-826-3037 (domestic) or 412-317-5182 (international) and referencing “Preferred Bank.” There will also be a live webcast of the call available at the Investor Relations section of Preferred Bank’s website at www.preferredbank.com.

Preferred Bank’s Chairman and CEO Li Yu, President and Chief Operating Officer Wellington Chen, Chief Financial Officer Edward J. Czajka, Chief Credit Officer Nick Pi and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Johnny Hsu will discuss Preferred Bank’s financial results, business highlights and outlook. After the live webcast, a replay will be available at the Investor Relations section of Preferred Bank’s website. A replay of the call will also be available at 877-344-7529 (domestic) or 412-317-0088 (international) through February 11, 2025; the passcode is 6335378.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank is one of the larger independent commercial banks headquartered in California. The Bank is chartered by the State of California, and its deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Bank conducts its banking business from its main office in Los Angeles, California, and through twelve full-service branch banking offices in California (Alhambra, Century City, City of Industry, Torrance, Arcadia, Irvine (2), Diamond Bar, Pico Rivera, Tarzana and San Francisco (2)), one branch in Flushing, New York and a branch office in the Houston, Texas suburb of Sugar Land. In addition, the Bank also operates a loan production office in Sunnyvale, California. Preferred Bank offers a broad range of deposit and loan products and services to both commercial and consumer customers. The Bank provides personalized deposit services as well as real estate finance, commercial loans and trade finance to small and mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, real estate developers, professionals and high net worth individuals. Although originally founded as a Chinese-American Bank, Preferred Bank now derives most of its customers from the diversified mainstream market but does continue to benefit from the significant migration to California of ethnic Chinese from China and other areas of East Asia.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Bank’s future financial and operating results, the Bank’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Bank’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: changes in economic conditions; changes in the California real estate market; the loss of senior management and other employees; natural disasters or recurring energy shortage; changes in interest rates; competition from other financial services companies; ineffective underwriting practices; inadequate allowance for loan and lease losses to cover actual losses; risks inherent in construction lending; adverse economic conditions in Asia; downturn in international trade; inability to attract deposits; inability to raise additional capital when needed or on favorable terms; inability to manage growth; inadequate communications, information, operating and financial control systems, technology from fourth party service providers; the U.S. government’s monetary policies; government regulation; environmental liability with respect to properties to which the bank takes title; and the threat of terrorism. Additional factors that could cause the Bank’s results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the Bank’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which can be found on Preferred Bank’s website. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of the press release, and the Bank assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. For additional information about Preferred Bank, please visit the Bank’s website at www.preferredbank.com.

Financial Tables to Follow


PREFERRED BANK
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except for net income per share and shares)

	For the Quarter Ended
	December 31,		September 30,		December 31,
	2024		2024		2023
Interest income:
Loans, including fees	$	111,596	$	114,112	$	107,709
Investment securities		14,013		15,032		16,973
Fed funds sold		249		280		282
Total interest income		125,858		129,424		124,964

Interest expense:
Interest-bearing demand		18,245		23,211		21,716
Savings		85		84		72
Time certificates		37,030		35,956		32,455
Subordinated debt		1,325		1,325		1,325
Total interest expense		56,685		60,576		55,568
Net interest income		69,173		68,848		69,396
Provision for credit losses		2,000		3,200		3,500
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		67,173		65,648		65,896

Noninterest income:
Fees & service charges on deposit accounts		761		747		857
Letters of credit fee income		1,977		1,959		1,486
BOLI income		102		108		105
Net loss on called and sale of investment securities		–		–		(929	)
Net gain on sale of loans		112		91		205
Other income		685		554		382
Total noninterest income		3,637		3,459		2,106

Noninterest expense:
Salary and employee benefits		13,279		13,525		12,058
Net occupancy expense		10,110		1,883		1,536
Business development and promotion expense		340		241		239
Professional services		1,606		1,816		1,355
Office supplies and equipment expense		396		435		391
OREO valuation allowance and related expense		155		1,915		294
Other		2,360		2,274		2,000
Total noninterest expense		28,246		22,089		17,873
Income before provision for income taxes		42,564		47,018		50,129
Income tax expense		12,343		13,635		14,290
Net income	$	30,221	$	33,383	$	35,839

Income per share available to common shareholders
Basic	$	2.29	$	2.50	$	2.63
Diluted	$	2.25	$	2.46	$	2.60

Weighted-average common shares outstanding
Basic		13,190,696		13,327,848		13,617,225
Diluted		13,442,294		13,544,273		13,804,315

Cash dividends per common share	$	0.75	$	0.70	$	0.70

PREFERRED BANK
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except for net income per share and shares)

	For the Twelve Months Ended
	December 31,		December 31,			Change
	2024		2023			%
Interest income:
Loans, including fees	$	445,139	$	412,505			7.9	%
Investment securities		62,854		64,427			-2.4	%
Fed funds sold		1,103		1,056			4.5	%
Total interest income		509,096		477,988			6.5	%

Interest expense:
Interest-bearing demand		87,951		75,417			16.6	%
Savings		323		225			43.5	%
Time certificates		142,894		103,853			37.6	%
FHLB borrowings		0		3,819			-100.0	%
Subordinated debt		5,300		5,300			0.0	%
Total interest expense		236,468		188,614			25.4	%
Net interest income		272,628		289,374			-5.8	%
Provision for credit losses		12,100		10,000			21.0	%
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		260,528		279,374			-6.7	%

Noninterest income:
Fees & service charges on deposit accounts		3,172		3,333			-4.8	%
Letters of credit fee income		7,188		5,798			24.0	%
BOLI income		420		412			2.1	%
Net loss on called and sale of investment securities		–		(5,046	)		-100.0	%
Net gain on sale of loans		659		752			-12.4	%
Other income		2,126		1,864			14.0	%
Total noninterest income		13,565		7,113			90.7	%

Noninterest expense:
Salary and employee benefits		53,648		51,314			4.5	%
Net occupancy expense		15,420		6,049			154.9	%
Business development and promotion expense		1,250		737			69.6	%
Professional services		6,711		5,270			27.3	%
Office supplies and equipment expense		1,781		1,588			12.2	%
OREO valuation allowance and related expense		2,234		3,344			-33.2	%
Other		9,016		8,332			8.2	%
Total noninterest expense		90,060		76,634			17.5	%
Income before provision for income taxes		184,033		209,853			-12.3	%
Income tax expense		53,371		59,813			-10.8	%
Net income	$	130,662	$	150,040			-12.9	%

Income per share available to common shareholders
Basic	$	9.79	$	10.64			-8.0	%
Diluted	$	9.64	$	10.52			-8.4	%

Weighted-average common shares outstanding
Basic		13,347,004		14,095,745			-5.3	%
Diluted		13,554,266		14,261,644			-5.0	%

Dividends per share	$	2.85	$	2.35			21.3	%

PREFERRED BANK
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
(unaudited)
(in thousands)

	December 31,			December 31,
	2024			2023
	(Unaudited)			(Audited)
Assets
Cash and due from banks	$	765,515		$	890,852
Fed funds sold		20,000			20,000
Cash and cash equivalents		785,515			910,852

Securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost		20,021			21,171
Securities available-for-sale, at fair value		348,706			313,842

Loans held for sale, at lower of cost or fair value		2,214			360

Loans		5,640,615			5,273,498
Less allowance for credit losses		(71,477	)		(78,355	)
Less amortized deferred loan fees, net		(9,234	)		(11,079	)
Loans, net		5,559,904			5,184,064

Other real estate owned and repossessed assets		14,991			16,716
Customers’ liability on acceptances		–			315
Bank furniture and fixtures, net		8,462			9,694
Bank-owned life insurance		10,433			10,632
Accrued interest receivable		33,561			33,892
Investment in affordable housing partnerships		58,346			65,276
Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost		15,000			15,000
Deferred tax assets		47,316			48,991
Income tax receivable		2,281			2,391
Operating lease right-of-use assets		13,182			22,050
Other assets		3,497			4,030
Total assets	$	6,923,429		$	6,659,276

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Deposits:
Noninterest bearing demand deposits	$	704,859		$	786,995
Interest bearing deposits:		2,026,965			2,075,156
Savings		30,150			29,167
Time certificates of $250,000 or more		1,477,931			1,317,862
Other time certificates		1,676,943			1,500,162
Total deposits		5,916,848			5,709,342

Acceptances outstanding		–			315
Subordinated debt issuance, net		148,469			148,232
Commitments to fund investment in affordable housing partnerships		21,623			30,824
Operating lease liabilities		16,990			19,766
Accrued interest payable		16,517			16,124
Other liabilities		39,830			39,568
Total liabilities		6,160,277			5,964,171

Shareholders’ equity		763,152			695,105
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity		6,923,429			6,659,276

Book value per common share	$	57.86		$	50.54
Number of common shares outstanding		13,188,776			13,753,246

PREFERRED BANK
Selected Consolidated Financial Information
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except for ratios)

	For the Quarter Ended
	December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
	2024			2024			2024			2024			2023
Unaudited historical quarterly operations data:
Interest income	$	125,858		$	129,424		$	127,294		$	126,520		$	124,964
Interest expense		56,685			60,576			61,187			58,020			55,568
Interest income before provision for credit losses		69,173			68,848			66,107			68,500			69,396
Provision for credit losses		2,000			3,200			2,500			4,400			3,500
Noninterest income		3,637			3,459			3,404			3,065			2,106
Noninterest expense		28,246			22,089			19,697			20,028			17,873
Income tax expense		12,343			13,635			13,722			13,671			14,290
Net income	$	30,221		$	33,383		$	33,592		$	33,466		$	35,839

Earnings per share
Basic	$	2.29		$	2.50		$	2.51		$	2.48		$	2.63
Diluted	$	2.25		$	2.46		$	2.48		$	2.44		$	2.60

Ratios for the period:
Return on average assets		1.74	%		1.95	%		1.97	%		2.00	%		2.15	%
Return on beginning equity		16.03	%		18.37	%		19.44	%		19.36	%		21.21	%
Net interest margin (Fully-taxable equivalent)		4.06	%		4.10	%		3.96	%		4.19	%		4.24	%
Noninterest expense to average assets		1.62	%		1.29	%		1.15	%		1.20	%		1.07	%
Efficiency ratio		38.79	%		30.55	%		28.34	%		27.99	%		25.00	%
Net charge-offs to average loans (annualized)		0.47	%		-0.00	%		0.68	%		0.26	%		-0.00	%

Ratios as of period end:
Tangible common equity ratio		11.02	%		10.92	%		10.55	%		10.35	%		10.43	%
Tier 1 leverage capital ratio		11.33	%		11.28	%		10.89	%		10.80	%		10.85	%
Common equity tier 1 risk-based capital ratio		11.80	%		11.66	%		11.52	%		11.50	%		11.57	%
Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio		11.80	%		11.66	%		11.52	%		11.50	%		11.57	%
Total risk-based capital ratio		15.11	%		15.06	%		14.93	%		15.08	%		15.18	%
Allowances for credit losses to loans at end of period		1.27	%		1.36	%		1.34	%		1.49	%		1.49	%
Allowance for credit losses to non-performing loans		7.64	x		3.92	x		1.79	x		4.33	x		2.73	x

Average balances:
Total securities	$	350,732		$	356,590		$	353,357		$	348,961		$	349,863
Total loans		5,542,558			5,458,613			5,320,360			5,263,562			5,126,918
Total earning assets		6,788,487			6,684,766			6,728,498			6,585,853			6,499,469
Total assets		6,920,325			6,817,979			6,863,829			6,718,018			6,627,349
Total time certificate of deposits		3,144,523			2,874,985			2,884,259			2,852,860			2,767,385
Total interest bearing deposits		5,220,655			5,124,245			5,203,034			5,004,834			4,906,947
Total deposits		5,905,127			5,828,227			5,901,976			5,761,488			5,689,713
Total interest bearing liabilities		5,369,092			5,272,617			5,351,347			5,153,089			5,055,143
Total equity		760,345			747,222			715,190			704,996			683,141

PREFERRED BANK
Selected Consolidated Financial Information
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except for ratios)

	For the Twelve Months Ended
	December 31,			December 31,
	2024			2023

Interest income	$	509,096		$	477,988
Interest expense		236,468			188,614
Interest income before provision for credit losses		272,628			289,374
Provision for credit losses		12,100			10,000
Noninterest income		13,565			7,113
Noninterest expense		90,060			76,634
Income tax expense		53,371			59,813
Net income	$	130,662		$	150,040

Earnings per share
Basic	$	9.79		$	10.64
Diluted	$	9.64		$	10.52

Ratios for the period:
Return on average assets		1.91	%		2.28	%
Return on beginning equity		18.80	%		23.80	%
Net interest margin (Fully-taxable equivalent)		4.08	%		4.49	%
Noninterest expense to average assets		1.32	%		1.17	%
Efficiency ratio		31.47	%		25.85	%
Net charge-off to average loans		0.35	%		0.00	%

Average balances:
Total securities	$	352,416		$	389,584
Total loans		5,396,844			5,068,486
Total earning assets		6,697,118			5,067,870
Total assets		6,830,252			6,452,661
Total time certificate of deposits		2,939,543			6,577,690
Total interest bearing deposits		5,849,300			2,570,706
Total deposits		5,849,300			4,678,893
Total interest bearing liabilities		5,849,300			5,577,155
Total equity		732,058			4,902,616

PREFERRED BANK
Selected Consolidated Financial Information
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except for ratios)

				As of
				December 31,			September 30,			June 30,			March 31,			December 31,
				2024			2024			2024			2024			2023
Unaudited quarterly statement of financial position data:
Assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents			$	785,515		$	804,994		$	917,677		$	936,600		$	910,852
	Securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost				20,021			20,311			20,605			20,904			21,171
	Securities available-for-sale, at fair value				348,706			337,363			331,909			333,411			313,842
	Loans:
		Real estate – Mortgage:
			Real estate—Residential	$	790,069		$	753,453		$	732,251		$	724,101		$	688,058
			Real estate—Commercial		2,840,771			2,882,506			2,833,430			2,777,608			2,760,761
			Total Real Estate – Mortgage		3,630,840			3,635,959			3,565,681			3,501,709			3,448,819
		Real estate – Construction:
			R/E Construction — Residential		296,580			274,214			238,062			236,596			246,201
			R/E Construction — Commercial		287,185			290,308			247,582			213,727			179,775
			Total real estate construction loans		583,765			564,522			485,644			450,323			425,976
		Commercial and industrial			1,418,930			1,365,550			1,371,694			1,369,529			1,394,871
		SBA			6,833			5,424			5,463			3,914			3,469
		Consumer and others			247			124			118			379			363
			Gross loans		5,640,615			5,571,579			5,428,600			5,325,854			5,273,498
	Allowance for credit losses on loans				(71,477	)		(76,051	)		(72,848	)		(79,311	)		(78,355	)
	Net deferred loan fees				(9,234	)		(10,414	)		(10,502	)		(10,460	)		(11,079	)
		Net loans, excluding loans held for sale		$	5,559,904		$	5,485,114		$	5,345,250		$	5,236,083		$	5,184,064
	Loans held for sale			$	2,214		$	225		$	955		$	605		$	360
		Net loans		$	5,562,118		$	5,485,339		$	5,346,205		$	5,236,688		$	5,184,424

	Other real estate owned and repossessed assets			$	14,991		$	15,082		$	16,716		$	16,716		$	16,716
	Investment in affordable housing partnerships				58,346			58,009			60,432			62,854			65,276
	Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost				15,000			15,000			15,000			15,000			15,000
	Other assets				118,732			136,246			138,036			134,040			131,995
		Total assets		$	6,923,429		$	6,872,344		$	6,846,580		$	6,756,213		$	6,659,276

Liabilities:
	Deposits:
		Demand		$	704,859		$	682,859		$	675,767		$	709,767		$	786,995
		Interest bearing demand			2,026,965			1,994,288			2,326,214			2,159,948			2,075,156
		Savings			30,150			29,793			28,251			29,261			29,167
		Time certificates of $250,000 or more			1,477,931			1,478,500			1,406,149			1,349,927			1,317,862
		Other time certificates			1,676,943			1,682,324			1,442,381			1,552,805			1,500,162
		Total deposits		$	5,916,848		$	5,867,764		$	5,878,762		$	5,801,708		$	5,709,342

	Acceptances outstanding			$	–		$	–		$	–		$	–		$	315
	Subordinated debt issuance, net				148,469			148,410			148,351			148,292			148,232
	Commitments to fund investment in affordable housing partnerships				21,623			23,617			27,946			29,647			30,824
	Other liabilities				73,337			82,436			68,394			77,008			75,458
		Total liabilities		$	6,160,277		$	6,122,227		$	6,123,453		$	6,056,655		$	5,964,171

Equity:
	Net common stock, no par value			$	105,501		$	109,928		$	113,509		$	115,915		$	134,534
	Retained earnings				685,108			664,808			640,675			616,417			592,325
	Accumulated other comprehensive income				(27,457	)		(24,619	)		(31,057	)		(32,774	)		(31,754	)
		Total shareholders’ equity		$	763,152		$	750,117		$	723,127		$	699,558		$	695,105
		Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity		$	6,923,429		$	6,872,344		$	6,846,580		$	6,756,213		$	6,659,276

PREFERRED BANK
Quarter-to-Date Average Balances, Yield and Rates
(unaudited)


	Three months ended December 31,								Three months ended September 30,								Three months ended December 31,
	2024								2024								2023
				Interest		Average						Interest		Average						Interest		Average
	Average			Income or		Yield/			Average			Income or		Yield/			Average			Income or		Yield/
	Balance			Expense		Rate			Balance			Expense		Rate			Balance			Expense		Rate
ASSETS	(Dollars in thousands)
Interest earning assets:
Loans ^(1,2)	$	5,543,215		$	111,596		8.01	%	$	5,459,842		$	114,112		8.31	%	$	5,127,935		$	107,709		8.33	%
Investment securities ⁽³⁾		350,732			3,566		4.04	%		356,590			3,610		4.03	%		349,863			3,335		3.78	%
Federal funds sold		20,172			249		4.91	%		20,164			280		5.52	%		20,028			282		5.58	%
Other earning assets		874,368			10,546		4.80	%		848,170			11,521		5.40	%		1,001,643			13,739		5.44	%
Total interest earning assets		6,788,487			125,957		7.38	%		6,684,766			129,523		7.71	%		6,499,469			125,065		7.63	%
Deferred loan fees, net		(9,808	)							(10,248	)							(10,421	)
Allowance for credit losses on loans		(75,474	)							(72,899	)							(74,965	)
Noninterest earning assets:
Cash and due from banks		10,626								10,826								12,376
Bank furniture and fixtures		8,866								9,419								9,243
Right of use assets		28,570								22,496								20,338
Other assets		169,058								173,619								171,309
Total assets	$	6,920,325							$	6,817,979							$	6,627,349

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Interest bearing liabilities:
Deposits:
Interest bearing demand and savings	$	2,076,132		$	18,330		3.51	%	$	2,249,260		$	23,295		4.12	%	$	2,139,562		$	21,788		4.04	%
TCD $250K or more		1,481,219			17,514		4.70	%		1,412,073			17,866		5.03	%		1,294,531			15,600		4.78	%
Other time certificates		1,663,304			19,516		4.67	%		1,462,912			18,090		4.92	%		1,472,854			16,855		4.54	%
Total interest bearing deposits		5,220,655			55,360		4.22	%		5,124,245			59,251		4.60	%		4,906,947			54,243		4.39	%
Short-term borrowings		3			0		3.31	%		–			–		0.00	%		2			0		6.08	%
Subordinated debt, net		148,434			1,325		3.55	%		148,372			1,325		3.55	%		148,194			1,325		3.55	%
Total interest bearing liabilities		5,369,092			56,685		4.20	%		5,272,617			60,576		4.57	%		5,055,143			55,568		4.36	%
Noninterest bearing liabilities:
Demand deposits		684,472								703,982								782,766
Lease liability		25,486								18,882								18,179
Other liabilities		80,930								75,276								88,120
Total liabilities		6,159,980								6,070,757								5,944,208
Shareholders’ equity		760,345								747,222								683,141
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	6,920,325							$	6,817,979							$	6,627,349
Net interest income				$	69,272							$	68,947							$	69,497
Net interest spread							3.18	%							3.14	%							3.27	%
Net interest margin							4.06	%							4.10	%							4.24	%

Cost of Deposits:
Noninterest bearing demand deposits	$	684,472							$	703,982							$	782,766
Interest bearing deposits		5,220,655			55,360		4.22	%		5,124,245			59,251		4.60	%		4,906,947			54,243		4.39	%
Total Deposits	$	5,905,127		$	55,360		3.73	%	$	5,828,227		$	59,251		4.04	%	$	5,689,713		$	54,243		3.78	%

⁽¹⁾	Includes non-accrual loans and loans held for sale
⁽²⁾	Net loan fee income of $1.2 million, $991,000, and $1.0 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, are included in the yield computations
⁽³⁾	Yields on securities have been adjusted to a tax-equivalent basis

PREFERRED BANK
Year-to-Date Average Balances, Yield and Rates
(unaudited)

	Twleve Months ended December 31,
	2024								2023
				Interest		Average						Interest		Average
	Average			Income or		Yield/			Average			Income or		Yield/
	Balance			Expense		Rate			Balance			Expense		Rate
ASSETS	(Dollars in thousands)
Interest earning assets:
Loans ^(1,2)	$	5,398,916		$	445,139		8.24	%	$	5,068,486		$	412,505		8.14	%
Investment securities ⁽³⁾		352,416			14,257		4.05	%		389,584			14,461		3.71	%
Federal funds sold		20,397			1,103		5.41	%		20,090			1,056		5.26	%
Other earning assets		925,389			48,994		5.29	%		974,501			50,372		5.17	%
Total interest earning assets		6,697,118			509,493		7.61	%		6,452,661			478,394		7.41	%
Deferred loan fees, net		(10,301	)							(10,212	)
Allowance for credit losses on loans		(76,448	)							(70,992	)
Noninterest earning assets:
Cash and due from banks		10,624								11,978
Bank furniture and fixtures		9,537								9,010
Right of use assets		23,997								21,417
Other assets		175,725								163,828
Total assets	$	6,830,252							$	6,577,690

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Interest bearing liabilities:
Deposits:
Interest bearing demand/ savings	$	2,198,837		$	88,274		4.01	%	$	2,108,187		$	75,642		3.59	%
TCD $250K or more		1,403,663			69,176		4.93	%		1,267,859			53,200		4.20	%
Other time certificates		1,535,880			73,718		4.80	%		1,302,847			50,653		3.89	%
Total interest bearing deposits		5,138,380			231,168		4.50	%		4,678,893			179,495		3.84	%
Short-term borrowings		1			0		2.50	%		1			0		3.06	%
Advance from Federal Home Loan Bank		–			0		0.00	%		75,616			3,819		5.05	%
Subordinated debt, net		148,344			5,300		3.57	%		148,106			5,300		3.58	%
Total interest bearing liabilities		5,286,725			236,468		4.47	%		4,902,616			188,614		3.85	%
Noninterest bearing liabilities:
Demand deposits		710,920								898,262
Lease liability		20,931								19,902
Other liabilities		79,618								84,449
Total liabilities		6,098,194								5,905,229
Shareholders’ equity		732,058								672,461
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	6,830,252							$	6,577,690
Net interest income				$	273,025							$	289,780
Net interest spread							3.13	%							3.57	%
Net interest margin							4.08	%							4.49	%

Cost of Deposits:
Noninterest bearing demand deposits	$	710,920							$	898,262
Interest bearing deposits		5,138,380			231,168		4.50	%		4,678,893			179,495		3.84	%
Total Deposits	$	5,849,300		$	231,168		3.95	%	$	5,577,155		$	179,495		3.22	%

⁽¹⁾	Includes non-accrual loans and loans held for sale
⁽²⁾	Net loan fee income of $4.6 million and $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, are included in the yield computations
⁽³⁾	Yields on securities have been adjusted to a tax-equivalent basis

Preferred Bank
Loan and Credit Quality Information

Allowance For Credit Losses History
	Year ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
	(Dollars in 000’s)
Allowance For Credit Losses
Balance at Beginning of Period	$	78,355		$	68,472
Charge-Offs
Commercial & Industrial		19,028			124
Total Charge-Offs		19,028			124

Recoveries
Commercial & Industrial		50			7
Total Recoveries		50			7

Net Charge-Offs		18,978			117
Provision for Credit Losses:		12,100			10,000
Balance at End of Period	$	71,477		$	78,355

Average Loans Held for Investment	$	5,396,844		$	5,067,870
Loans Held for Investment at End of Period	$	5,640,615		$	5,273,498
Net Charge-Offs to Average Loans		0.35	%		0.00	%
Allowances for Credit Losses to Loans at End of Period		1.27	%		1.49	%

AT THE COMPANY:	AT FINANCIAL PROFILES:
Edward J. Czajka	Jeffrey Haas
Executive Vice President	General Information
Chief Financial Officer	(310) 622-8240
(213) 891-1188	PFBC@finprofiles.com

The MIL Network –

January 28, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: News 01/27/2025 Blackburn, Luján Introduce Bill to Safeguard U.S. Communications Networks from National Security Threats

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act to safeguard Americans’ communications networks from foreign-adversary controlled technology, including routers, modems, or devices that combine both:
“Tens of millions of families and small businesses across the country use wireless routers as their primary access point to the internet,” said Senator Blackburn. “Many of these routers are susceptible to infiltration by foreign actors – including China – exposing our country to serious danger. This bill will better protect U.S. communications networks and our national security.”
“The ROUTERS Act is a crucial step in ensuring that everyday internet devices like consumer routers and modems don’t pose a risk to our national security or consumer privacy,” said Senator Luján. “Securing our broadband infrastructure is a top priority, and we must create safeguards at every point across our systems. That is why I am proud to reintroduce this critical piece of legislation to help protect the privacy and security of millions of Americans.”

ROUTERS ACT:

The ROUTERS Act would require the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce to conduct a study of the national security risks posed by routers, modems, or other devices that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned, controlled, or subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. adversaries. This includes the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela.

Click here for bill text.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Adverse consequences of imposing import duties on titanium dioxide – E-002612/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament
On 10 July 2024, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1923[1] imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of titanium dioxide from China.

On 15 November 2024, the Commission submitted for a vote the draft implementing act concluding the investigation to the Trade Defence Instruments Committee. At the same time, the draft implementing act was sent to the European Parliament.

Under the ‘Union interest’ section of the draft implementing act, the Commission assessed the impact on companies across value chains, on the basis of all the information collected during the investigation.

The Commission acknowledged the impact the duties might have on companies in different value chains. The definitive draft implementing act thus sets the duties as a fixed amount per kilogram instead of a percentage of the value of the imported product to soften that impact.

The prices of titanium dioxide are expected to increase, which will result in lower share of the duty in the final price of titanium dioxide. The Commission also allowed for titanium dioxide used in production of white inks for printing to be exempted from duties.

The draft implementing act[2] was published on 9 January 2025 and will be applicable for five years. T he downstream industry also has the possibility to request the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation.

In fact, the Commission has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of decor paper from China following a complaint from EU producers which also use titanium-dioxide as a raw material.

[1] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1923 of 10 July 2024 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of titanium dioxide originating in the People’s Republic of China, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1923

[2] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/4 of 17 December 2024 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of titanium dioxide originating in the People’s Republic of China, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202500004
Last updated: 27 January 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Members consider China’s request for panel to examine electric vehicle measures in Türkiye

Source: World Trade Organization

DS629: Türkiye — Measures Concerning Electric Vehicles and Other Types of Vehicles from China

China submitted a request for the establishment of a dispute panel to rule on various measures taken by Türkiye concerning electric vehicles (“EVs”) and certain other types of vehicles originating in China. Consultations took place on 20-21 November in an effort to resolve the dispute but failed to produce a mutually agreed solution, prompting China to submit its request for the panel.

China said Türkiye’s measures are protectionist and discriminatory, and violate Türkiye’s core obligations under the WTO agreements, including most favoured nation treatment, tariff bindings, and general elimination of quantitative restrictions. China expressed grave concerns that some members, including Türkiye, have introduced restrictive measures on Chinese new energy products, including EVs, which are inconsistent with WTO rules. Increased tech protectionism is not a solution, China said, adding that the panel request is one of the responses to such unlawful measures.

Türkiye said the two sides had constructive consultations in November 2024 and that it shared information and clarifications with its Chinese colleagues in a cooperative manner. Türkiye said its measures are completely justified against the backdrop of the strong challenges its automotive industry has been facing for many years due to anti-competitive practices, subsidization, and excess capacity. These problems should be addressed in the relevant WTO bodies for a level playing field in industrial sectors. Against that background, Türkiye said it cannot at this time agree to the establishment of a panel.

The DSB took note of the statements and agreed to revert to this matter should the requesting member wish to do so.

DS597: United States – Origin Marking Requirement (Hong Kong, China)

The United States once again raised the matter of the panel ruling in DS597 at the DSB meeting. The US said it was raising the matter as a result of recent developments in Hong Kong, China regarding free speech and human rights. The US referred back to its previous statements regarding its position on essential security and its reasons for placing this item on the DSB agenda.

Hong Kong, China said the US again raising this matter and questioning its inherent rights under international law was an abuse of WTO rules. The panel ruling clearly confirms that the US action lacks legal justification, Hong Kong, China said, adding that it stands ready to proceed through the due process of appeal should the US lift its blockage on the appointment of Appellate Body members.

China reiterated its objections to the item being on the DSB agenda and said any member, regardless of its power and size, should refrain from taking unilateral and protectionism measures in the name of national security or using it as a vehicle to disregard the core principles of the WTO and interfere in other members’ internal affairs.

Appellate Body appointments

Colombia, speaking on behalf of 130 members, introduced for the 83rd time the group’s proposal to start the selection processes for filling vacancies on the Appellate Body. The extensive number of members submitting the proposal reflects a common interest in the functioning of the Appellate Body and, more generally, in the functioning of the WTO’s dispute settlement system, Colombia said.

The United States noted that a new US President was inaugurated on 20 January, and the US is currently transitioning to a new Administration. Members are aware of the longstanding US concerns with WTO dispute settlement that have persisted across US administrations; those concerns remain unaddressed and it does not support the proposed decision, the United States said.

Twenty members then took the floor to comment. Most reiterated their support for the joint proposal and for the urgent need to restore a fully functioning dispute settlement system as soon as possible. Many welcomed the progress made in the dispute settlement reform discussions to date and the proposal by the General Council Chair to initiate consultations with interested delegations to hear views on how to build on progress made in a manner that would further advance dispute settlement reform work.

Several members said they looked forward to hearing from the Chair on how those consultations would be organized. Ten members urged others to consider joining the Multi-party interim appeal arrangement (MPIA), a contingent measure to safeguard the right to appeal in the absence of a functioning Appellate Body.

Colombia said on behalf of the 130 members it regretted that for the 83rd occasion members have not been able to launch the selection processes. Ongoing conversations about reform of the dispute settlement system should not prevent the Appellate Body from continuing to operate fully, and members shall comply with their obligation under the Dispute Settlement Understanding to fill the vacancies as they arise, Colombia said for the group.

Surveillance of implementation

Australia presented a status report regarding its implementation of the panel ruling in the case brought by China in DS603, “Australia — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Certain Products from China.” Australia said it provided a written status report in this dispute on 16 January noting that Australia has fully implemented the ruling and that the matter is now resolved.

China thanked Australia for its statement and said this case demonstrates the effectiveness of the WTO dispute settlement system. At a time when the multilateral trading system faces unprecedented challenges, cooperation among members is vital to maintaining the effective operation of the dispute settlement mechanism, China said. China added that it is ready to work with Australia and other members to continue to resolve trade frictions under the WTO framework.

The United States presented status reports with regard to DS184, “US — Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Japan”, DS160, “United States — Section 110(5) of US Copyright Act”, DS464, “United States — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea”, and DS471, “United States — Certain Methodologies and their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China.”

The European Union presented a status report with regard to DS291, “EC — Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products.”

Indonesia presented its status reports in DS477 and DS478, “Indonesia — Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products.”

Next meeting

The next regular DSB meeting will take place on 24 February 2025.

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MIL OSI Economics –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: New nano-formulation may help bring safer treatment for Parkinson’s Patients

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 27 JAN 2025 4:20PM by PIB Delhi

Researchers have developed a targeted nano formulation that can help sustained release of a hormone called 17β-Estradiol which is crucial for managing Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Many neurodegenerative and psychiatric malignancies like Parkinson’ disease (PD) originate from an imbalance of 17β-Estradiol (E2) in the human brain. However, the peripheral side effects of the usage of E2 for PD therapy and less understanding of the molecular mechanism hinder establishing its neurotherapeutic potential.

Scientists from Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) Mohali, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology, used Dopamine Receptor D3 (DRD3) conjugated to 17β-Estradiol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles that led to sustained release of 17β-Estradiol (E2) to the brain.

The targeted nano-formulation inhibited the mitochondrial translocation of calpain, thereby protecting neurons from rotenone-induced mitochondrial damage. Furthermore, the targeted nano delivery system alleviated behavioural impairments in a rodent model. Additionally, the study reveals for the first time that BMI1, a member of the PRC1 complex that regulates mitochondrial homeostasis, is a substrate of calpain. The targeted nano-formulation restored BMI1 expression by inhibiting its degradation through calpain.

The study Carbohydrate Polymers has helped in understanding the role of hormone (E2) in regulating oxidative stress in PD patients. With the continued exploration of long-term safety profiles and better-targeted delivery, this can establish itself as a safer drug to improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients.

The graphical abstract describing the work

NKR/PSM

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Rosen Meets with Nominee for Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Presses Him on Clean Energy Investments

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
As A Result Of Mr. Wright’s Lack Of Commitment To Support Clean Energy Investments In Nevada, Senator Rosen Has Serious Concerns About His Nomination
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) met with the nominee to be the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, and pressed him on President Trump’s misguided action to pause clean energy investments, delaying projects that are critical to growing our clean energy economy and reducing our reliance on China. She also asked Mr. Wright to acknowledge Yucca Mountain is dead and to commit to no new federal funding or support for it.
“The historic investments we’ve made in clean energy are bringing good-paying jobs to Nevada and helping reduce our reliance on China, which is why I’m going to fight back against the Trump Administration’s attempt to delay and roll back investments,” said Senator Rosen. “After discussing this issue with Mr. Wright and hearing his lack of commitment to support these investments, I’m deeply concerned that the Department of Energy’s actions and future direction will hurt Nevada.”
Senator Rosen has been a strong supporter of Nevada’s clean energy economy. She helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which are making significant investments in Nevada’s clean energy economy and the jobs it supports. Senator Rosen has also been a strong supporter of Nevada’s solar industry, successfully leading the charge against solar tariffs that would have decimated the industry. Senator Rosen has also sent letters urging Senate appropriators to fund the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office to support a reliable, clean energy source for the United States that would allow the country to secure its energy grid.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI—Hagerty Joins Mornings With Maria on Fox Business to Discuss Trump’s Cabinet Nominees, Agenda

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
NASHVILLE, TN—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, today joined Mornings With Maria on Fox Business to discuss Senate Republicans’ role in confirming President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations and implementing his legislative agenda.

*Click the photo above or here to watch*
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on the politically-motivated delay of Trump’s cabinet confirmations: “What we’ve seen is the minority is using every procedural trick in the book. They tried to slow us down dramatically. We would’ve been much further along, even in Trump’s first term, clearly in [former President Barack] Obama’s first term. In Obama’s first term, we had twelve cabinet members seated in the first fifteen days. What we saw happen back in Trump’s first term was the resistance movement unfold against us. The Democrats plied all these procedural measures, slowed us down dramatically. We returned the favor in [former President] Joe Biden’s Administration. [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune offered to move back to a more normal sequence, as we [did with] Obama. The Democrats have no interest in it—we’ve gone through massive political gyrations—but we’re going to push these nominees through. That’s why we were here, willing to go through the night and early Sunday morning. The Democrats finally came to an 11th hour agreement to let us move Scott Bessent later today. But we’re going to keep pushing these through, grinding these through. There is no reason to be slowing all of this down, particularly when you think about the national security crises that we face as a nation. The American public wants us to get to work. They expect President Trump to be on the case. The Democrats are, yet again, doing everything they can to slow things down and throw sand into the gears.”
Hagerty on his strong support for Pam Bondi: “Pam Bondi is a top priority nominee for us. She will get confirmed; there’s no question about that. Getting Pam and getting Kash Patel into position to deal with the national security crises and threats that we face here domestically is absolutely critical. She’s high priority. She’s in this first wave that will go—she will go—and I have every reason to expect she’ll go on a bipartisan basis. We’ve just got to get the Democrats to realize this and start to work with us more closely. The American public expect it.”
Hagerty on the reconciliation process: “What we need to do is get as many things accomplished as quickly as we possibly can. Look, the situation in Florida is urgent. It makes sense to put it on a piece of legislation that’s moving through quickly. That’s certainly going to help us bring along various Florida members. I think that should be part and parcel of this. And if you just step back for a minute and think about where America saw this country in November of this last year, seventy-five percent of Americans said we were on the wrong track as a nation. Maria, the American people voted. President Trump won every single battleground state a landslide in the electoral college. He won the popular vote. Democrats should wake up and realize the public needs us to make significant change. These are the vehicles that will allow those changes to occur, I hope we’ll get their support.”
Hagerty on Trump’s agenda to bring back American sovereignty: “Senator Thune certainly is focused on the process that we’re going to be moving through right now, to make certain that our military is adequately funded. But I’ve had great conversations with Elon Musk about what we can do, from an operational efficiency standpoint, deploying new technologies, making certain that the most relevant technologies that are available in the private sector are being deployed in our military. The focus is going to be back on lethality and effectiveness, not on pronouns at the Pentagon. Now [Secretary] Pete [Hegseth], he has got that message loud and clear. I’m excited about what may come, in terms of deploying new technologies, new ways to make America’s warfighters the most lethal in the world. So, I think the combination of the ongoing effort that we’ve got from a legislative standpoint, plus the operational efforts that are taking place with the Department of Government Efficiency, need to come to bear, in full force, and our procurement exercises in the Department of Defense, making certain that we have our men and women in the military in as great a position as we possibly can to deliver for the American people.”
Hagerty on the national security concerns in doing business with the CCP: “I think there’s so much that can be done regarding China accessing our capital markets. Maria, one of my pet peeves is allowing Chinese companies that have golden share arrangements to list on our capital markets. You know what golden share is? That’s a minority stake that the Chinese government, the CCP has control of, that can actually be a veto for any corporate action that one might take. They have this control over Bytedance. They have this sort of control over Tencent. It’s amazing that these companies are allowed to list here. The American public does not understand the extent of control that the Chinese Communist Party has over their champion industries, yet they’re allowed to come here, take capital from our markets, the most efficient capital markets in the world, in a situation that is entirely unfair. When you think about it from a corporate governance standpoint, there are many ways, I think, that Scott Bessent can look at these critical issues and I hope address them very quickly.”
Hagerty on the debt ceiling: “President Trump wants the debt ceiling dealt with as quickly as possible. In the past, it’s always been used by the Democrats as a cudgel to force actually more spending. We could deal with this in a number of fashions, perhaps dealing with it alongside disaster relief for California or others. But we need to deal with it right up front, quickly and effectively, and not let this become an issue or a hurdle to get larger things accomplished.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Fermented clothing? Here’s how the biofilm on kombucha can be turned into green textiles

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajkishore Nayak, Associate Professor , RMIT University Vietnam

A SCOBY biofilm atop kombucha l i g h t p o e t/Shutterstock

If you’ve ever made kombucha, you will be familiar with the term SCOBY – a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. It’s impossible to miss – it’s the floating biofilm on top of your delicious drink.

While a SCOBY looks gross, it is remarkably versatile. If you feed it on sugar and tea or coffee in large vats, it grows rapidly. The reason you need tea or coffee is because caffeine contains nitrogen, which stimulates microorganism growth. Species of bacteria in the SCOBY such as komagataeibacter xylinus have the curious ability to eat sugars and produce bacterial cellulose.

The reason we and other researchers are focused on this unusual substance is because cellulose is extremely useful. Cotton is largely cellulose, as is flax, which we use to produce linen. Cellulose from bacteria has the advantage of being about ten times stronger than cotton.

Traditional methods of making the world’s clothes comes at a large environmental cost. If we can scale up production of bacterial cellulose using common materials such as sugar and tea, we might produce a new kind of versatile, sustainable textile. In our new research, we use this cellulose to make wallets and canvases for painting.

What’s so good about bacterial cellulose?

Deriving cellulose from bacteria isn’t new. It was first discovered back in 1886. Since then, the main use we’ve found for it has been in food and drink.

Kombucha – sometimes known as tea-mushroom – is thought to have been invented in China. In the Philippines, people have long fermented pineapple juice or coconut water to produce enough SCOBY to make chewy, gelatinous desserts. But this source of cellulose could be used for much more.

In recent years, researchers have looked into using food waste to make this cellulose.

Bacterial cellulose is made by cultivating a SCOBY in sugared tea, just like kombucha. But instead of the drink, what we are after is the SCOBY itself. As the microbes feed on the sugar, they spin out cellulose fibre and form a dense mat able to be harvested and processed.

Despite not being from plants, the bacterial cellulose is remarkably similar to cellulose from cotton. In some ways, it might be better – it is incredibly pure, highly absorbent and boasts impressive tensile strength. It’s natural, nontoxic, has a low environmental footprint and is biodegradable.

These traits make it potentially suitable for a range of uses, from clothing through to biomedical use in gauze bandages due to natural antibacterial properties. It can be dyed, sewed and treated to make different textures. It can be used to replace leather in clothing, footwear and accessories.

Bacterial cellulose can be used to make gauze bandages.
Kallayanee Naloka/Shutterstock

But clothing is the main game. Researchers have found ways of growing this cellulose in moulds shaped like pieces of clothing to avoid the 15-20% of material wasted by cutting fabric.

Bacterial cellulose might offer a way to reduce our reliance on the fibres we use to make clothes, which come with substantial environmental costs regardless of whether they are natural or synthetic.

Farming cotton requires huge volumes of water and plentiful pesticides and insecticides. To make one kilo of cotton fibre requires between 8,000 and 22,000 litres of fresh water. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester and nylon are made from oil, a fossil fuel.

The textile industry is highly polluting, consuming vast amounts of water and energy. As fashion gets ever faster, many of these clothes have a short lifespan before becoming waste. Synthetic fibres shed huge volumes of microplastics at every step of their lifespans.

The challenge of fermentation

In recent years, there’s been great interest in precision fermentation – using the rapid growth rate of microbes to produce foods and materials we want, such as milk grown without cows.

One of the big challenges with these approaches is scale. Bacterial cellulose is a similar form of fermentation. As a result, it faces similar challenges around scalability and efficiency. While the material has promise, the question is whether it can be produced cheaply and at scale.

To date, we haven’t yet found how to scale bacterial cellulose up to the level needed to meet the demand of large clothing manufacturers. And at present, the fermentation process is water intensive. Fermentation makes the water acidic, meaning it can’t be easily reused.

This fibre could readily replace cotton, but doesn’t have the same extreme durability and elasticity as some synthetic fibres.

Which way forward?

The way we currently make clothes comes at a huge environmental cost. Bacterial cellulose could offer one way to make clothes at vastly lower cost to the planet.

While there are still questions over whether it’s possible to make it competitive, researchers in several countries – including our research group – are coming at the problem from different angles. If they succeed, we might one day see a future where clothes and shoes come from sugar and tea.

Rajkishore Nayak works for RMIT University Vietnam. We received Tier II funding from the the office of Research & Innovation at RMIT University Vietnam & CSIRO Australia.

Donna Cleveland works for RMIT University Vietnam. She received funding from a Tier II grant from the the office of Research & Innovation at RMIT University Vietnam & CSIRO Australia..

– ref. Fermented clothing? Here’s how the biofilm on kombucha can be turned into green textiles – https://theconversation.com/fermented-clothing-heres-how-the-biofilm-on-kombucha-can-be-turned-into-green-textiles-228904

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy calls for FCC to review partisan decision to approve Soros-backed takeover of 200 radio stations

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review its decision to allow a company backed in part by foreign money and billionaire Democratic donor George Soros to obtain licenses for more than 200 American radio stations. The requested review by the FCC would include making certain that all required steps were followed according to FCC procedures and taking a closer look at the national security ramifications of the sale.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“Mr. George Soros is buying WWL AM radio in New Orleans. WWL AM radio is practically an institution in my state.”
. . .
“Any time a broadcast license—as is the case with Audacy—is transferred, the FCC has to approve it. So, Mr. Soros’s purchase of WWL Radio and the 219 other radio stations had to go before the FCC, and it did. And it went—the approval for Mr. Soros—went through the FCC like green grass through a goose. It was a party-line vote. It was last September. All three Democrats—there are five people on the FCC—all three Democrats said let it go, and [it has been alleged that] they short-circuited the normal process. . . . What happened was what some members of the media have called the ‘Soros shortcut.’ They just got together and rammed it through.”
. . .
“Mr. Soros—both George and [his son] Alex—believe that America would be better off if we had open borders. They believe that America would be better off, in my opinion—this is how I read their writings—if we ended jails and if we ran our government like the Communist Party of China. I don’t agree with that, but Mr. Soros—both of them—are entitled to their opinion. But my people in Louisiana are entitled to know whose opinion they are hearing on the radio.”
. . .
“I hope the new FCC revisits this issue. These licenses and these airwaves do not belong to me or to the FCC or to Audacy or to WWL. They belong to you and you and you—the American people. We are supposed to make sure through our FCC—that is why God created the FCC—that these licenses are not just given to anybody.”
Background:
Audacy is the second-largest owner of radio stations in the U.S. In total, Audacy owns roughly 220 stations in more than 45 media markets throughout the country.
In Jan. 2024, Audacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and offered to trade shares of the company to lenders who would take on debt. George Soros took on $400 million in Audacy’s debt for 50 cents on the dollar and became the largest shareholder in the restructured company. Several foreign entities also took on some of Audacy’s debt, leaving the company with more than 20% foreign ownership.
The FCC restricts the ability of companies with significant foreign ownership to obtain radio licenses. The agency is supposed to investigate foreign-backed companies to make sure they would operate in the American people’s interests before approving the transfer of any radio licenses.
According to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the Democrat-led FCC rushed the approval process to allow the transfer of licenses to the Soros-backed Audacy without conducting the standard investigations. Carr said the FCC had never previously used the “Soros-shortcut” procedure to approve licenses to a firm with significant foreign ownership.
Carr—who is now chairman of the FCC—has said he would take “a very hard look” at a petition to reconsider the license transfer to the Soros-backed company.
Soros has donated billions of dollars to leftist causes in recent years. Soros has called the U.S. “the main obstacle to a stable and just world,” and claimed that China has a “better functioning government than the United States.”
Shortly before leaving office, President Biden gave Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Watch Kennedy’s full speech here.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy in the Telegraph: It’s time to ditch the Chagos Islands deal for good

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Telegraph arguing that the United Kingdom was right to consult the Trump administration before ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including the key U.S.-U.K. military base on Deigo Garcia, to Mauritius.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Sir Keir Starmer appears to have had a change of heart when it comes to working with the Trump administration—and that’s a good thing.
“Just a few weeks ago, the Prime Minister was poised to sign away the fate of a joint U.K.-U.S. military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.
“According to reports, Starmer and members of the outgoing Biden administration wanted to finali[z]e the agreement to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands—including Diego Garcia—to Mauritius before President Trump could take his oath.
“Fortunately, cooler—and perhaps wiser—heads prevailed. Prime Minister Starmer agreed to welcome President Trump to the negotiating table. This is great news. Friends don’t strike deals behind each other’s backs, especially when our shared security is on the line.”
. . .
“The idea that the U.K. must hand over the islands to atone for whatever perceived wrongs Britain’s forefathers may have committed is nonsense. The [United Nations] does not care about what is best for the Chagossian, British or American people. They only care about furthering a misguided anti-Western agenda.
“The U.K. is our ally, and Mauritius is our friend, but this is a matter of national security for the U.S. Anyone who expects the Trump administration to elevate the sensitivities of U.N. militants above the best interests of America and our allies is writing a [check] that can’t be cashed.
“The Chagossian, American and British people would all be safer if this deal with Mauritius found its way into the shredder for good.”
Background
On Jan. 15, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he wanted President Trump and his administration to weigh in on any deal struck between the U.K. and Mauritius regarding the transfer of the Chagos Islands, including the transfer of the U.S.-U.K. shared military base on the island of Diego Garcia.
The U.K. had previously announced on Oct. 3, 2024, that it had reached a deal with Mauritius to cede the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. The decision to consider ceding sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius followed a years-long pressure campaign from the United Nations.
On Oct. 23, 2024, Kennedy wrote to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken seeking answers about the Biden administration’s involvement in the deal between the U.K. and Mauritius.
Kennedy also penned this op-ed in Oct. arguing that the Biden administration owes the American people an explanation for its decision to allow this deal between the U.K. and Mauritius to move forward.
Former Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), President Trump’s nominee for National Security Advisor, has criticized the deal, saying, “Should the U.K. cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has similarly condemned the deal and said it “poses a serious threat to our national security interests in the Indian Ocean and threatens critical U.S. military posture in the region.”
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What is the story of hongbao, the red envelopes given out at celebrations like Lunar New Year?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ming Gao, Research Scholar of East Asia Studies, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University

Remi Chow/Unsplash

Red envelopes, known as hongbao in Mandarin, are a cherished cultural tradition in China and many other parts of Asia.

In China, the vibrant red colour symbolises good fortune and joy. Hongbao can be given during many various festive and joyful occasions, and they are a prominent feature of Lunar New Year.

Receiving a hongbao is something most Chinese people, particularly children, eagerly anticipate every Lunar New Year. It was also one of my fondest childhood memories. But what’s the history behind this tradition?

A historical tradition

The origins of hongbao can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) when amulet-like items in the shapes of coins were worn.

Early practices resembling money giving took place in the Tang dynasty court (618–907 CE), where coins were scattered in springtime as part of celebrations.

Giving children money during celebrations became an established custom during the Song and Yuan dynasties (960–1368). In the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911/12), this tradition evolved further with money being given to children threaded on red string.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties money was given to children threaded on red string.
Nataliia K/Shutterstock

The modern concept of hongbao emerged in early 20th-century China. Elders would give money wrapped in red paper to children during the Lunar New Year as a talisman against evil spirits, known as sui (祟).

The red envelopes given to children, or in some cases unmarried adults, during Lunar New Year are also called ya sui qian.

Colloquially, ya sui qian translates to “suppressing age money”, as sui (岁) also means age. Ya sui qian reflects the belief this money could ward off misfortune and slow ageing.

In traditional contexts, the amount of money inside the envelope carries symbolic meaning.

Even numbers, except for the number four (considered unlucky due to its phonetic similarity to the word for “death” in Chinese), are regarded as lucky. Six (symbolising smooth progress) and eight (symbolising prosperity) are particularly favoured.

Beyond monetary value, the act of giving and receiving hongbao represents a gesture of goodwill, reinforcing social bonds and conveying respect and care.

The digital revolution

Today, hongbao straddle the worlds of tradition and modernity, adapting to societal changes while preserving their cultural essence.

Super-apps like WeChat and AliPay have transformed this age-old practice from a physical tradition into a digital, virtual experience.

Red packet designs available on WeChat.
Screenshot/Ming Gao

WeChat popularised the concept of “digital red envelopes” in 2014, incorporating gamified elements such as randomised monetary amounts and group exchanges.

In 2017, WeChat recorded a staggering 14.2 billion hongbao transactions on the eve of Lunar New Year alone. While the initial excitement around the digital hongbao has waned over time, the practice remains popular. On Lunar New Year’s Eve in 2024, WeChat users recorded approximately 5.08 billion digital hongbao transactions.

The shift to digital formats aligns with our increasingly cashless society, making it easier for people to participate in the custom, even across great distances. Families separated by migration can partake in this tradition in real time, maintaining connections that might otherwise weaken over long distances.

My child doesn’t get to see my parents very often, but my mother promised to send a “large” hongbao to her grandchild on the eve of the Lunar New Year this year. Despite the geographical distance spanning the ocean between Australia and China, the tradition of giving hongbao transcends borders, connecting our family members across continents every Lunar New Year.

Societal significance

The enduring popularity of hongbao highlights its importance in Chinese culture. It serves not only as a means of giving but also as a way to uphold tradition amid rapid modernisation.

The act of giving hongbao, whether physical or digital, reinforces intergenerational ties and preserves cultural heritage. Parents and grandparents giving hongbao to children during Lunar New Year continue to embody the traditional values of family and unity.

The act of giving hongbao reinforces intergenerational ties and preserves cultural heritage.
SeventyFour/Shutterstock

But the digitisation of hongbao has sparked debates about its impact on traditional values. Some argue the ease of sending digital hongbao reduces the personal touch and thoughtfulness inherent in the physical exchange.

Others view it as an evolution that keeps the practice relevant and accessible in a fast-paced world.

Regional variations

While hongbao is most closely associated with Chinese culture, similar traditions exist across Asia, each with notable regional variations.

In Korea, during the Lunar New Year (Seollal), elders give money to young or unmarried adults after receiving their New Year’s bow (sebae). One legend suggests the Korean tradition originates from China. However, unlike the red envelopes used in Chinese culture, the money in Korea can be presented in white envelopes, as whiteness in Korean culture symbolises purity and new beginnings.

Similar traditions exist across Asia. These red envelopes are hanging in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Marie Shark/Shutterstock

In Singapore, where a diverse population blends Chinese, Malay and Indian traditions, the giving of hongbao (also known as ang bao or ang pow in Hokkien) is a common practice. This tradition has extended beyond the Chinese population, reflecting the cultural influence of Chinese diasporic communities.

While red envelopes are traditional, envelopes in other colours, such as pink or gold, are also considered acceptable.

The Future of hongbao

As technology continues to shape societal norms, the practice of giving hongbao is likely to further evolve.

The advancement of E-CNY (China’s digital currency), regardless of its ultimate success, could introduce new dimensions to traditional practices, enabling more innovative and secure forms of exchange.

The enduring appeal of hongbao lies in its core values: the celebration of relationships, the sharing of blessings, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

As the Lunar New Year of the Snake approaches, it’s wise to have some hongbao ready, whether digital or physical, to avoid being caught off guard by a playful youngster cheerfully exclaiming, “May you be prosperous, now hand over the red envelope!” (“gong xi fa cai, hong bao na lai”). This light-hearted and catchy greeting cleverly combines good wishes with a cheeky request for a hongbao.

Ming Gao does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What is the story of hongbao, the red envelopes given out at celebrations like Lunar New Year? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-story-of-hongbao-the-red-envelopes-given-out-at-celebrations-like-lunar-new-year-247687

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s vision of a peace deal for Ukraine is limited to a ceasefire – and it’s not even clear if Kyiv or Moscow are going to play ball

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

We are now well beyond the 24 hours that Donald Trump had promised it would take him to secure an end to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. But Trump’s first week since his inauguration on January 20, 2025, has nonetheless been a busy one regarding Ukraine.

In his inauguration address, Trump only made a passing and indirect reference to Ukraine, criticising his predecessor Joe Biden of running “a government that has given unlimited funding to the defence of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders”.

Trump’s first more substantive statement on Ukraine was a post on his TruthSocial network, threatening Russia taxes, tariffs and sanctions if his Russian counterpart doesn’t agree to make a deal soon. He reiterated this point on January 23 in comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that he “really would like to be able to meet with President Putin”.

Donald Trump/Truth Social

Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, had already backed Trump’s approach during his Senate confirmation hearing on January 16. Like Trump, Bessent specifically emphasised increasing sanctions on Russian oil companies “to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table”.

The following day, Putin responded by saying that he and Trump should indeed meet to discuss Ukraine and oil prices. But this was far from a firm commitment to enter into negotiations, and particularly not with Ukraine.

Putin alluded to an October 2022 decree by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, banning any negotiations with the Kremlin after Russia formally annexed four regions of Ukraine. Zelensky has since clarified that the decree applies to everyone but him, thus signalling that he would not stand in the way of opening direct talks with Russia.

Yet, Putin is likely to continue playing for time. The most likely first step in a Trump-brokered deal will be a ceasefire freezing the line of contact at the time of agreement. With his forces still advancing on the ground in Ukraine, every day of fighting brings Putin additional territorial gains.

Nor are there any signs of waning support from Russian allies. Few and far between as they may be, China, Iran and North Korea have been critical in sustaining the Kremlin’s war effort. Moscow now has added a treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership with Iran to the one it had sealed with North Korea in June 2024.

Meanwhile, the Russia-China no-limits partnership of 2022, further deepened in 2023, shows no signs of weakening. And with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko winning a seventh consecutive term on January 26, Putin is unlikely to be too worried about additional US sanctions.

Zelensky, like Putin, may play for time. Trump’s threat of sanctions against Russia is likely an indication of some level of frustration on the part of the US president that Putin seems less amenable to cutting a deal. Russia may continue to make territorial gains in eastern Ukraine, but it has not achieved any strategic breakthrough.

War of attrition

A significant increase in US military assistance to Ukraine since September 2024, as well as commitments from European allies, including the UK, have likely put Kyiv into a position that it can sustain its current defensive efforts through 2025.

Ukraine may not be in a position to launch a major offensive but could continue to keep costs for Russia high. On the battlefield, these costs are estimated at 102 casualties per square kilometre of Ukrainian territory captured. Beyond the frontlines, Ukraine has also continued its drone campaign against targets inside Russia, especially the country’s oil infrastructure.

This is not to say that Trump is going to fail in his efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine. But there is a big difference between a ceasefire and a sustainable peace agreement. And while a ceasefire, at some point, may be in both Russia’s and Ukraine’s interest, sustainable peace is much more difficult to achieve.

Putin’s vision of total victory is as much an obstacle here as western reluctance to provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine.

The two options most regularly raised: Nato membership for Ukraine or a western-led peacekeeping force that could act as a credible deterrent, both appear unrealistic at this point. It is certainly inconceivable that Europe could muster the 200,000 troops that Zelensky envisaged as a deployment in Ukraine to guarantee any deal with Putin. But a smaller force, led by the UK and France, might be possible.

Kyiv and Moscow continue to be locked in a war of attrition and neither Putin nor Zelensky have blinked so far. It is not clear yet whether, and in which direction, Trump will tilt the balance and how this will affect either side’s willingness to submit to his deal-making efforts.

So far, Trump’s moves are not a gamechanger. But this is the first serious attempt in nearly three years of war to forge a path towards an end of the fighting. It remains to be seen whether Trump, and everyone else, has the imagination and stamina to ensure that this path will ultimately lead to a just and secure peace for Ukraine.

Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

– ref. Trump’s vision of a peace deal for Ukraine is limited to a ceasefire – and it’s not even clear if Kyiv or Moscow are going to play ball – https://theconversation.com/trumps-vision-of-a-peace-deal-for-ukraine-is-limited-to-a-ceasefire-and-its-not-even-clear-if-kyiv-or-moscow-are-going-to-play-ball-248319

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Eight Defendants Arrested on Federal Grand Jury Indictment Alleging Large-Scale Smuggling Scheme from China through L.A.-Area Ports
Source: Office of United States Attorneys

LOS ANGELES – Federal law enforcement has arrested eight defendants charged in an indictment alleging a conspiracy among logistic companies’ executives, warehouse owners and truck drivers to smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit and other illegal goods from China into the United States via the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Justice Department announced today.

The 15-count indictment, returned last month and unsealed Friday, charges nine defendants with conspiracy, smuggling and breaking customs seals. The defendants allegedly took containers flagged for off-site secondary inspection, unloaded the contraband, then stuffed the targeted containers with filler cargo to deceive customs officials and evade law enforcement.

During the investigation into this group, investigators seized more than $130 million in contraband, and the organization is believed to be responsible for smuggling at least $200 million worth of goods. According to the indictment, a search of one warehouse used by the group led to the seizure in June 2024 of $20 million worth of counterfeit items including shoes, perfume, luxury handbags, apparel and watches.

Seven defendants were arrested Friday, an eighth was taken into custody Saturday evening, and one defendant is a fugitive. The seven arrested last week were arraigned Friday in United States District Court, where each pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. A trial date was scheduled for March 18. The eighth defendant, who was arrested on unrelated state charges, is expected to be arraigned in federal court in the coming days.

“Secure seaports and borders are critical to our national security,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “The smuggling of huge amounts of contraband from China through our nation’s largest port hurts American businesses and consumers. The charges and arrests here demonstrate our commitment to enforce our customs laws and keep the American public safe.”

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles and its partners are committed to enforcing customs laws and practices, facilitating legitimate trade, and protecting the integrity of the nation’s supply chain,” said HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. “The $1.3 billion dollars’ worth of contraband seized during the investigation into this type of scheme illuminates how complex smuggling schemes try to exploit our legitimate trade practices and the American consumer.”

The 15-count indictment details a conspiracy to coordinate the shipment of large quantities of contraband from China to the United States through the Port of Los Angeles from at least August 2023 to June 2024. The defendants charged are:
- Weijun Zheng, 57, a.k.a. “Sonic,” of Diamond Bar, the lone fugitive in the case, who controls several logistics companies operating in the Los Angeles area;
- Hexi Wang, 32, of El Monte, who manages K&P International Logistics LLC, a City of Industry-based company that hires commercial truckers to transport shipping containers from the Port of Los Angeles;
- Jin “Mark” Liu, 42, of Irvine, the owner of K&P International Logistics LLC and who managed the finances of one of the warehouses where contraband was unloaded and issued payments to truck drivers who transported smuggled goods;
- Dong “Liam” Lin, 31, of Hacienda Heights, who – along with Zheng – controlled and operated one of the contraband warehouses;
- Marck Anthony Gomez, 49, of West Covina, the owner and operator of Fannum Trucks LLC, a West Covina-based company that coordinated the movement of shipping containers from the Port of Los Angeles, including large shipments of contraband smuggled into the United States from China;
- Andy Estuardo Castillo Perez, 32, of Apple Valley, a driver for M4 Transportation Inc., a Carson-based company that transports shipping containers from the Port of Los Angeles;
- Jesse James Rosales, 41, of Apple Valley, who coordinated truckers from the ports to warehouses;
- Daniel Acosta Hoffman, 41, of Hacienda Heights, worked with Rosales to bring cargo containers from the Port of Los Angeles to warehouses; and
- Galvin Biao Liufu, 33, of Ontario, directed and managed truck drivers to bring the contraband into the warehouses.
According to the indictment, Zheng, Wang, Liu and others maintained and operated warehouses to store, conceal and sell large amounts of contraband goods that were illegally imported into the United States from China. When the contraband containers were selected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for inspection, the defendants hired commercial truck drivers to transport the containers from the Port of Los Angeles to locations that the conspirators controlled, including warehouses in the City of Industry that were controlled or managed by Zheng, Wang and others.

At these locations, co-conspirators broke the security seals on the shipping containers and removed the contraband from inside. Then, they affixed counterfeit security seals onto the containers to conceal that cargo had been removed from them. Zheng, Wang and others then directed co-conspirators to transport the containers – after they had been emptied of much of their original cargo and re-secured with counterfeit seals – to CBP-authorized locations for the remaining cargo to be presented to customs officials for inspection.

Zheng, Wang, Liu and others paid fees to co-conspirators, including Gomez and Castillo Perez, that were substantially above normal trucking fees to transport the contraband shipping containers.

To date, law enforcement has seized more than $1.3 billion worth of counterfeit goods associated with this and similar seal-swapping schemes.

“It was a team of CBP agriculture specialists assigned to the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport who in 2023, during a routine examination of a container made the initial discovery,” said Cheryl Davies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles. “This case attests to their unwavering vigilance, upmost professionalism, and keen focus in protecting the integrity of lawful trade, a key component of our critical national security mission.”

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted of all charges, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each conspiracy count, up to 10 years in federal prison for each count of breaking customs seals, and up to 20 years in prison for each smuggling count.

Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Coast Guard Investigative Services are investigating this matter.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Assistant United States Attorneys Colin S. Scott and Amanda B. Elbogen of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this matter.

MIL Security OSI –
January 28, 2025

Category: China

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