Space missions

THE China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) plans to launch more than 200 spacecraft with over 60 space missions in 2023, according to a company report released Wednesday.

The CASC report unveiled plans for the country’s space science and technology activities in 2023. It said that the Tianzhou-6 cargo craft, the Shenzhou-16 and the Shenzhou-17 flight missions would take place within the year to improve China’s capability of entering, using and exploring space. The BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System will witness the launches of three backup satellites, according to the CASC.

Border crossings

CHINA’S National Immigration Administration estimates that the average daily number of exits and entries during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday will hit 600,000 this year, up around twofold from the same period in 2022.

The administration has urged immigration authorities across the country to prepare well for traveling peaks during the upcoming festival, and to enhance customs clearance efficiency, in order to restrict the waiting time of Chinese citizens to within 30 minutes.

Land ports adjoining Hong Kong and Macao are expected to report increasingly higher passenger traffic in particular, said the administration.

Cases involving guns

CHINESE public security departments handled 25,000 cases involving guns or explosive devices in 2022, the country’s Ministry of Public Security announced Wednesday.

The statistics indicate that China has one of the lowest rates of violent crime involving guns or explosives in the world, the ministry said.