Podcasts about china unionpay

AWS Morning Brief for the week of March 3, with Corey Quinn. Links:Amazon Connect reduces telephony pricing in VietnamAmazon EC2 announces Time-based Copy for AMIsAmazon Location Service now supports AWS PrivateLinkAnthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet is now available in Amazon BedrockAWS Batch now supports resource aware schedulingAWS Chatbot is now named Amazon Q DeveloperAWS CodePipeline introduces new console experience for viewing pipeline releasesYou can now use your China UnionPay credit card to create an AWS accountAccelerate Security Incident Response and Recovery with AWS Security Incident Response PartnersAmazon Web Services named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Integration ToolsMigrate very large databases to Amazon Aurora MySQL using MyDumper and MyLoaderAnnouncing CDK Garbage CollectionGenerate Code Documentation Using Amazon Q DeveloperByteDance processes billions of daily videos using their multimodal video understanding models on AWS Inferentia2Unlock deeper insights and faster investigations with AWS CloudTrail Lake

Chinese tech heavyweight Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's online marketplaces Taobao and Tmall announced on Thursday that they will accept mobile payment options from Tencent's WeChat Pay gradually from Sept 12, a significant step in breaking down payment barriers between the two internet companies, enhancing interoperability and interconnectivity of different platforms and improving user experience, experts said.中国科技巨头阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司旗下的在线市场淘宝和天猫于9月5日宣布，将从9月12日起逐步接受腾讯的微信支付作为移动支付选项，专家称这是打破两家互联网公司支付壁垒的重要一步，这将增强不同平台之间的互操作性和互联互通，提升用户体验。They added the move is conducive to elevating payment convenience, invigorating the vitality of consumption, and bolstering the innovation and development of payment modalities.他们补充说，这一举措有助于提高支付便利性，激发消费活力，并促进支付方式的创新发展。Taobao and Tmall said in a statement on Wednesday that they had issued notices on their platforms to solicit feedback from merchants about accepting WeChat Pay as an additional payment method, as part of a broader push to improve the shopping experience.淘宝和天猫在9月4日的一份声明中表示，他们已在平台上发布通知，征求商家关于接受微信支付作为支付方式的反馈，这一举措将有助于改善购物体验。The two platforms said they are upholding the concept of openness and cooperation and actively exploring interoperability and partnerships with various platforms to enhance user experience and make consumers' shopping activities more convenient, enjoyable and efficient.这两个平台表示，他们坚持开放和合作的理念，并积极探索与各种平台的互通性和合作伙伴关系，以提升用户体验，使消费者的购物活动更加方便、愉快和高效。Alipay, a popular mobile payment tool launched by Chinese fintech company Ant Group, said in a statement following the announcement, "Openness, collaboration, innovation and sharing are fundamental principles of the internet and the driving force behind the industry's development."由中国金融科技公司蚂蚁集团推出的流行移动支付工具支付宝在公告后发表声明称，“开放、合作、创新和共享是互联网的基本原则，也是行业发展的驱动力。Alipay said it will continue to deepen cooperation with Taobao and Tmall, and step up innovation in technologies and products. Apart from payment products, the company will further expand open cooperation in broader ecosystems such as internet technology and artificial intelligence to create more business opportunities, it added.支付宝表示，它将继续深化与淘宝和天猫的合作，并加强技术和产品的创新。除了支付产品，该公司还将在更广泛的生态系统（如互联网技术和人工智能）中进一步扩大开放合作，创造更多商机。As the main rival to WeChat Pay, Alipay is a major payment service provider for Taobao and Tmall. WeChat Pay said it is always open to collaborations, and is actively exploring interoperability with various sectors, adding it plans to continue exploring new partnerships and improving convenience for users on the basis of ensuring transactional security.作为微信支付的主要竞争对手，支付宝是淘宝和天猫的主要支付服务提供商。微信支付表示，它始终对合作持开放态度，并积极探索与各个行业的互操作性，同时计划在确保交易安全的基础上，继续探索新的合作伙伴关系并提高用户便利性。Pan Helin, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, said the move is a win-win result for the two Chinese tech giants as both Taobao and Tmall could attract WeChat users by adding WeChat Pay as a payment option and help bolster their business performances, while WeChat Pay will greatly expand its application ecosystems via its access to e-commerce platforms.工业和信息化部信息通信经济专家委员会成员潘和林（音）表示，这一举措对两家中国科技巨头来说是双赢的结果，因为淘宝和天猫可以通过增加微信支付作为支付选项来吸引微信用户，帮助提升他们的业务表现，而微信支付则可以通过接入电商平台大大扩展其应用生态系统。Pan said Taobao and Tmall have access to several mobile payment tools — such as Cloud QuickPass of payment giant China UnionPay — and digital renminbi, so accepting payments from WeChat Pay will not affect the current digital payment landscape.潘和林（音）表示，淘宝和天猫已开通包括支付巨头中国银联的云闪付在内的多种移动支付工具，以及数字人民币，因此接受微信支付不会影响当前的数字支付格局。"It is foreseeable that there will be more frequent and closer cooperation among different platforms and payment companies," Pan said, adding that allowing users to transact through WeChat Pay on Taobao and Tmall will help the platforms gain more users from smaller cities, where WeChat Pay has a higher penetration rate than Alipay.潘和林（音）说“可以预见，不同平台和支付公司之间的合作将会更加频繁和紧密”，他还表示，允许用户在淘宝和天猫上通过微信支付进行交易，将有助于这些平台吸引更多来自小城市的用户，那里的微信支付渗透率高于支付宝。Industry statistics show that WeChat Pay and Alipay together control 90 percent of China's mobile payments market. Experts said the acceptance of WeChat Pay on Taobao and Tmall is a landmark event in enhancing the interconnectivity of payment methods.行业统计数据显示，微信支付和支付宝共同控制了中国移动支付市场90%的份额。专家表示，淘宝和天猫接受微信支付是一个增强支付方式互联互通的里程碑事件。Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst at market consultancy Botong Analysys, said the move will allow consumers to choose their preferred payment methods freely, enhance their shopping experience, unleash consumption potential as well as provide more possibilities for bolstering the innovation of payment technology.市场咨询公司博通分析的高级分析师王鹏博（音）表示，此举将允许消费者自由选择他们偏好的支付方式，提升他们的购物体验，释放消费潜力，并为支付技术的创新提供更多可能性。Alibaba and Tencent have been taking measures to integrate services since 2021 after Chinese authorities urged tech companies to tear down their so-called walled gardens that block competitors' products.自2021年中国当局敦促科技公司打破所谓的“封闭平台”，即封锁竞争对手产品这一行为以来，阿里巴巴和腾讯就已开始采取联合服务措施。Alibaba has incorporated WeChat Pay into its on-demand food delivery app Ele.me, video-streaming platform Youku and online ticket booking platform Damai. Tencent, which once limited the sharing of links to Alibaba stores on WeChat, has gradually allowed users to open a variety of links and content from rival platforms within its messaging app.阿里巴巴已经将微信支付整合到了其即时配送应用“饿了么”、视频流媒体平台“优酷”以及在线票务预订平台“大麦网”中。腾讯曾经限制在微信上分享阿里巴巴店铺链接，但如今已经逐渐允许用户在其消息应用中打开来自竞争对手平台的各种链接和内容。Moreover, Meituan, a popular on-demand services platform, has launched its food delivery and hotel booking services as Alipay's mini programs, offering exclusive coupons and merchant discounts.此外，美团已经使食品配送和酒店预订服务进入了支付宝的小程序，并提供独家优惠券和商家折扣。Interoperabilityn.互用性，协同工作的能力upholdv.支持，维护，拥护

Beijing's envoy to Moscow that the Chinese and Russian central banks will discuss the use and promotion of their respective national payment systems in both countries. Zhang Hanhui says regarding the promotion and use of the Mir and China UnionPay national payment systems in both countries, this question will be decided by the two sides' central banks at consultations. The ambassador says China would make use of a clearing bank for operations in yuan on Russian territory to ensure the sustainable development of national trade, which Russia expects to reach $200 billion by 2024. He also said that China and Russia were not advocating for the rejection of U.S. dollar and euro settlements in bilateral trade.

Russia-Ukraine-War-Card Payments.

This podcast episode is sponsored by Mercuryo. With the help of their cryptopowered toolbox, Mercuryo enables companies to take advantage of both fiat and crypto worlds and provide innovative payment solutions for end-customers.

Encore presentation of interview with Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste and her guest Lisa R Mitchell, MBA. Principal of Living A Global Lifestyle. Lisa is an innovative, Global Executive and Consultant with over 20 years’ experience in Sales, Marketing, and Business Development in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Lisa has held Senior Leadership roles in the Banking, Financial Services, and Global Education industries within Fortune 500 global organizations. Currently, through her Living A Global Lifestyle Brand she is using her global experience and diverse skillset to curate content and craft uniquely designed workshops to provide the tools and resources for people to live successful lives abroad, specifically leveraging Fintech and new technology like Blockchain to manage their personal finances while they live, work, and travel abroad. Previously, Lisa gained a reputation as a highly sought after Corporate Trainer and Business Coach in China, delivering Leadership, Cross-Cultural, and Soft Skills Training to Senior Managers and Global Executives (400+). Clients included China UnionPay, Google, Silicon Valley Bank, HSBC JV, Coach, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, and Shanghai General Motors. Before living in China, Lisa was Vice President of International Personal Banking for Wells Fargo, managing a million-dollar portfolio for an international, digital banking branch offering retail banking products and services to customers globally. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Lisa held senior-level roles at Citibank in the Global Executive Banking, Corporate Mortgage, and New York Retail Banking divisions, with responsibility for marketing, sales, and business development for individuals and global corporations.  Lisa is an Influencer, Global Speaker, and Writer on international personal financial topics for people who lead a Global Lifestyle. Her book on Money advice for Expats, Digital Nomads and Travelers will be published this summer. Lisa holds a Master of Business Administration from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany).  Website: https://livingagloballifestyle.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Livingagloballifestyle Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/livaglobalife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingaglobalife

Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste chats with Lisa R Mitchell, MBA. Principal of Living A Global Lifestyle. Lisa is an innovative, Global Executive and Consultant with over 20 years’ experience in Sales, Marketing, and Business Development in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Lisa has held Senior Leadership roles in the Banking, Financial Services, and Global Education industries within Fortune 500 global organizations. Currently, through her Living A Global Lifestyle Brand she is using her global experience and diverse skillset to curate content and craft uniquely designed workshops to provide the tools and resources for people to live successful lives abroad, specifically leveraging Fintech and new technology like Blockchain to manage their personal finances while they live, work, and travel abroad. Previously, Lisa gained a reputation as a highly sought after Corporate Trainer and Business Coach in China, delivering Leadership, Cross-Cultural, and Soft Skills Training to Senior Managers and Global Executives (400+). Clients included China UnionPay, Google, Silicon Valley Bank, HSBC JV, Coach, Astra Zeneca, Bayer, and Shanghai General Motors. Before living in China, Lisa was Vice President of International Personal Banking for Wells Fargo, managing a million-dollar portfolio for an international, digital banking branch offering retail banking products and services to customers globally. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Lisa held senior-level roles at Citibank in the Global Executive Banking, Corporate Mortgage, and New York Retail Banking divisions, with responsibility for marketing, sales, and business development for individuals and global corporations.  Lisa is an Influencer, Global Speaker, and Writer on international personal financial topics for people who lead a Global Lifestyle. Her book on Money advice for Expats, Digital Nomads and Travelers will be published this summer. Lisa holds a Master of Business Administration from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany).  Website: https://livingagloballifestyle.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Livingagloballifestyle Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/livaglobalife Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingaglobalife

WeChat Pay owner Tencent and Chinese state-owned card scheme China UnionPay are reportedly integrating their QR code systems for mobile payments.

3月16日深夜，中国银联官网发布声明，向持卡人道歉。此前，央视“3·15”晚会曝光了银联要求各家银行自动开通“闪付”功能，闪付交易时不需要输入密码，不需要与刷卡机紧密接触，使银行卡存在资金被盗刷风险。China UnionPay reaffirmed that its Quickpass services are safe one day after they were questioned by an annual CCTV program on the protection of consumer rights.在被CCTV年度消费者权益保护节目质疑后的一天，中国银联重申， 他们提供的“闪付”功能是安全的。Key wordsreaffirm v. 再次申明annual adj. 每年的consumer rights 消费者权益Quickpass is a kind of contactless payment product that enables cardholders to pay by waving their cards in front of a contactless payment terminal.“闪付”是一种无需接触的支付方式，能够让持卡人在一个不用接触就可以支付的终端上，通过挥动卡片来付款。Key wordscontactless /ˈkɑːntæktləs/ 非接触式的wave v. 挥手terminal n. 终端But this may leave cardholders open to falling victim to identity theft, the "315" evening show hosted by CCTV on World Consumer Rights Day suggested.在国际消费者权益日，CCTV举办的315晚会上提到——这种支付方式可能会让持卡人成为身份盗窃的受害者。In response, China UnionPay claimed that the Quickpass service is both "convenient and safe" and it has been widely adopted throughout the world.作为回应，中国银联声明“闪付”服务既方便又安全，并且已经被世界上其他国家广泛使用。Key wordsfalling victim 受害者adopt v. 采用Their research indicated identity theft was "of very low frequency" and that the risk ratio for such transactions was 2 in 10 million.银联研究表明，身份盗窃的概率很低，这样的交易风险发生率仅为一千万分之二。Key wordsindicate v. 表明frequency n. 频率transaction n. 交易原文链接：http://www.china.org.cn/business/2019-03/18/content_74583520.htm【下一期内容的正确答案解析】The muscles in my legs still feel very ___ after all that exercise.A. hurtB. soreC. pain D. acheB正确；Feel之后需要形容词，又因为句子逻辑是运动后，所以选sore运动之后，我腿上的肌肉仍然感到非常酸痛。

3月16日深夜，中国银联官网发布声明，向持卡人道歉。此前，央视“3·15”晚会曝光了银联要求各家银行自动开通“闪付”功能，闪付交易时不需要输入密码，不需要与刷卡机紧密接触，使银行卡存在资金被盗刷风险。China UnionPay reaffirmed that its Quickpass services are safe one day after they were questioned by an annual CCTV program on the protection of consumer rights.在被CCTV年度消费者权益保护节目质疑后的一天，中国银联重申， 他们提供的“闪付”功能是安全的。Key wordsreaffirm v. 再次申明annual adj. 每年的consumer rights 消费者权益Quickpass is a kind of contactless payment product that enables cardholders to pay by waving their cards in front of a contactless payment terminal.“闪付”是一种无需接触的支付方式，能够让持卡人在一个不用接触就可以支付的终端上，通过挥动卡片来付款。Key wordscontactless /ˈkɑːntæktləs/ 非接触式的wave v. 挥手terminal n. 终端But this may leave cardholders open to falling victim to identity theft, the "315" evening show hosted by CCTV on World Consumer Rights Day suggested.在国际消费者权益日，CCTV举办的315晚会上提到——这种支付方式可能会让持卡人成为身份盗窃的受害者。In response, China UnionPay claimed that the Quickpass service is both "convenient and safe" and it has been widely adopted throughout the world.作为回应，中国银联声明“闪付”服务既方便又安全，并且已经被世界上其他国家广泛使用。Key wordsfalling victim 受害者adopt v. 采用Their research indicated identity theft was "of very low frequency" and that the risk ratio for such transactions was 2 in 10 million.银联研究表明，身份盗窃的概率很低，这样的交易风险发生率仅为一千万分之二。Key wordsindicate v. 表明frequency n. 频率transaction n. 交易原文链接：http://www.china.org.cn/business/2019-03/18/content_74583520.htm【下一期内容的正确答案解析】The muscles in my legs still feel very ___ after all that exercise.A. hurtB. soreC. pain D. acheB正确；Feel之后需要形容词，又因为句子逻辑是运动后，所以选sore运动之后，我腿上的肌肉仍然感到非常酸痛。

In this episode: - Binance LCX announce fiat-to-crypto exchange - Bank of China and China Unionpay to partner on blockchain payments system - Nvidia reports decline in GPU sales to crypto miners - Total market cap spikes to $222bl as top 20 gain 14% on average

Wirecard is a global technology group that enables companies to accept payments from all sales channels. The German company operates in 35 countries and in over 100 transaction currencies with connections to more than 200 international payment networks, including American Express, Alipay, WeChat Pay, Apple Pay and China UnionPay, among others. With its acquisition of Citicard's prepaid business in 2016, the firm is expanding its presence in the U.S. Deirdre Ives lead Citicard's prepaid business and now is the managing director for Wirecard North America. Deirdre Ives is our guest today for the Tearsheet Podcast. You can get this episode of the podcast, as well as 170 previous episodes in our archive, at our website, www.tearsheet.co If you get value out of these episodes, please take a minute to rate us on Apple Podcasts. Doing so, helps other people find us. We're also available on SoundCloud. Also, if you're not signed up for our newsletter, subscribe now. 10,000 industry professionals read our Tearsheet newsletter every week to explore the impact technology is having on the financial services industry. www.tearsheet.co/subscribe

This Podcast Is Sponsored By TiENPAY TiENPAY is not your average fintech start-up. With the company's origins dating back to the first mobile wallet launched in Australia in 1996, the Hong Kong-based firm has a grand dream: to become the number one global mobile wallet clearance and settlement platform. Founded by Singaporean entrepreneur and finance veteran William Tien, the company integrates a mobile wallet app, a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) currency exchange (with Bitcoin and other cryto-currency capabilities), and a digital asset pool that includes intellectual property rights to dozens of web films it plans to produce. "The difference of our wallet is that we focus on clearance and settlement, a less tapped market segment," said William Tien, founder and CEO of TiENPAY. "I've spent years traveling around the world and always had difficulty conducting currency conversions and cross-border transactions. We should have something that is universal so that people don't need to wait for two weeks before receiving money." TiENPAY Founder William Tien Speaks To China Money Network: TiENPAY, with its Shenzhen office housed in a Tencent Incubator, has the capacity to connect to more than 350 payment gateway or aggregators like Visa, MasterCard, China UnionPay, WeChat and Alipay. The company's services are currently set to cover the United States, U.K., Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Russia and India. Once fully operational, users can enjoy instant money transfers across country borders and convert currencies among major fiat money, bitcoin and other forms of digital currencies. TiENPAY’s innovative digital wallet conducted its first transaction trial in January between an account in China and another in Australia via China UnionPay. The mobile wallet app is to formally launch on Wednesday, and users will be able to download and sign up for its unique service offerings. The key to TiENPAY's systems is a network of financial institutions located in each of its operating countries to allow a seamless transaction experience for users. "Over the last four and half years, we have gone through a lot of regulatory work, and I'm telling you, it's very tough," Tien said. But the future looks promising. The company wants to expand to 35 countries in five years, and to bring in significant profits in the next five years. To achieve that, TiENPAY has come up with a creative idea: to produce 20 web films in China and Asia with a total investment of US$10 million. The first movie, a comedy on the subject of the mobile wallet, with episodes involving a bank robbery and kidnapping, is commencing production this week. You can listen to our conversation above or read a Q&A below. Don't forget to subscribe to China Money Podcast for free in the iTunes store, or subscribe to China Money Network weekly newsletters. You can also subscribe to China Money Podcast's Youtube channel or Youku channel. Q: TiENPAY is such a unique product, how did you initially come up with the idea to start a company like this? A: I have spent years traveling around the world doing projects overseas and have always had problems of adapting to the local environment. I thought that I should have something that is universal and I don't need to wait for two weeks before I can get the money, or even for one month if in Russia. So the idea actually started back in 1996 in Australia, and we want to create an inter-operative mobile wallet that everybody can use. Q: What do you think sets TiENPAY apart from other types of mobile wallets? A: What makes us special is that we are inter-operative. The question is do I have a wallet that I can use in China, in Africa and in the U.S.? TiENPAY is the answer. The most important thing is that this kind of pavement is instantaneous. You don’t need to wait for three days for a bank clearance or go to the bank to remit the money. Q: How are you able to provide this transaction services acros...

2017-05-23 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.Beijing will award scholarships to students from the Belt and Road countries studying in 160 programs at universities in the city by 2020.The scholarship program was jointly initiated by the municipal education commission and finance bureau in December 2016. So far, a total of 64 programs have been covered by the scholarships, benefiting some 1,100 students.From 2016 to 2020, 32 undergraduate and postgraduate programs will be chosen each year.Last year, 32 programs of 23 universities were chosen, and 32 programs of 32 universities were chosen in 2017. The programs cover subjects including aerospace, legal studies and Traditional Chinese Medicine.Officials with the commission said they hope more high-level talent from Belt and Road countries will come study in Beijing and more educational cooperation will be carried out between Beijing and those countries.This is Special English.Chinese central government has called for more efforts in helping college graduates get jobs or start businesses. That's according to a statement issued recently after a national teleconference on employment.Premier Li Keqiang's written instruction on employment was read out at the conference, which was attended by other state leaders.The employment of college graduates matters to China's social stability, as a total of almost 8 million college students are expected to graduate this year.The central government asked local authorities and schools to encourage the students to work in the grassroots. They are also encouraged to seek jobs and start businesses in advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, service and agriculture.In terms of general employment, the central government stressed enhanced vocational training and other public services.China has set employment targets of 11 million new urban jobs and a registered urban unemployment rate under 4.5 percent this year.You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. The length of Shanghai metro system is now the longest in the world, surpassing the size of networks in other world cities, including New York and Paris.Shanghai Party Secretary Han Zheng said infrastructure transportation within the city is now an important part of the development between urban and rural areas of Shanghai. Han added that Shanghai strengthened its position as global port city, with the transport of containers leading the world for the past 7 years. Freight transport out of Shanghai's main airports ranks the third in the world. Air passenger volumes have reached 100 million, which tops in China.In the next 5 years, more efforts will be made in the transportation integration of the Yangtze River Delta. Plans are in place to make every city within the Yangtze River Delta region reachable within 90 minutes of one another.Additionally, Shanghai will work to make public transport the most convenient means of transportation for its citizens.This is Special English.China has started a yearlong experiment using an airtight advanced life-support system to house eight volunteers as a way to help with the nation's goal of long-term manned deep-space exploration.The project's operator said the Lunar Palace 365 experiment was launched at the Lunar Palace 1 bio-regenerative life-support laboratory in Beihang University in Beijing. The eight volunteers are all postgraduate students at the university. They are divided into two teams and will undertake the experiment in three shifts. Once the team has entered the lab, team members will stay for 60 days before another team takes over. The second group will live in the lab for 200 days before the first team will complete the remaining 105 days. Lunar Palace 1 is capable of providing a habitable environment similar to Earth's biosphere and can support four people each time. It was designed to test and verify technologies to be used on space missions of extended duration in deep space, and with multiple crews. The 500-cubic-meter lab is sealed from the outside. During the experiment, volunteers will not leave the lab during their shifts unless they encounter emergencies.You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. China will carry on phasing out sub-standard production capacity, especially in the fields of steel and iron, coal-mining, as well as coal-fired power plants, to keep up with targets set for the year.The decision was made at a State Council executive meeting, which was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.Li listened to reports on the latest progress of this year's campaign to cut excess capacities of steel, iron, coal-mining and coal-fueled power generation, as well as the findings of inspections over the drive in concrete and glass sectors.Li said the reforms offer the way forward in cutting overcapacity, which is a vital part of the supply-side structural reform.Li said China takes the initiative to reduce production capacity based on its own national conditions. The efforts are to make the growth model and economic structure shift to new economic drivers.The government work report Li delivered in March set targets for this year to cut steel and iron overcapacity by 50 million tonnes and coal mining by 150 million tonnes respectively. The targets also include phasing out coal-fired power generation capacity of more than 50 million kilowatts.This is Special English.A senior Chinese leader has urged more cooperation between Chinese and overseas Taoist circles in contributing to world peace and harmony.The chairman of China's top advisory body made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to the fourth International Taoist Forum.The three-day event was held in the Wudang Mountains in central China's Hubei Province, with representatives from 30 countries and regions attending.The chairman said Taoism is rooted in Chinese culture, and could boost harmony between nations and religions. By supporting the forum, the Chinese government would like to promote exchange and understanding between Taoists in the world.The chairman called on Taoist circles and figures to building a global community of a shared destiny, world peace and humanism.Taoism is a religious belief originated from the writings and philosophy of Lao Tze who lived 2,500 years ago. According to his thoughts, everything in the universe was born from a vacuum, and a balance must be achieved between humans and nature. This is Special English.The collapse of a tunnel containing radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear weapons complex in the United States underscored what critics have long been saying: The toxic remnants of the Cold War are being stored in haphazard and unsafe conditions, and time is running out to deal with the problem.Kevin Kamps of the anti-nuclear group "Beyond Nuclear" said that unfortunately, the crisis at Hanford is far from an isolated incident.For instance, at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the government is laboring to clean up groundwater contamination along with the 40 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste stored in tanks that are decades past their projected lifespan. The site opened in the 1950s and produced plutonium and tritium. The cleaning job is likely going to take decades.In addition to the tunnel collapse discovered recently, dozens of underground storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State are leaking highly radioactive materials. Some of the storage tanks dated to World War II.Anti-nuclear activists say the problem is that the U.S. government rushed to build nuclear weapons during the Cold War with little thought given to how to permanently dispose of the resulting waste.You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to crienglish.com. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. Now the news continues.Mandarin signs are being added at airports and railway stations in Italy, and free Wi-Fi services are being set up at public venues to make Chinese tourists' visits to the country easier.A senior Italian official said the Italian government is also encouraging hotels to provide more Chinese-friendly services in preparation for the 2018 European Union-China Tourism Year. The vice-minister of culture and tourism Dorina Bianchi made the remarks during an interview in Shanghai. She said such services will include hotel staff who are fluent in Chinese, rooms with China Central TV channels, acceptance of China UnionPay cards and hot drinking water to cater to Chinese stomachs.China has become the seventh-largest source of tourists for Italy after years of continuous leaps since a wave of outbound travel to Italy began in 2004.Statistics from the Italian consulate general in Guangzhou show that Italy received a record 900,000 visitors from the Chinese mainland last year, and the numbers have maintained double-digit annual growth for the past decade. Longer stays are being considered for Chinese with tourist visas. Italy guarantees that its visa application process will be completed within 36 hours for Chinese tourists.This is Special English.A group of college students from the China West Normal University in Sichuan province launched a fundraising to buy a cell phone for a sanitation worker who lost his phone during work.The sanitation worker surnamed Ren rejected the offer at first, saying a phone is too much for the students who were not making any money. But the students insisted, and he finally accepted the phone.Sixty-three-year-old Ren lost his phone when he was cleaning a street near the university. Students tried to help him by putting up posters but the effort ended in vain.Later one of the students suggested a fundraising; and more than 100 students donated 800 yuan, roughly 120 US dollars, to buy the cell phone.You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing.A photo competition on giant panda conservation and research is being held in Sichuan province in southwest China. The event lasts from May till early November.The competition is jointly organized by the China Conservation and Research Center for the giant panda and Jiuzhaigou, a scenic attraction in the province. A total of 200,000 yuan, roughly 30,000 U.S. dollars will be offered as prize to the winners.Award-winning works will be displayed overseas in locations including the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Organizers say the competition aims to increase people's attention on panda conservation and research. Entries are welcome from both at home and abroad.Jiuzhaigou is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a natural habitat for pandas.This is Special English.For three hours, a dog was running back and forth at the beach, picking up waste cans, abandoned slippers and floating plastic bags. This happened in the seawater at a tourist attraction in the coastal city of Xiamen in east China's Fujian Province.The 8-year-old golden retriever named Tiger has become an online celebrity for its dedication to cleaning the beach over the past five years. A video featuring its efforts has been viewed more than 70,000 times.Its owner says the dog showed a keen interest in picking up floating objects five years ago. Whenever Tiger spots garbage in the seawater, it will rush to pick it up and bring it back. But as it grew old, the dog lost some of its vision and is showing other health problems.This is the end of this edition of Special English. To freshen up your memory, I'm going to read one of the news items again at normal speed. Please listen carefully.This is the end of today's program. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing, and I hope you can join us every day, to learn English and learn about the world.

This week we're looking at China Unionpay extending its global presence, financiers and companies get together for the 8th Beijing International Finance Conference, and Sinopec buys a stake in Total's Nigerian off-shore oil block.