An outpouring of grief has followed news of the death of Bailong, a white horse that played a crucial role in the rescue of a drowning man in central China's Hubei Province earlier this month, with locals and people across the country mourning online and offline.

Despite medical efforts, Bailong, meaning "white dragon," died on Tuesday due to a sudden severe intestinal obstruction, seven days after the heroic rescue, according to Yelibay Dosunbek, Bailong's owner.

On Feb. 4, Yelibay Dosunbek, a 39-year-old Uygur from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, sprang into action on horseback to help a man who was drowning in the frigid Hanjiang River in the city of Xiantao.

Bailong, a 7-year-old mixed breed from Xinjiang, swam nearly 40 meters as Yelibay Dosunbek clung to its back, ultimately dragging the man to shore with the help of local winter swimming enthusiast Liu Hangzhou.

"Bailong carried me to the center of the river. Without him, I couldn't have made it," said Yelibay Dosunbek, who co-owns a local equestrian club in Xiantao.

Following the rescue, the horse showed symptoms like loss of appetite and diarrhea the next day, prompting immediate vet treatment.

On Feb. 6, local authorities granted the title of "righteous and courageous role model group" to Yelibay Dosunbek, Liu, and Su Shaogao -- Yelibay Dosunbek's friend who noticed the emergency and shouted for help. Bailong, whose conditions improved following treatment, was in attendance at the ceremony, donning a red sash.

Later on Feb. 6, the horse was found to be in deteriorating health, experiencing high fever and obstipation. Bailong died on Feb. 11 despite medical treatment.

"Sudden strangulated intestinal obstruction is not a rare emergency in equine animals. Once the disease occurs, the intestines are twisted together, and the mortality rate is very high," said Xiao Siyu, an associate professor at Huazhong Agricultural University who was part of a treatment team organized by the city's bureau of agriculture and rural affairs.

News of Bailong's death has sparked a flood of grief and admiration from locals and netizens nationwide.

Xiantao residents have been seen laying flowers by the Hanjiang River in tribute to the heroic animal. City authorities have also announced plans to erect a statue of the horse by the river, and said that the name of an upcoming local river-crossing event would be changed to the "Bailongma Cup," with Bailongma meaning "white-dragon horse."

"Thank you, brave Bailong, for fearlessly jumping into the water to save a life. May you rest in peace," a netizen posted on the Weibo social media platform under the username "Iron Mirror Princess_79891."

In recognition of Yelibay Dosunbek's heroic rescue, the Xinjiang chamber of commerce in Xiantao has announced that it will donate another white horse to the Uygur man.

"When the weather gets warmer in Xinjiang in late March or early April, a white horse from Yelibay Dosunbek's home of Xinjiang will be delivered to him," said Chen Huibing, president of the chamber, adding that the new horse will be a continuation of Bailong's legacy and a testament to ethnic unity.

Yelibay Dosunbek said that he does not regret rushing into the river. "Had I got another chance, I'd make the same choice to save a life again."

Zou Jiahua, a former vice premier of China's State Council, died of illness at the age of 99 in Beijing at 11:42 p.m. Sunday, an official statement said.

Zou had also once served as a member of the Political Bureau of the 14th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress.

In the statement, Zou was extolled as an excellent CPC member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, proletarian revolutionist, and an outstanding leader in boosting China's economic development and national defense industry, and advancing the socialist legal system.

Taiwan authorities are considering an arms purchase package worth billions of dollars from the US, according to a Reuters report, which Chinese mainland experts regard as a proactive move of the island authorities aimed at currying favor with the Trump administration in terms of both easing tariff pressure and attempts to "resist reunification by force." 

However, in the face of firm resolution and strong capability of the Chinese mainland to achieve reunification, any more arms purchases are nothing but self-consolation to the island, experts said.  

Citing sources requesting anonymity, Reuters reported on Monday that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are "in talks with Washington" on arm sales, "hoping to win support from the new Trump administration."

One of the sources claimed that "the package is meant to demonstrate to the US that Taiwan is committed to its defense," per Reuters. A second source said the package would "include coastal defense cruise missiles and HIMARS rockets," noting that the total amount is likely to reach "somewhere between $7 billion to $10 billion."

According to the third source familiar with the matter, the island plans to "propose a special defense budget that prioritizes precision ammunition, air-defense upgrades, command and control systems, equipment for the reserve forces and anti-drone technology," Reuters said. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said, adding the defense authority of the island declined to comment on specific purchases.

Before reports on the potential arms purchase, Lai Ching-te, the secessionist leader of Taiwan region, claimed on February 14 that DPP authorities would propose a special budget plan this year "to increase defense spending to over 3 percent of GDP," which media on the island claimed would likely to see more arms purchases from Washington.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that news of a possible arms purchase of the US weapon was probably deliberately released by the DPP authorities as "a proactive move aimed at currying favor with the Trump administration so the US would consider reducing trade and other pressures on the island." 

Reuters reported previously that the island of Taiwan "runs a large trade surplus" with the US, which surged by 83 percent in 2024, with the island's exports to the US hitting a record $111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors. Some Taiwan-based media also described the move reflects the DPP authorities' broader efforts to reduce the US trade deficit with Taiwan. 

The volume of Taiwan's exports of semiconductors to the US is huge, and if the US government does decide to increase tariffs on the region's semiconductor products, it would bring an undesirable impact on the competitiveness of the island's products, Lü mentioned. 

Lü added that by taking the initiative to woo the new US government through arms purchases, the DPP authorities also hope to gain more support from the US for "Taiwan independence." 

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, regards the Taiwan secessionist authorities' move to "resist reunification by force" is nothing but self-consolation and attempting to seek support by paying protection fees to the US.

Coastal defense cruise missiles and rocket systems like HIMARS are nothing new to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), and the PLA has much more comparable equipment of better capabilities, Wang said. 

"The 'Taiwan card' is becoming less and less valuable and harder for US to play," said Lü, "if the card could be played as a 'King' on the table 10 years ago, now it's probably just a 10 card." 

The US has been taking petty actions on the Taiwan question recently. From February 10 to 12, the US destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch transited the Taiwan Straits. The US State Department also removed language on its website that it does not support "Taiwan independence." In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that US' move gravely backpedaled on its position on Taiwan-related issues. This is another example of the US clinging to its wrong policy of "using Taiwan to contain China."

We urge the US to immediately correct its wrongdoings, abide by the one-China principle and three China-US joint communiqués, handle the Taiwan question with extra prudence, stop using Taiwan to contain China, stop upgrading its substantive relations with Taiwan, stop helping Taiwan expand so-called "international space," stop emboldening and supporting "Taiwan independence," and avoid further severe damage to China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, Guo said.

A total of 27 people were injured during a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that jolted island of Taiwan at 12:17 am Tuesday (Beijing Time), CCTV news reported.

The epicenter, with a depth of 14 km, was monitored at 23.24 degrees north latitude and 120.51 degrees east longitude, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said.

According to the emergency medical management system of the local health and welfare departments, 27 people have been reported injured and are receiving medical treatment following the earthquake. Tainan city reported the highest number of injuries, with 16 cases, followed by Kaohsiung city with 3, Yunlin county with 4, Chiayi city with 3, and another person in Chiayi county, according to CCTV news.

Fire department of island of Taiwan reported 15 people have been injured and sent to the hospital for treatment. Additionally, according to local media, the earthquake caused buildings to collapse in Tainan city, and some individuals are trapped, according to China Central Television.

A resident surnamed Chu, living in Taipei, told the Global Times on Tuesday that he and his family are currently unaffected in the region. “Taipei just shook a few times, and everything is completely normal so far. However, some areas in Tainan city have been more severely impacted,” said Chu.

Rescue personnel are still assessing the damage. Furthermore, the meteorological authorities of island of Taiwan announced that a magnitude-6.4 earthquake occurred in Dapu township, Chiayi county, at 12:17 am Tuesday, with a depth of 9.7 kilometers. The epicenter was located 37.9 kilometers southeast of the Chiayi county government, and the tremors were felt across the island. 

The earthquake caused strong tremors across the entire island of Taiwan, with noticeable shaking reported in Quanzhou, Xiamen and Fuzhou in East China’s Fujian Province, and Ningbo, Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang Province, Shanghai also felt the tremors, according to CCTV News on Tuesday.

A Fuzhou resident surnamed Chen told the Global Times on Tuesday that he was preparing to sleep when the tremor caused his bed and window to shake. Chen mentioned he was not overly concerned about the earthquake and many of his friends shared their experiences during the earthquake on the social media platform WeChat moments.

A resident in Xiamen surnamed He said she only heard the window glass shake gently for a brief moment. “Many of my colleagues mentioned that they slept soundly and did not even notice the earthquake,” He said.

The meteorological department has issued alerts for over 20 counties and cities in island of Taiwan, according to CCTV. Additionally, from 12:21 am to 12:32 am on Tuesday, multiple earthquakes of magnitude-4 and above occurred in different districts of Tainan city.

A traveler named “Daerduotutu” had just arrived in Taipei on Monday. She told the Global Times that she was exporting photos from her phone when an earthquake alert notification appeared, followed by the tremor. “The house shook slightly, causing the ceiling to sway, but no major issues occurred. I feel confident about continuing my trip to Tainan in a few days,” said Daerduotutu.

A resident named Jianxiu in Changhua county in the middle part of the island told the Global Times that his village house remained undamaged just as it survived the 7.3-magnitude quake in April 2024. “I felt noticeable shake and just went to bed. My mother is a bit worried. Last year’s earthquake frightened her,” said Jianxiu.

Work and schools in the severely affected district in Tainan city will be suspended for one day to allow residents time to clean up and repair their homes, according to local media reports.

Local Chinese governments have incorporated measures, such as subsidies, tax cuts, paternity leave extensions, childcare services and better healthcare for mothers and children, into their annual work reports as China's provincial-level regions have been holding "two sessions" since the beginning of 2025.

The work report of Central China's Hubei Province prioritizes "alleviating concerns over childbirth" as its top livelihood project for 2025. The supporting measures include carrying out free disease screening services for the newborns, ensuring house-buying subsidies for families with more than one child, and enhancing oversight and enforcement to guarantee the proper implementation of maternity, paternity and parental leaves. 

The government work report of Beijing outlined plans to enhance supportive policies aimed at creating a "birth-friendly society," with diversified childcare services covering the capital city's urban areas. The government work report of Tianjin committed to developing integrated city-level childcare service centers. East China's Zhejiang Province outlined bettering the system of fertility support policies and incentive mechanisms, as well as pilot programs on universally beneficial childcare services in its work report.

In addition to including childbirth incentives in government work reports, local lawmakers and policy advisors from Hubei, Zhejiang, East China's Jiangxi and Southwest China's Sichuan provinces explored additional strategies to encourage higher birth rates.

Xing Hui, a member of Hubei Provincial People's Congress and Party Chief of Xiangyang Central Hospital, proposed extending maternity leaves for both the mother and father respectively to 180 days and 30 days. Xing also suggested offering companies government subsidies and tax cut to offset the costs incurred by the extended leaves.

Cai Xiangfen, a member of Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, advocated for providing both one-time and long-term financial allowances to families. The family with more children will get more money from local governments. She also recommended covering medical expenses related to infertility and high-risk maternal care through the medical insurance fund.

Zhejiang policy advisor Jin Zhenzhen recommended that public kindergartens offer daycare for children aged 2-3 years old so that their parents can have time to go to work. Jin said some large enterprises could even set up "pre-kindergarten classes" with government subsidies to assist employees with childcare.

Li Jianmin, a professor of Institute of Population and Development at Nankai University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that adopting more proactive policies can help restore people's willingness to have children.

"However, shifting public willingness to have children is a long-term process. Immediate effects from these stimulus policies cannot be expected within one or two years. The strength and continuity of policies are crucial. The public will keep watching," Li said.

Fundamental institutional reforms are necessary, especially in income distribution and healthcare, Li pointed out. "For example, we need to figure out ways to deal with the "motherhood penalty," where women face restricted job opportunities, reduced income, less chances of promotion in the workplace after having children," Li said.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's birth number in 2024 increased by 520,000 compared with 2023, but the total population at the end of 2024 dropped by 1390,000 than the end of 2023.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said on Thursday that the steel industry is an important basic industry of the country and the real economy is the foundation of the national economy.

Xi made the remarks while visiting a cold rolling mill of Bensteel Group in Benxi City, northeast China's Liaoning Province.