Progress continues on China’s first airfield in Antarctica, with site selection and a survey completed and plans set for construction to begin as early as year’s end, according to a senior scientist.

The airfield, near China’s Zhongshan Station, will be able to handle fixed-wing aircraft. Specialists from the nation’s 33rd Antarctic expedition recently surveyed a 3-square-kilometer area selected for the airfield, said Sun Bo, deputy director of the Polar Research Institute of China under the State Oceanic Administration.

Sun spoke at a news conference after the welcoming ceremony in Shanghai for the 33rd Antarctic expedition, which ended a 161-day mission and returned to its base in Shanghai on Tuesday morning.

The 328-member expedition conducted a great amount of scientific research and experiments at and around the country’s four Antarctic stations－Changcheng, Zhongshan, Taishan and Kunlun－according to the institute. It added that the Xuelong icebreaker and Haiyang 6 scientific survey ship, the two vessels carrying the expedition team, also conducted oceanographic and geological research.

Sun said the construction of the planned airfield will be carried out by the 34th Antarctic expedition, which is set to arrive in Antarctica around the end of this year, adding that the infrastructure project will go through an international environmental protection review.

“At first the airfield will have only one runway, so the construction will be easy－we will only need to flatten the selected area and maintain it. Fixed-wing aircraft will need to be equipped with a pair of runners so they can land,” he told China Daily.

“Next, we plan to build some runways in the same area. They will be flatter than the first runway and will be capable of accommodating large fixed-wing planes that are not equipped with runners,” Sun said.

The airfield will greatly facilitate the nation’s Antarctic explorations, Sun said.

There are about 40 airstrips in service in Antarctica with the United States, Australia and Italy being the major operators.

During the 33rd expedition, Chinese scientists used the Xueying 601, the only fixed-wing aircraft used by China for Antarctic research, to perform airborne remote sensing and telemetry operations, which means China is now able to conduct aerial surveys in Antarctica, Sun said.

In another development, Lin Shanqing, deputy head of State Oceanic Administration, said at the news conference that the 33rd expedition completed a survey of possible sites of China’s fifth Antarctic station near the Ross Sea, a bay in Antarctica. He said experts inspected and examined five locations before deciding.

Preparation for the new station has been completed and construction will start as soon as 2018, Lin said.

The Ross Sea is believed to be the least altered marine ecosystem on Earth, making it a living laboratory that may provide insights about Antarctica’s history.

Any attempt to play up the case of a Taiwan resident under investigation will further harm the “already severe” relations between the mainland and Taiwan, an official said Wednesday.

Lee Ming-che is being investigated for suspected activities “endangering national security,” An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press conference.

The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits has entrusted a Taiwan-based NGO to inform Lee’s wife of the case and pass letters from him to his family, according to An.

“Some outside groups in Taiwan have taken the case to attack the mainland, make trouble, and interfere with the investigation,” An said. “They will not have a way to attain their goals.”

“The investigation is being conducted in accordance with the law and the suspect’s legal rights will be protected,” An said, warning that attempts to interfere with the case will only complicate matters and harm Lee’s rights.

Premier Li Keqiang grants the official certificate of appointment to Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who will take office as the fifth-term chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1, in Beijing, April 11, 2017. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Premier Li Keqiang Tuesday granted the official certificate of appointment to Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who will take office as the fifth-term chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1.

He said that the central government would give full support to the chief executive and the SAR government in developing the economy, improving people’s quality of life and enhancing exchanges and cooperation with the mainland.

The Cambodian edition of the book “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” was released on April 11 in Cambodia.

Cambodian Prime Minister SamdechTecho Hun Sen presided over the release ceremony of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” on Tuesday at his office, the Peace Palace, in Phnom Penh, together with Jiang Jianguo, chief of China’s State Council Information Office.

The book contains 79 speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters of the Chinese leader between November 2012 and June 2014. It was already translated into 16 languages and has a distribution of over 6.2 million copies around the world.

“It is a milestone in China-Cambodia relations, and the Cambodian version of the book is a new testament to the fruitful relations and cooperation between China and Cambodia,” said by Jiang Jianguo in a speech released on Monday.

During the speech, he believed that Cambodian readers will better understand President Xi’s thoughts on China’s development, domestic and foreign policies and response to the concerns of the international community.

“The Cambodian version of the book can open a new window for Cambodian readers to watch and understand China, and provide a new platform for us to communicate the experience of governing and administering the country,” Jiang said.

Ten people died and another was injured in a traffic accident Monday night in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local police said.

The accident occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday on an expressway surrounding Nanning, capital city of Guangxi. Four vehicles including three trucks and a car were involved in the crashes.

The injured person has been sent to hospital.

An investigation into the accident is under way.