Erinome: Hello everyone! Welcome to today's daily news chat. I'm Erinome, and sitting next to me is my friend Enceladus. Let's go through the latest news together, okay?
Enceladus: Hi everyone! Let's start with the first one. What's up today?
Erinome: The 2025 survey results for China's "Happiest Cities" are out! Chengdu, Hangzhou and 9 other provincial capitals or planned cities, plus Wenzhou, Wuxi and 9 other prefecture-level cities were selected. That's 22 cities in total! Wow, I’ve always wanted to visit Chengdu—people say it’s super relaxed there, you know that?
Enceladus: Oh right! Chengdu has great food and pandas, so no surprise it’s on the list. Happy for those cities!
Erinome: Next, economy news: In the first 11 months of this year, China's foreign trade surplus broke 1 trillion US dollars for the first time! Foreign media called it a "milestone" and "unprecedented". That’s a huge number, huh?
Enceladus: 1 trillion! That’s amazing. Our trade is really doing well this year.
Erinome: Then space news! The Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew just finished their first spacewalk! They installed space debris protection devices on the space station and finished other tasks. So cool—astronauts are like real-life superheroes!
Enceladus: Wow, spacewalks sound scary but exciting. Good job to the crew!
Erinome: Two new rules starting next year: First, contraceptives and related products will have a 13% tax rate. Second, making mercury-containing thermometers and blood pressure monitors will be totally banned. Um, mercury is bad for health, so banning those makes sense, right?
Enceladus: Yeah! No more mercury in medical tools—safer for everyone. And lower tax on contraceptives might help people too.
Erinome: Now, for internet creators: Shanghai Yangpu District will give housing subsidies to excellent UP hosts and bloggers. The top subsidy is 2 million yuan! Oh, that’s a lot of money for content creators!
Enceladus: 2 million! So if you’re a popular UP main in Shanghai, you can get help buying a house? That’s a nice way to support them.
Erinome: But here’s a gross one: A customer in Shenzhen said there was a live mouse in a Sam's Club mochi box. Sam's apologized, saying it was probably pests from the pickup point. Oh no! That’s so yucky, haha.
Enceladus: Eww, live mouse in food? That’s scary. Hope they fix their pest control fast!
Erinome: Sad news from Chongqing: A man won 7.48 million yuan in lottery, but the store owner kept his ticket. The lottery center said the prize is still frozen, waiting for the court. Poor guy—he should get his money if he really won!
Enceladus: Yeah, that’s unfair. Hope the court solves it soon.
Erinome: Sports time! Two updates: First, Su Bingtian—China’s sprint star and men’s 100m Asian record holder—announced he’s retiring. Second, the Australian Open list is out: 7 Chinese players got in—3 men, 4 women. Oh, Su is retiring? He’s a legend!
Enceladus: I know! Su inspired so many young runners. And 7 Chinese in澳网 (Ao Wang, Australian Open)? Go team China!
Erinome: Public safety news: Police are now publicly wanting 100 fugitive telecom fraud bosses and key members. Good! Fraudsters need to be caught—they steal people’s money.
Enceladus: Totally! Telecom fraud is terrible. Hope they catch all 100 soon.
Erinome: Last one, tech news: US media says Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company made a big breakthrough! Surgery time is down to 1.5 seconds! Over ten people use the device 8 hours a day now, and 10,000 patients are waiting. Wow, 1.5 seconds for brain surgery? That’s super fast!
Enceladus: That’s like sci-fi coming true! Hope it helps sick people soon.
Erinome: Oh, and a sad note from Japan: The earthquake off Aomori Prefecture’s coast hurt 50 people and damaged 14 buildings. The weather agency said a magnitude 9 quake might hit in the next week. Oh no, hope everyone there stays safe.
Enceladus: Yeah, earthquakes are scary. Sending prayers to Japan.
Erinome: Okay, that’s all the news for today! Thanks for listening, everyone.
Enceladus: Let’s chat again next time. Bye!
