The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway(HSR) started official operation on October 17. It’s the first HSR project that China     1     (independent) completed overseas. It also shows that China and Indonesia have achieved results under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI,”一带一路”倡议).

The railway is called WHOOSH. It’s the first of its kind in Indonesia. The 142.3-kilometer-long line has four stations,     2     (connect) the country’s capital city Jakarta (雅加达) and its fourth largest city Bandung (万隆). For now, 14 trains run between the two cities. The frequency will be increased if market demand     3     (grow).

The railway can carry up     4     600 passengers. It has a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour,     5     cuts the journey between the two cities from 3.5 hour to just 46 minutes. The shorter journey will create more job     6     (opportunity) along the line.

In 2017, Indonesian President Joko Widodo     7     (speak) highly of the BRI. It’s not just empty talk. Instead, it’s a real effort     8     (make) to the world. With the operation of the Jakarta Bandung HSR, a new     9     (economy) zone is taking shape. That is already happening along the China Laos Railway. The China Thailand HSR project is also underway.     10     it’s completed, it will bring more benefits to Southeast Asia and beyond.

On August 24, Japan started releasing wastewater from its Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (福岛第一核电站) into the Pacific Ocean. This has caused anger and fear across the world.

In March 2011, Japan experienced the strongest earthquake in its     1     (record) history. The earthquake caused a tsunami (海啸),     2     greatly damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant. Ever since then, the plant has been producing a large amount of radioactive wastewater. So far, it     3     (collect) more than 1.3 million tons of it. The first round of release will last 17 days. The whole process will take about 30 years.

The plant was operated by TEPCO (东京电力公司). According to the company, the wastewater is diluted (稀释) before     4     (it) release. However, there’s still a problem. Some of the most dangerous substances are very likely     5     (remain) in it.

“They’ll pollute the ocean, the animals within it, and     6     (final), the earth,” said Tacko Fujimura, an official at Japan’s Zen-Noh (日本农业合作社联合会).

On the same day, China announced     7     immediate ban on all seafood products from Japan. This     8     (decide) was made to “protect the lives and health of the people.” In a statement, the country’s Foreign Ministry (外交部) called Japan’s move “    9     (self) and irresponsible.”

China was the biggest buyer of Japanese seafood. More than 255,000 users took a poll (民意调查) on Weibo. Up to 97% of them said that they would no longer eat seafood from Japan. “We’re on the same planet,” said one of them. “Nobody can be free from harm. It’s just a matter     10     time.”