On January 16, 2025, the unveiling ceremony of the National Research Center for Emergency Medicine Hainan Base (NRCEM Hainan Base) was held at the Liyan Hall of Hainan Medical University, marking the start of in-depth cooperation in the field of emergency medicine between the NRCEM and Hainan Medical University, in response to national strategies and aimed at the ocean.Unveiling Ceremony of NRCEM Hainan BaseThe ceremony was hosted by Liu Xiaoran, Dean of the Emergency and Trauma College of Hainan Medical University. Zhang Caihong, Vice President of Hainan Medical University, delivered a speech. She stated that as the only public undergraduate medical university in Hainan Province, Hainan Medical University has always attached great importance to the education and research of emergency medicine, with high-quality resources such as the national key specialty in emergency medicine and the national-level medical emergency response teams. The establishment of the NRCEM Hainan Base at Hainan Medical University is a full recognition and affirmation of the university's work in emergency medicine research and an important opportunity for the development of the university.Vice President Zhang Caihong Delivers a SpeechWu Di, President of the Emergency General Hospital and Deputy Director of the NRCEM, pointed out in his speech that extreme weather events and human-made disasters caused by global climate change pose a serious threat to human life safety and sustainable development. Especially under the background of ongoing ocean warming and acidification, improving maritime emergency medical rescue capabilities has become an important issue. President Wu expressed high expectations for this collaboration. He hopes that the NRCEM Hainan Base will adhere to principles of scale efficiency, combination of local and broader efforts, and strengthen regional cooperation to promote the high-quality development of emergency medicine, advance the construction of a maritime emergency medical system in line with local conditions, and integrate the construction of a regional center for medical rescue.President Wu Di Delivers a SpeechLi Jingbo, Deputy Director of the Department of Emergency Management of Hainan Province, stated in his speech that the establishment of the NRCEM Hainan Base is a significant and joyous event in the field of emergency management in Hainan Province. He hopes to use this opportunity to further strengthen cooperation with the NRCEM, and the Department of Emergency Management of Hainan Province will actively support the construction and development of the NRCEM Hainan Base, helping the Base become an important force in the field of emergency rescue in Hainan Province, thus ensuring the social stability, development, and people's health and well-being in Hainan Free Trade Port.Deputy Director Li Jingbo Delivers a SpeechThe Hainan base is headed by Xu Jian, Secretary of the Party Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University, and Liu Xiaoran, Dean of the Emergency and Trauma College of Hainan Medical University, serves as Vice Director. The NRCEM (Emergency General Hospital) has signed strategic agreements with both Hainan Medical University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University.Signing of Strategic AgreementSecretary Xu Jian delivered an inaugural speech. He stated that the joint construction of the NRCEM Hainan Base is an extension of the strategic goals of the NRCEM, which is of great significance for improving the emergency medical rescue capabilities in Hainan Province and even nationwide. He pledged that the NRCEM Hainan Base will focus on leveraging key resources, carefully build emergency rescue teams, and ensure the professionalism and efficiency of emergency rescue work. The Base will also work closely with local fire rescue agencies to enhance medical service support capabilities and provide comprehensive medical support and guarantee for fire rescue teams.Secretary Xu Jian Delivers a SpeechGroup Photo of Guests Attending Signing CeremonyAfter the signing ceremony, President Wu Di and Academician Chen Guoqiang, President of Hainan Medical University, held a discussion and visited the laboratory of the Hainan Academy of Medical Sciences.The establishment of the NRCEM Hainan Base has received high attention and strong support from emergency, health, and other departments at all levels, opening up new development opportunities for emergency medicine in the marine field. The NRCEM Hainan Base will rely on Hainan's unique geographical location and oceanic resources, focusing on serving major national strategic areas. Starting from mitigating risks from maritime disaster incidents, it will significantly improve maritime emergency medical rescue capabilities by scientifically grasp the trend of frequent global extreme disaster incidents, accelerating the advancement of China's marine emergency medical research, strengthening an important emergency safety barrier along China's maritime borders, and contributing to the chapter of China's modernization in Hainan.

On January 17, 2025, the unveiling ceremony of the National Research Center for Emergency Medicine Shenzhen Base (NRCEM Shenzhen Base) was held at the Reception Hall of the People's Government of Longgang District of Shenzhen. This is the first innovative base under the cooperation of the NRCEM, characterized by aviation rescue and high-tech features.Unveiling CeremonyThe unveiling ceremony was hosted by Xu Yiqun, Director of the Longgang District Health Bureau. Attendees watched a promotional video about the NRCEM Shenzhen Base and listened to a report on the Base's construction progress. Zhang Yuqing, Deputy Mayor of Longgang District, on behalf of the Longgang District Committee and District Government, warmly welcomed the leaders and guests and delivered a speech. Deputy Mayor Zhang Yuqing stated that the establishment of the NRCEM Shenzhen Base will greatly enhance the district's ability to respond to public health emergencies and provide a more solid guarantee for the safety of people's lives and health.Deputy Mayor Zhang Yuqing Delivers a SpeechWu Di, President of the Emergency General Hospital and Deputy Director of the NRCEM, delivered a speech at the ceremony. He expressed that the NRCEM fully supports the construction of the NRCEM Shenzhen Base as an emergency, smart, and international emergency medicine base. The unique advantages of Shenzhen as a technology innovation hub should be fully utilized. The Base must adhere to technology-driven leadership, cooperate with local emergency management research institutions and high-tech enterprises, accelerate the construction of a smart base, and achieve intelligent, precise, and efficient emergency medical rescue. The Base must also maintain scale efficiency, not only strengthening emergency rescue capabilities but also achieving significant results in emergency medicine research, talent cultivation, and other areas to promote the comprehensive development of the Base. Regional cooperation should be strengthened, with close collaboration with emergency medical institutions in surrounding areas and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area to realize resource sharing, complementary advantages, and the establishment of an efficient, collaborative regional emergency medical rescue system, ensuring a solid guarantee for the safety and health of the people.President Wu Di Delivers a SpeechSubsequently, the unveiling ceremony of the NRCEM Shenzhen Base and the signing of the project agreement took place.Unveiling Ceremony of NRCEM Shenzhen BaseSigning CeremonyGroup Photo of Guests Attending Signing CeremonyTo enhance communication, Wu Di, President of the Emergency General Hospital, shared the NRCEM's recent achievements in the integration of 5G technology with emergency medicine. After the meeting, the delegation from the Emergency General Hospital conducted research on the Eastern Aviation Integrated Support Operation Base in Shenzhen and the venue for the 2025 International Forum on Emergency Medical Rescue & Equipment and Technology Expo.The establishment of the NRCEM Shenzhen Base has received considerable attention and strong support from emergency, health, and other departments at all levels. The NRCEM Shenzhen Base, backed by Shenzhen's resources as a national economic center and an international science and technology innovation hub, will continue to deepen domestic and international exchanges and cooperation, promote the intelligentization, localization, and independent research and development of key emergency medical technologies and equipment, and facilitate the sound and orderly development of the industry. Moreover, it will continue to improve the construction of the regional emergency medical rescue system, enhance the response speed and treatment efficiency to various emergencies, and in the second half of this year, the 2025 International Forum on Emergency Medical Rescue & Equipment and Technology Expo will be held in Shenzhen. At that time, the NRCEM Shenzhen Base will serve as an important support platform and exhibition window for this grand event, showcasing its new technologies and achievements in emergency medicine, particularly in aviation rescue. This will accelerate the innovation and application of emergency medical rescue technologies and contribute Shenzhen's wisdom and strength to enhancing emergency medical rescue capabilities both in China and globally.

Kaushalya Karunasagara is the Networking Advisor at the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka. She has been focusing on multicultural academic research for many years, and promoting International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights law from an Asian cultural perspective. Her latest research, Rules and Traditions During Conflict Situations: contextualizing IHL with Chinese Humanitarian Traditions, was presented at the symposium on “Chinese Humanitarian Traditions and International Humanitarian Concepts” jointly organized by the ICRC, the Red Cross Society of China and the National Emergency Medical Research Center.The year 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions and the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the Red Cross Society of China. At present, many armed conflicts rage across the globe, putting global humanitarian actions under the spotlight, as humanitarian actors such as the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement continue to provide assistance on the front lines of conflicts, reaffirming the principles of humanity, and urging that "even wars must have limits".Humanity is the greatest consensus that can unite different civilizations. In the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva, there is an official script warning sign that reads "Do not do unto others as you would not like to be done unto yourself". Meanwhile, In the study of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the comparative study of the traditional Chinese concept of "humanity" is becoming popular. Why does international humanitarian work start to draw inspiration from Eastern cultures? How can the far-reaching Chinese thoughts of "benevolence" and "forgiveness" be applied in international humanitarian actions? Kaushalya Karunasagara, Networking Advisor at the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka shared her insights in an exclusive interview with CNS's "W.E. Talk".Here are the excerpts of the interview:CNS: The exploration and comparative study of the concept of humanity in Eastern cultures has gradually emerged in the field of IHL. Why has that trend emerged?Kaushalya Karunasagara: The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) initiated its engagement with cultural and religious traditions decades ago with the objective of conveying key humanitarian messages in cultural vernacular corresponding to International Humanitarian Law (IHL).Whilst the ICRC's headquarters and origins are in Europe, we acknowledge the importance of other cultural perspectives on humanitarian action, and what the ICRC can learn from Asia ― particularly when it comes to the protection of civilians, detainees and the sick and wounded during times of armed conflict and other situations of violence.Three decades ago, the ICRC began exploring convergences between Islamic culture and IHL, for the ICRC better to relate to the cultures in which it was working, many of which were Muslim contexts. Since 2017, the ICRC has engaged on Buddhist culture and IHL for much the same purpose, and we have also engaged on Hindu traditions and Christian ethics and IHL, too. This latest project on Chinese traditions is a continuation of this work.Whilst the convergences between these different traditions and IHL might at first be surprising, we must remember that the roots of IHL lie in various humanitarian traditions from around the world, some of which are thousands of years old.Having said that, the ICRC does not ignore the divergences between these traditions and IHL, and it is also important to discuss those. All of this is what makes this dialogue so rich, interesting, and meaningful. Thus, we are affirmative that oriental cultural traditions could contribute to enrich this discussion effectively along with other humanitarian traditions around the world to enhance the operational innovation, gain and maintain access by building relationships and bridges to IHL. We hope to learn a lot more from Chinese scholars, humanitarians, and others as this project progresses.CNS: In your recent research, what ideas in the Chinese cultural traditions are intrinsically compatible with the international concept of the humanity?Kaushalya Karunasagara: The ICRC is only just embarking upon engagement with Chinese Traditions, but already it is clear that the principle of benevolence is a pillar of Chinese traditions of humanity. In another words, Benevolence is the act of kindness where we empathetically dispose to act with human heartedness.If we explore further, we can see that there are two common rules related to all traditions to preserve Humanity. Even someone is not attached to a particular religionfollow any philosophy, these two rules could be observed considering ourselves as examples. We call them as "golden rule" and "silver rule"."Golden rule" simply says treat others in the way you like to be treated by others. For an example, if you like equal and fair treatment, you may treat others in the same way. In "silver rule", it says do not treat others in the way you do not like to be treated. Putting itan example, if you do not like to be tortured, do not do the same to another. When we pay attention to Chinese traditions, we can clearly see that these two rules are included in there as well which represent the essence of benevolence.For an example, all of Confucius's moral teachings are also bound to serve humanity. Benevolence is one of them which is the foundational virtue that promotes a flourishing human community. It parallels with previously discussed golden rule and silver rule which are grounds of human dignity.Also, there is a Chinese concept of the "Junzi", who is enriched with moral qualities to act and speak appropriately in any situation. In English translation, "Junzi" is a noble personan exemplary person who is capable of acting virtuously regardless of any difficult circumstance. Hence, these virtues could be a model for parties to armed conflicts to limit the effects of war and other violence, for humanitarian reasons.CNS：In China and many Asian countries, such ideas as the Confucian benevolence and forgiveness thought have far reaching influence. Are these ideas and traditions also be presented in the Geneva Conventions? Are they being applied in international humanitarian actions?Kaushalya Karunasagara: The Geneva Conventions of 1949 were the result of deliberations between the world's States, and therefore draw on a broad spectrum of traditions of humanity. Of course, China was one of the first States to sign the Geneva Conventions.But, centuries before the Geneva Conventions, Chinese traditions already prioritized humanity in war, with rules to protect civilians and civilian property, and emphasis on the importance of treating the sick and wounded, principles which now form the core of IHL, upon which the ICRC's mandate is based.For an example, the teachings of Sun Zi in Art of War are famous around the world specially among military and political leaders. Interestingly, as a book related to military strategies, Art of War says, "the captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept". This corresponds with the Third Geneva Convention on "Treatment of Prisoners of War". It says that prisoners of war must be treated humanely in all circumstances. They must be allowed communication with their families as well. Also, Sun Zi says, after taking the power of enemy countries, combatants should not destroy that country. This closely reflects the obligation in IHL to protect specific objects and cultural property.At a moment in which we see IHL under intense pressure in various hotspots around the globe, Chinese traditions make clear – just like IHL – that even wars must have limits.CNS: What is the practical significance of international humanitarian work drawing inspiration from Eastern cultures?Kaushalya Karunasagara: The ICRC strives constantly to reinforce respect for, and compliance with, IHL, and it is the obligation of all States to promote IHL. When armed conflict does occur, compliance with IHL can also make the path to peace incrementally easier.The ICRC's engagement on cultural traditions aims to act as a reminder of the strictly humanitarian objectives of IHL, through emphasizing its roots in these various traditions.In our experience, religions philosophical and culture traditions play a big role in shaping anyone's values, ethics, and beliefs whether directlyindirectly. When we explore together those traditional ideologies, and their convergences with IHL, people can more easily begin to see IHL as a reflection of their own value systems as well.The point is, we can guide them gradually to understand that IHL is not an "alien set of rules", but a part of our cultural and traditional values since a long time.Edited by Wang Zonghan2025.1.14Editor: Xue Lingqiao

ICRC（Beijing）— On October 25, 2024, humanitarian experts, medical professionals, diplomats, relief practitioners, and scholars convened in Beijing to explore the convergences of Chinese traditions and international humanitarian concepts.  The seminar titled"Chinese Humanitarian Traditions and International Humanitarian Concepts: An Ethical Exploration of Emergency Relief" was jointly organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Delegation for East Asia, the National Research Center for Emergency Medicine (NRCEM), and the Relief and Health Department of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC).  The seminar sought to engage in genuine dialogue to increase the understanding and awareness of international humanitarian law (IHL) and humanitarian principles, and their convergences with Chinese humanitarian traditions.Boris Kelecevic, Deputy Head of the ICRC Regional Delegation, delivers opening remarks at the seminar.  “IHL’s core concept, respect for human life and dignity, resonates with many values in traditional Chinese culture,” stressed Boris Kelecevic, Deputy Head of the ICRC Regional Delegation, stressed in his opening speech. He also encouraged future research to deepen understanding and integration of Chinese ethical conceptsglobal humanitarian efforts, to help regulate the conduct of hostilities, reduce conflict tensions, and contribute to address global humanitarian challenges. NRCEM Director Lyu Guozhong delivers opening remarks at the seminar. NRCEM Director Lyu Guozhong emphasized China’s commitment to humanitarian values rooted in Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, noting China’s active role in global rescue missions and emergency medicine training.  “With joint and unremitting effort, we can surely create a safer, more harmonious and prosperous world, making human society more resilient in facing various disasters and challenges,” he stated.Bian Xiao, General Director of the RCSC's Relief and Health Department, delivers opening remarks at the seminar. Bian Xiao, General Director of the RCSC's Relief and Health Department, shared insightsthe extensive work undertaken by the RCSC. He emphasized China’s role as an active participant, supporter, and contributor to international humanitarian efforts. “Under the new global landscape, understanding how best to integrate Chinese humanitarian traditions with international humanitarian concepts is essential. We must consider how China’s unique strengths can contribute more effectively to the global humanitarian landscape,” Bian emphasized. The event featured presentations from speakers of diverse backgrounds. Charlie Dorman-O’ Gowan, ICRC’s Regional Manager for Global Affairs based in Bangkok, briefed the audience with the ICRC’s engagement with cultural and religious traditions across Asia, while Gao Jinsheng, first chairman of the Professional Committee of Humanities Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, elaborated on the humanitarian spirit in Chinese tradition. Joining remotely from Sri Lanka, ICRC Advisor Kaushalya Karunasagara contextualized IHL through the lens of Chinese humanitarian values by comparing key concepts of traditional Chinese classics with specific rules in IHL. Xu Shiling, Lecturer and Deputy Director of IHL and Humanitarian Policy at the International Academy of the Red Cross (IARC), examined the ethics of aid within cultural contexts and emphasized the importance of harmonizing traditional thought with modern humanitarian practices. Liu Xinyan (first on the left), Legal Advisor at the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, moderated a panel discussion. The seminar also included a panel discussion moderated by Liu Xinyan, Legal Advisor at the ICRC Regional Delegation, where experts shared perspectives on various topics such as revival of Chinese humanitarian values, China’s role in international humanitarian relief, humanitarian cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative, influence of humanitarian traditions on IHL compliance, humanitarian tradition in modern emergency rescue practices, and ethical concerns of data discrimination in rescue operations.  Najum Iqbal, Head of Communications at the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, delivers concluding remarks at the event. Concluding the event, Najum Iqbal, Head of Communications at the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, summarized highlights of the event and commended the broad perspectives shared by speakers, panelists, and participants. He emphasized the seminar as an important step in exploring the convergence between Chinese traditions and IHL, expressing optimism for continued research in this field.