China launches two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, widely considered Asia's biggest such combat vessels, at a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Tuesday. [Photo/LIU DEBIN FOR CHINA DAILY] China launched on Tuesday two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, widely considered Asia's biggest and mightiest such combat ship, according to witnesses outside a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province. Weapons enthusiasts published photos taken near Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, which has built two aircraft carriers, on internet military forums. They also described what they saw of the two giant ships' launches. When ships are moved into the water, their construction is basically finished. It is regarded as the most important step before sea trials. Water started to be pumped into dry docks where the vessels were built around 7 am, before the docks' gates were opened, witnesses said. Photos showed that there was a small launch ceremony at the shipyard with hundreds of workers standing in formation in front of the two Type 055s, each decorated with a huge national flag and ceremonial banners. Then the ships were pushed into open waters by several tugboats, the photos showed. The next steps usually are for engineers to test and fine-tune equipment already mounted on the ships and continue installing other devices. Then they will conduct mooring tests and sea trials before the ships are commissioned in the People's Liberation Army Navy. Four Type 055s have now been launched, but none are yet commissioned. The first of the class was launched in late June 2017 at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, the second in late April at the same shipyard. Type 055 is China's newest generation of guided-missile destroyers. It has a displacement greater than 10,000 metric tons and will be equipped with new types of air defense, missile defense and anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, according to the Navy. It has 112 vertical launching cells that can fire various kinds of missiles, including China's long-range land-attack cruise missile. Its firepower is thought to be twice that of the Type 052D, the largest and most powerful surface combatant commissioned in the PLA Navy. While the Type 055 is classifed as a destroyer, outside China it would be considered a cruiser as its large size and heavy displacement are comparable to that of the United States' Ticonderoga class cruiser. Li Jie, a senior researcher for the PLA Navy, said the vessel displaces about 13,000 tons. The latest version of the United States' Arleigh Burke class, the largest family of destroyers in the world, has a full displacement of 9,800 tons. South Korea's Sejong the Great class displaces 11,000 tons while Japan's Atago class displaces 10,000 tons. Cao Weidong, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said that compared with other destroyers in the Navy, the Type 055 features stealth design, stronger strike prowess and higher information capacity and will tremendously boost the PLA Navy's long-range operational capability. He also said such ships will greatly strengthen the country's carrier battle groups. wristband makerwedding wristbands24hourwristbands1 inch wide rubber bandscustom rubber band braceletsmake rubber bracelets
The Communist Party of China's recent decision to seriously punish a former senior official was widely supported by the Party's provincial and municipal authorities nationwide, all of whom pledged to maintain a high degree of unity with the Party's central authorities. Sun Zhengcai, former Party chief of Chongqing, was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office for "serious discipline violations", according to a statement issued after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday. The investigation and punishment of Sun, a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, shows that the CPC Central Committee, with President Xi Jinping as the core, has firm determination to fight corruption, according to a commentary article in People's Daily on Saturday. The Party's Chongqing municipal committee held a meeting on Friday evening, soon after the statement was released, at which municipal Party officials vowed to firmly safeguard the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and maintain firm unity with the Central Committee. The probe and punishment of Sun before the Party's 19th National Congress proves that the CPC has great capability for self-improvement and self-purification, said a statement released by the CPC Chongqing municipal committee. The CPC will begin its 19th National Congress on Oct 18. The Party committees of many other provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Guangdong, Shanxi and Heilongjiang, also voiced support for the Central Committee immediately after Friday's meeting. Based on evidence found by authorities and tips from the public, the Central Committee decided to remove Sun from his position as Chongqing Party chief on July 14. A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee on July 24 decided to put Sun under investigation. The investigation was conducted by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The investigation found that Sun had betrayed Party principles and lost his political stance, ignoring the Party code of conduct and rules, according to a statement issued after Friday's meeting. He was also found to have seriously violated the CPC eight-point code on frugality and maintaining close ties with the masses. He sought pomp, ostentation and privileges, according to the statement. The statement said that Sun was guilty of nepotism and seeking benefits in the selection of officials. He was also found guilty of leaking confidential Party information and seriously breaching Party rules on integrity. He took advantage of his power and influence to seek benefits for others, and accepted a "huge amount" of money and gifts in return. He was found to have sought substantial benefits for his relatives' businesses and accepted valuable gifts. The statement accused Sun of bureaucracy and sloth in work and degradation and power-for-sex trades in life. Sun totally deviated from the Party spirit and political requirements for senior officials, the statement said, adding that his misconduct betrayed the trust of the CPC Central Committee and the public, and inflicted great harm on the Party and the country with an "extremely bad" social influence. The case involving Sun's suspected crimes will be transferred to the judiciary. The decision to expel Sun from the CPC will be put before a plenary meeting of the CPC Central Committee.
