StayGate: 2025

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Screenshots : Plane-spotting sites outside Haikou Meilan Airport

Pictures : Screenshots

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Hotel Review VI : Miracle Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel

Review, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

I do not forget this hotel easily because the hotel itself has excellent fengshui and it brings luck to all staff and miracles to plane-spotters like me. I am surprised to witness Ethiopian Cargo's inaugural flight from Liege to Suvarnabhumi and inaugural flight from Suvarnabhumi to Anchorage on the rooftop pool area as well as Kenya Airways' wildlife-themed Dreamliner livery on 8 April 2025.

Good news to customers that book the rooms without meals: The hotel restaurant King Kaeo Coffeeshop has reduced cost of breakfast from 290 Baht to 250 Baht per guest after the 28 March earthquake.

Friday, April 4, 2025

Air Travel Hunan Airlines launches "Pet Travel" product

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA Image : Web Screenshot

In recent years, with the gradual increase in the number of domestic pet-raising families, the demand for traveling with pets has been growing. In order to meet the travel needs of pet lovers, Air Travel Hunan Airlines launched the "Pet Travel" product. From April 1, passengers departing from Changsha can take their pets with them on an air journey.

It is understood that each passenger can carry one cat or small dog on board, and each flight can carry a maximum of 2 pets. The hard-sided pet box must not exceed 30 cm (length) x 38 cm (width) x 15 cm (height), and the soft-sided pet box must not exceed 30 cm (length) x 38 cm (width) x 20 cm (height). Small animals within the restricted range can enter the cabin service, that is, in some flight segments, pets that meet the corresponding requirements in size, breed, transportation documents, etc. can enter the cabin with passengers. This service is currently limited to the economy class of Hunan Airlines' domestic direct flights from Changsha.

Passengers must purchase the "Pet Travel" service through Hunan Airlines' online customer service (9:00-17:00) or customer service hotline 400-833-7777 24 hours before the flight takes off. For specific pet transportation rules and applicable routes, please refer to the announcement in the "Passenger Service" column of Hunan Airlines' official website. The specific review is subject to the on-site review.

The "Pet Travel" service launched by Hunan Airlines this time aims to provide passengers with a more humane and safer pet transportation experience and meet the needs of passengers traveling with pets. In the future, Hunan Airlines will continue to dig deep into passengers' travel needs and actively provide passengers with richer and more affordable air travel products.

Thursday, April 3, 2025

A major signal of Xi Jinping's loss of power

Direct translation

Rare exchange of high-level officials in Zhongnanhai. Analysis: A major signal of Xi Jinping's loss of power

Editor : Wen Bin / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2025/04/03/a103972836.html / Image : Some analysts believe that the exchange of positions between Shi Taifeng and Li Ganjie, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, sends a major political signal that the leader of the CPC Xi Jinping may have lost the dominance over personnel. The picture shows a data map of Zhongnanhai. (Greg Baker / AFP Getty Images)

The Chinese Communist Party officially confirmed on 2 April 2025 that the positions of Shi Taifeng and Li Ganjie, members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, were exchanged. Shi Taifeng became the Minister of the Central Organization Department and Li Ganjie became the Minister of the Central United Front Work Department. Some analysts believe that this rare exchange of personnel at the top of the CPC sends a major political signal that the dominance of personnel of the leader of the CPC Xi Jinping may have been controlled by another force.

On 2 April 2025, the CCP party media confirmed for the first time that Shi Taifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, was transferred from the former Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee to the Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. And Li Ganjie was transferred from the former Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee to the Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Public information shows that both Li Ganjie and Shi Taifeng entered the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in October 2022. Among them, Shi Taifeng took over the United Front Work Department in October 2022, and Li Ganjie became the Minister of the Organization Department in April 2023.

In the officialdom of the CPC, the Organization Department, the Propaganda Department, and the United Front Work Department are the three major functional departments of the CPC. In particular, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee is responsible for the organization and personnel management of the top level, and is responsible for the assessment and promotion of senior cadres of the CPC. It has always been the most powerful.

It is worth noting that Li Ganjie and Shi Taifeng are both members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretaries of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. They are currently vice-state-level senior officials. Such a high-level job swap is extremely rare in the officialdom of the CPC.

Some analysts believe that this high-level personnel exchange sends an unusual signal, which means that the leader of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, may have lost his dominance over personnel.

On 3 April 2025, Tang Jingyuan, a senior political commentator in the United States and host of "Vision Express", told NTD: This is a very obvious signal that Xi Jinping is losing his dominance over personnel. "We all know that the power of personnel in the party is actually decided by the Organization Department of the Central Committee. Li Ganjie can be regarded as a direct confidant of Xi Jinping, but Shi Taifeng is different. He is a classmate of Li Keqiang in the Law Department of Peking University and has a strong Youth League background."

Tang Jingyuan analyzed that under this situation, Shi Taifeng came to the Organization Department of the Central Committee, and Li Ganjie was exchanged to the United Front Work Department. The actual effect is that Shi Taifeng's actual power has been greatly enhanced, while Li Ganjie has been greatly weakened. The essence behind him is that the Xi faction has lost its dominance over personnel, and the officials of the Youth League have taken control of this dominance over personnel.

Since last year, news about Xi Jinping's illness and loss of power has been circulating. In addition, Xi's military confidant, Miao Hua, director of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission, was investigated, and another military confidant of Xi, He Weidong, vice chairman of the Military Commission, was missing, which increased the outside world's speculation that Xi had lost power.

Tang Jingyuan said that the political signal released by this personnel exchange is very clear, that is, Xi Jinping has been deprived of even the most basic personnel dominance at the level of the entire Politburo. "He is now basically a general secretary who maintains a superficial title."

Just before this personnel exchange, when the Politburo of the Communist Party of China held a meeting on March 31, there was also anomalies in the official reports. The party media mentioned the "Central Committee of the Party" four times, and the expression "the Central Committee of the Party with Xi Jinping as the core" that was often mentioned in the past was nowhere to be found.

Tang Jingyuan believes that "it is not Xi Jinping himself who truly controls the Politburo and maintains the overall operation of the entire CCP, but another force." He said that if Xi Jinping has lost the power to control the military and now has lost the power to dominate personnel in the party and government system, then the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China this year should be a very critical observation point.

Other analysts believe that this personnel swap at the top of the CCP not only shows that Xi has lost the power to dominate personnel, but also means that the top of the CCP is facing a new round of personnel reshuffle.

On 3 April 2025, current affairs commentator Zhou Xiaohui wrote in the Epoch Times that "If the CCP elders want to control the political situation, in addition to controlling the military power, they must also control the power of public opinion and personnel. The first two seem to be no longer a problem, but it should be a top priority to abandon the officials at all levels promoted by the Xi faction and appoint new officials so that the government orders can be passed down from top to bottom."

Bloody sky appears again in Yunnan, worries over a major earthquake

Direct translation

"Blood-coloured sky" appears again in Yunnan, people are worried about the coming of a major earthquake

Reporter : Luo Tingting / Editor: Wen Hui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2025/04/03/a103972820.html / Image : In recent days, after the blood-red sun appeared in Yunnan, the blood-coloured sky has appeared one after another, which is said to be a great omen, and local residents are afraid of a major earthquake. (Screenshot synthesis from the Internet)

In recent days, after the "blood-red sun" appeared in Yunnan, the "blood-coloured sky" has appeared one after another, which is said to be a great omen, and local residents are afraid of a major earthquake.

On 28 March 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in Myanmar, with more than 10,000 casualties. On that day, Yunnan felt strong earthquakes, buildings shook, and a "blood-red sun" appeared in the sky, attracting attention.

In the following days, "bloody skies" appeared in Kunming, Yunnan and other places, causing panic among citizens, saying they had never seen anything like it before, fearing that something big would happen, like the earthquake in Myanmar.

(Internet photo)

(Internet photo)

(Internet photo)

(Internet photo)

(Internet photo)

(Internet photo)

(Internet photo)

Many Yunnan netizens posted videos and photos of "bloody skies" on Chinese social platforms, sparking heated discussions.

On March 30, a bloody sky appeared in Kunming, Yunnan. pic.twitter.com/6Vf6sX6uwh

— ying tang (@yingtan04410735) April 3, 2025

On March 30, a bloody sky appeared in Yunnan. pic.twitter.com/SdZMqITyGc

— ying tang (@yingtan04410735) April 3, 2025

Someone filmed a video and said, "Ah, the sky is so red! I've never seen a red sky before!"

On March 30, a blood-red sky appeared in Yunnan. Residents said, "It's very strange. I've never seen it before." pic.twitter.com/tii81WgKTN

— ying tang (@yingtan04410735) April 3, 2025

Mr. Wang, who posted the video, told Sichuan TV, "(The blood-red sky) is very strange, especially red, not like usual, I've never seen it before."

A blood-red sky also appeared in Anning City, Yunnan. The netizen who filmed the video said, "It's 7:43 p.m. now. I'm in Anning, Kunming, Yunnan. The sky behind me is already half red. Today, the blood-red sun appeared again."

On April 2, the blood-red sun appeared again in Yunnan, and the sky was red. pic.twitter.com/mFEUKDeeiq

— ying tang (@yingtan04410735) April 3, 2025

Many Yunnan netizens left comments in the comment area: "I've never seen it before, it's a little scary because it's red."

"Yunnan has been very unusual these days."

"These days, it's like this every day."

"Something big has happened. This is a warning from heaven to mankind."

"I'm afraid there will be a big earthquake."

(Screenshot from the Internet)

"A disaster is coming, be prepared to escape at any time."

"What happened today? The whole Douyin is either flying swallows or the sky is red. I don't dare to stay home alone."

According to ancient Chinese records, the appearance of a bloody sky is a great omen, indicating that the dynasty is about to perish and there will be a disaster of war.

Li Chunfeng of the Tang Dynasty wrote in "Yi Si Zhan" that the appearance of a bloody sky indicates war, famine, unjust imprisonment, coup d'état, and even bloodshed, and the regime and the monarch and the people's movement are in danger.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were blood-red sky phenomena, and the Ming Dynasty perished soon after.

Recently, blood-red sun, blood-red sky, bamboo blossoms and other phenomena have appeared in many places in China. In history, the appearance of multiple phenomena often indicates the change of dynasties.

Tang Jingyuan, a political commentator living in the United States, told NTD: "Rare celestial phenomena have appeared in various parts of China, such as the blood-red sun in Yunnan. The sun often represents the highest ruler of a country. Xi Jinping has just visited Yunnan for an inspection. Such a phenomenon has appeared in Yunnan, which means that the highest ruler of the Communist Party of China may face a huge disaster, and it may even be a disaster that is life-threatening."

Monday, March 31, 2025

Thailand Digital Arrival Card available to fill from 1 April 2025

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA Image : Thailand Immigration Bureau

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC), also known as online TM6 form, is available to fill online from 1 April 2025. From 1 April 2025 to 30 April 2025, it is optional to fill in the TDAC within three days before arrival in Thailand. From 1 May 2025, it will be compulsory to fill in the form three days before departure to any Thailand airport or port.

The address of the TDAC is https://tdac.immigration.go.th.

Note that on the online TM6 form, the purpose of travel is to be declared. The options are Holiday/Meeting/Sports/Business/Incentive/Medical & Wellness/Convention/Employment/Exhibition/Others (Please Specify).

On the accommodation information section, the province, district area, sub-district and sub-area of the hotel or other forms of accommodation must be selected. The postal code has been filled by default after the district is selected from a list of options.

If the traveller entering Thailand is on transit and does not stay in Thailand, the Thailand accomodation details can be omitted.

After completing the accomodation details if any, the entrant is free to edit the information, delete to remove entries or select "Submit" when the information is complete and correct.

Under the Health Declaration section, there is no need to indicate whether the traveller has rash, cough or other symptoms of infectious diseases such as covid and smallpox. It only indicates the entrants are assumed and have to be vaccinated before entering Thailand.

The reporter submits the TDAC as a test and an email of TDAC submission acknowledgment with the QR code is received. Print the email to enter Thailand.

The TDAC is only available in English and the reporter believes non-English travellers will find it difficult or impossible to complete. Chinese-speaking travellers, for instance, may choose to visit other countries instead, thus lowering the number of Chinese arrivals in Thailand.