Shanghai authorities recently issued a notice encouraging employers to designate positions with flexible working hours, adaptable work styles, and family-friendly environments as parent-friendly positions, primarily aimed at workers responsible for caring for children under age of 12, thepaper.cn reported on Friday.

The issue was recently released by Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, the municipal federation of trade unions in Shanghai, and Shanghai Women's Federation.

Parent-friendly positions offer a flexible work system, enabling employers to implement measures such as flexible working hours, remote or home-based work, adaptable leave policies, and performance-based assessments, tailored to their operational and management needs.

These measures aim to facilitate a balance between work and parenting responsibilities for employees. Relevant rights and obligations, once clarified through consultation between the employer and employee, should be incorporated into the employment contract or formalized in a written agreement, according to the report.

Relevant departments, including human resources and social security and women's federations, will focus on guiding industries such as manufacturing, accommodation and catering, and residential services, as well as new economic forms, to pilot the parent-friendly position employment model, thereby expanding the availability of parent-friendly positions.

The notice said Shanghai will establish a list of employers offering parent-friendly positions. Human resources and social security departments at all levels should urge employers to strictly implement special labor protections for female employees, including maternity leave, birth reward leave, paternity leave, and childcare leave, according to the report.

Trade union organizations at all levels should support employers in creating family-friendly workplaces, promoting the development of "Mommy care rooms," employee centers, and parent-child workstation for employees, as well as organizing childcare activities during winter and summer vacations and after-school hours to help employees alleviate parenting pressure.

The notice requires that parent-friendly positions be included in public employment services, with relevant employment training subsidy policies implemented as outlined. Dedicated sections for parent-friendly position recruitment should be established, with these positions clearly labeled when employers post job listings, thepaper.cn reported.

According to the notice, employers offering these positions should prioritize postnatal return-to-work retraining for women re-entering the workforce after childbirth. Workers in parent-friendly positions who participate in vocational training and assessments are eligible for corresponding skill development subsidies.

At the same time, human resources departments will also support vocational schools, social training institutions, and others in conducting vocational skill training in areas such as elderly care, domestic services, infant care, health care, as well as internet marketing and multimedia operations.

In a bid to support work-life balance for mothers and support a fertility-friendly society, the port city of Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province has also launched a "mommy position" program, offering flexible job opportunities tailored to the needs of working moms, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In response to an inquiry on will the PLA conduct any military exercise around the Taiwan island, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said that it is the PLA's lofty mission to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, safeguard the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and defend the shared interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits.

Recently, Taiwan regional leader Lai Cheng-te transited through Hawaii and Guam. The PLA has not announced any information on conducing military exercises. Taiwan's defense authorities claimed that the mainland has implemented restrictive measures on coastal airspace and the number of warships deployed around Taiwan is bigger than ever before, and that Taiwan's military has established an "Emergency Operations Center" to closely monitor the PLA's actions and will stay on high alert. 

As water has no constant form, there are in warfare no constant conditions, Wu said. The PLA will decide whether and when to conduct military exercises in accordance with its needs and the situation on the ground. Whether there is a military exercise or not, the PLA will never be absent in fighting "Taiwan independence" and promoting national reunification.

Any attempt to split the nation through soliciting external support or resorting to force will be punished, and will never succeed, said Wu.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday China supports the early realization of peace in Syria, and supports the country in finding a rebuilding plan that meets the wishes of the people through inclusive dialogue.

Wang made the remarks when asked about China's views on the current situation in Syria during a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty after the China-Egypt foreign ministers' strategic dialogue in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is highly concerned about the situation in Syria, which has been volatile recently.

China has long pursued a policy of friendship and cooperation with Syria, never interfered in Syria's internal affairs, and respected the choice of the Syrian people, he said.

"We support Syria in realizing peace at the earliest, implementing Security Council resolution 2254, advancing the domestic political process in accordance with the principle of 'Syrian-led, Syrian-owned', and finding a rebuilding plan that meets the wishes of the people through inclusive dialogue," said the minister.

Wang added that the future Syria should firmly oppose all forms of terrorism and extremist forces. Meanwhile, the international community should earnestly safeguard Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect Syria's ethnic and religious traditions, and allow the Syrian people to make independent decisions.

All countries should work together to extend a helping hand to Syria, push for the lifting of the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on the country over the years, and ease its grave humanitarian situation, Wang said.