SHANGHAI: Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking entered the universe of Chinese social media with a big bang on Tuesday, with his first post to the country’s Twitter-like Weibo service garnering him more than a million followers the same day.
In less than five hours Hawking flew past Apple chief Tim Cook, who has around 820,000 fans after a nearly a year online.
“In my physical travels, I have only been able to touch the surface of your fascinating history and culture,” the Cambridge scientist said in his initial post, writing in both English and Chinese so as to avoid any information loss in translation.
“But now I can communicate with you through social media — and I hope to tell you more about my life and work through this page and also to learn from you in reply,” he added. He also explained that he first visited China in 1985, traversing the country by train, and had last been in the capital in 2006 for a physics conference.
China holds scientific and intellectual achievement in high regard, and the hashtag #Hawking Opens a Weibo# was one of the top three topics.
Weibo users radiated welcome for Hawking’s arrival on the other side of the Great Firewall.
“This is a historical moment. I feel I’m connected with the universe,” wrote one commenter.
“My god — I’m communicating with Hawking, even if it’s just one-sided! This will be the conversation of the century,” exclaimed another.
But the most popular comment was a exhortation for users not to make China lose face in the presence of a man most lauded as a personal hero: “Please keep your comments classy, as every sentence will influence other people’s impressions of China.”
Hawking debuts with a big bang on China social media
Hawking debuts with a big bang on China social media
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
