CHINA REPORT ASEAN

A flag-raising ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland is held at Golden Lotus Square in the Macao Special Administrative Region of China on December 20, 2021. (ZHANG JINJIA)

Medical workers conduct COVID-19 nucleic acid tests at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on December 21, 2021.After a cluster of COVID-19 cases were reported on December 9, citywide screening was carried out.(VISUAL.PEOPLE.CN)

Snow-covered Bapu Town in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, December 24, 2021.(LIU GUOXING)

Soldiers rescue children in a flood-hit area on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on December 20, 2021.Thousands of local people were trapped by Malaysia’s worst flooding in years following several days of torrential downpours in the capital and around the country.(VCG)

A masked police officer descends an escalator behind a masked statue at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 27, 2021.To curb the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the country suspended quarantine-free travel passes for inbound visitors on December 22.(OU XIN)

Masked students attend class in Pasay, Metro Manila,Philippines, on December 6, 2021.With the COVID-19 pandemic gradually brought under control, some schools in the region resumed in-person teaching. (XINHUA)

In Singapore, tiger-themed lantern decorations celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, also the Year of the Tiger.(THEN CHIH WEY)