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22/02/2020

China reports fall in new coronavirus cases but concerns grow over rising global spread

BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported a sharp decrease in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus on Saturday but a doubling of infections in South Korea and 10 new cases in Iran added to unease about its rapid spread and global reach.

Mainland China had 397 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Friday, down from 889 a day earlier, but only 31 cases were outside of the virus epicentre of Hubei province, the lowest number since the National Health Commission started compiling nationwide data a month ago.

But infection numbers continued to rise elsewhere, with outbreaks worsening in South Korea, Italy and Lebanon and Iran, prompting a warning from the World Health Organization that the window of opportunity to contain the international spread was closing..

South Korea saw another spike in infections, with 229 new confirmed cases, taking its tally to 433. Officials warned that could rise substantially as more than 1,000 people who attended a church at the centre of the outbreak had shown flu-like symptoms.

Iran, which had no reported cases earlier this week, saw 10 new cases, one of which had died, taking the number to 28 infections and five deaths.

RELATED COVERAGE

  • South Korea coronavirus cases more than double in a day
  • Second coronavirus patient dies in Italy – ANSA news agency

Concerns about the virus weighed on U.S. stocks on Friday, driven by an earlier spike in cases in China and data showing stalling U.S. business activity in February. [MKTS/GLOB]

It has spread to some 26 countries and territories outside mainland China, killing 13 people, according to a Reuters tally.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Twitter expressed concern on Saturday about cases with no clear link to China and called on all countries to invest urgently in preparedness. He made an appeal for $675 million to support the most vulnerable countries.

On Friday, he said now was the time to act decisively.

“We still have a chance to contain it,” he said. “If we don’t, if we squander the opportunity, then there will be a serious problem on our hands.”

An outbreak in northern Italy worsened with its first two deaths, among 17 confirmed cases including its first known instance of local transmission.

Japan confirmed 14 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, among those a teacher who had shown symptoms while working at her school.

Japan is facing growing questions about whether it is doing enough to contain its spread, and concern about whether it could scupper this year’s Tokyo Olympics. Organisers on Saturday postponed the start of training for volunteers as a precaution.

The Bank of Japan’s governor on Saturday shrugged off talk that the widening epidemic is triggering an outflow of funds from Asia.

Online site for coronavirus news – here

GRAPHIC: Tracking the novel coronavirus – here

NEW COMPLICATIONS

The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China rose to 76,288, with the death toll at 2,345 as of the end of Friday. Hubei reported 106 new deaths, of which 90 were in Wuhan.

But new, albeit isolated findings about the coronavirus could complicate efforts to thwart it, including the Hubei government’s announcement on Saturday that an elderly man took 27 days to show symptoms after infection, almost twice the presumed 14-day incubation period.

That follows Chinese scientists reporting that a woman from Wuhan had travelled 400 miles (675 km) and infected five relatives without showing signs of infection, offering new evidence of asymptomatical spreading.

State television on Saturday showed the arrival in Wuhan of the “blue whale”, the first of seven river cruise ships it is bringing in to house medical workers, tens of thousands of which have been sent to Hubei to contain the virus.

Senior Chinese central bank officials sought to ease global investors’ worries about the potential damage to the world’s second-largest economy from the outbreak, saying interest rates would be guided lower and that the country’s financial system and currency were resilient.

Chen Yulu, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said policymakers had plenty of tools to support the economy, and were fully confident of winning the war against the epidemic.

“We believe that after this epidemic is over, pent-up demand for consumption and investment will be fully released, and China’s economy will rebound swiftly,” Chen told state television.

China has recently cut several key lending rates, including the benchmark lending rate on Thursday, and has urged banks to extend cheap loans to the worst-hit companies which are struggling to resume production and are running out of cash.

The transport ministry said businesses would resume operations on a larger scale later this month and said more roads, waterways and ports were returning to normal.

Online media and Weibo users posted footage and images on Saturday of some malls reopening, including in the cities of Wuxi, Hangzhou and in Gansu province, with shoppers queuing in near-empty streets outside for mandatory temperature checks as trickles of customers in masks perused luxury goods shops and makeup counters.

Some analysts believe China’s economy could contract in the first quarter from the previous three months due to the combined supply and demand shocks caused by the epidemic and strict government containment measures. On an annual basis, some warn growth could fall by as much as half from 6% in the fourth quarter.

However, transport restrictions remain in many areas and while more firms are reopening, the limited data available suggests manufacturing is still at weak levels, with disruptions starting to spillover into global supply chains.

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said on Saturday that one coronavirus case had been confirmed at its mobile device factory complex in Gumi, causing a shutdown of its entire facility.

Finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies were set to discuss risks to the world economy in Saudi Arabia this weekend.

The WHO’s Tedros on Twitter said 13 priority countries in Africa had been identified for help because of their direct links to China or high travel volume. That would include 30,000 personal protective kits on the way to six countries and 60,000 more for 19 states in the weeks ahead.

Source: Reuters

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13/02/2020

Chinese officials’ phone apology to patients as coronavirus deaths hit 1,115

  • WHO scientists co-write letter saying December 26 data indicating Sars-like coronavirus was not passed to global health community for 17 days
  • Hundreds of Chinese sign petition asking legislature to protect freedom of speech, amid discontent over outbreak’s handling and anger over Dr Li Wenliang’ death
A nurse in a protective suit feeds a coronavirus patient in an isolated ward in Wuhan. Photo: Reuters
A nurse in a protective suit feeds a coronavirus patient in an isolated ward in Wuhan. Photo: Reuters

China’s health authority reported 97 new deaths caused by the coronavirus and 2,015 newly confirmed cases of infection, taking its totals to 1,113 and 44,653 respectively.

As of Tuesday, 744 recovered patients had been discharged and the total number of recovery cases stood at 4,740.

Outside Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus, the rise in new infections reported by China slowed for an eighth consecutive day.

Apology for slow treatment

A district leader in Hubei’s capital of Wuhan apologised on Tuesday to critically ill patients who had not been treated in a timely manner, state media reported.

Staff in the Wuchang district who were in charge of a chaotic bus transfer of people to hospital on Sunday were ordered to apologise to patients and their families one by one by telephone.

Wuchang officials told state media that mistakes had been made and the district’s most urgent priority was to admit all patients to hospitals or other medical facilities as soon as possible.

As coronavirus cases get priority in Wuhan, other patients are losing hope

13 Feb 2020

The district leader, who visited hospitals to apologise in person, was mocked online for wasting protective suits when the city faces a shortage of medical supplies.

“Health care workers don’t have enough protective gear, why are you wearing it to apologise?” one person wrote on China’s Twitter-like Weibo. “These people are suspected cases, not confirmed ones. It’s a pity to waste the protective gear – it protects the lives of health care workers!”

“I really don’t think it’s necessary to apologise one by one, just apologise in the newspaper! Don’t waste time and protective clothing on formalities,” another person wrote.

Reporting system ‘needs update’

A group of scientists have called for changes in the way new viruses are reported, after a delay of more than two weeks between the first indication of a coronavirus strain in Hubei and the release of critical information to the global health community.

The group said in a letter to The Lancet that data indicating a Sars-related coronavirus was obtained by researchers on December 26.

Life inside China’s rapidly built hospitals in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak
“The Chinese authorities ruled out Sars and Mers, as well as a few other non-coronaviruses, on January 5, and confirmed a novel coronavirus as a potential cause on January 9. However, the genome sequence – crucial for rapid development of diagnostics needed in an outbreak response – was not released until January 12, 17 days after the preliminary sequence data were obtained,” they wrote.
The letter mentioned the “crucial role” of doctors in detecting the outbreak in China, including “eight doctors who were wrongly accused of spreading ‘fake news’” – a reference to a group that included Li Wenliang, the doctor hailed as a whistle-blower who later succumbed to the disease.
WHO head warns ‘time is of the essence’ in limiting coronavirus spread
13 Feb 2020

“There are lessons the global health community can and should learn and act on so that we can better respond to the next EZV (emerging zoonotic virus) event, which is almost certain to happen again. These lessons are definitely not unique to China,” they wrote.

Two of the letter’s authors sit on the committee that provides the World Health Organisation (WHO) advice about when to declare a public health emergency of international concern – a status given to the coronavirus on January 30.

Hubei reports 94 new deaths

Health authorities in Hubei reported 94 new deaths attributable to the contagion on Tuesday and 1,638 newly confirmed cases, taking the province’s totals to 1,068 and 33,366 respectively. They had reported 103 fatalities and 2,097 newly confirmed cases a day earlier.

Coronavirus illness is named Covid-19 as hopes rise that cases may peak soon

13 Feb 2020

Some 1,104 of the new cases announced were confirmed in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated at a seafood and meat market.

The figures from Hubei on Tuesday showed the province’s lowest number of new cases in a day since the beginning of February, and the first time it had reported fewer than 2,000 new cases in a day since February 2.

China disinfects entire cities to fight coronavirus outbreak, some twice a day

Disease can spread faster than Sars: WHO

Michael Ryan, the WHO’s head of emergency programmes, said on Tuesday in Geneva that the disease caused by the coronavirus – now officially named Covid-19 by the WHO – had the potential to spread faster than either the Ebola or Sars viruses. Earlier this week, Covid-19 exceeded the Sars outbreak of 2002-03 in terms of deaths attributed to it.

Transmission methods have been shown to include human-to-human contact, and the incubation period is believed to be up to 14 days.

In recent days, epidemiologists have said that the contagion may also spread through “aerosol transmission” – when tiny particles or droplets of the virus suspended in the air are inhaled.

At least 500 Wuhan medical staff infected with coronavirus

13 Feb 2020

Others indicated that transmissions were possible from patients who showed mild or no symptoms.

WHO officials said on Tuesday that the agency had also activated a UN crisis management team to better assess and mitigate the outbreak’s economic implications.

Petition calls for freedom of speech

Hundreds of Chinese, led by academics, have signed an online petition calling on the national legislature to protect citizens’ right to freedom of speech, amid growing public discontent over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

It also follows a massive outpouring of grief and anger over the death of Wuhan-based Dr Li Wenliang.

Coronavirus: hundreds in China sign petition calling for free speech

13 Feb 2020

The petition is gaining momentum online, but some of the signatories and other rights activists have already come under pressure. Addressed to the National People’s Congress (NPC), it lists five demands for Beijing.

The demands are: to protect people’s right to freedom of expression; to discuss the issue at NPC meetings; to make February 6, the day Li died, a national day for free speech; to ensure no one is punished, threatened, interrogated, censored or locked up for their speech, civil assembly, letters or communication; and to give equitable treatment, such as medical care, to people from Wuhan and Hubei province. Many have reported experiencing discrimination elsewhere in the country.

“I am so proud of him,” China’s top medical expert Zhong Nanshan mourns whistle-blower doctor’s dea

US repeats concern over China’s purchases

The outbreak could have an impact on China’s commitment to buy more US agricultural products this year under the US-China phase one trade deal, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Tuesday.

“We expect the phase one deal will allow China to import more food and open those markets to American farmers, but certainly, as we watch this coronavirus outbreak unfold in China, it could have an impact on how big – at least in this current year – the purchases are,” O’Brien told an event at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

‘No US doctors in China’

O’Brien said there were no American doctors on the ground in China so far, despite US offers to help fight the outbreak.

“We’ve offered the Chinese the opportunity to have American doctors … and other experts come to China to help them. That offer has not been accepted at this point but that is an outstanding offer,” he said.

Coronavirus outbreak exposes fallacy of the phase-one trade deal

11 Feb 2020

But US officials said on Monday that China had agreed to allow American health experts into the country.

“China has accepted the United States’ offer to incorporate a group of experts into a WHO mission to China to learn more about and combat the virus,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

In a tweet on Monday, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said an advance team of WHO experts had arrived in China to “lay the groundwork for the larger international team”.

Tibet’s only patient cured

The only Covid-19 patient in Tibet was cured and discharged from hospital on Wednesday afternoon, People’s Daily reported, citing the patient’s doctor at the Third People’s Hospital of Tibet.

The patient, a 34-year-old man from Suizhou, Hubei province, spent three days on a train before reaching Lhasa on January 24. He sought medical treatment a day later and was isolated for treatment, before being confirmed as being infected on January 29.

US to test antiviral drugs in hopes of combating coronavirus

13 Feb 2020

The man tested negative for the virus on Sunday and Tuesday, and CAT scans and clinical symptoms showed he had been cured. He left Tibet by train on Wednesday afternoon, according to thePeople’s Daily report.

Iran denies report of Covid-19 death

Iran’s health ministry has denied a report that an Iranian woman has died of a suspected coronavirus infection.

The state daily newspaper Iran reported on Wednesday that a 63-year-old woman had died in a Tehran hospital on Monday and that an investigation had been ordered into the cause of her death. No sources were cited in the report.

A spokesman for Iran’s health ministry denied the report. “There have been no cases of coronavirus in Iran,” he said.

Iranian health authorities have repeatedly said there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

Exams under threat

Chinese authorities are considering whether to postpone the country’s college entrance exams, due to take place in June.

“Those responsible for arranging college entrance exams need to put the lives and health of candidates and testing staff first,” Wang Hui, a Ministry of Education official, said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “We will closely monitor the development of the outbreak, evaluate the possible impact on the exams and carefully formulate a plan.”

Source: SCMP

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07/02/2020

Li Wenliang: Coronavirus death of Wuhan doctor sparks anger

Dr Li posts a picture of himself in a gas mask from his hospital bed on FridayImage copyright DR LI WENLIANG
Image caption Dr Li had posted a picture of himself on social media from his hospital bed

The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the coronavirus outbreak has sparked an unprecedented level of public anger and grief in China.

Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan.

Last December he sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars – another deadly coronavrius.

But he was told by police to “stop making false comments” and was investigated for “spreading rumours”.

News of his death was met with an intense outpouring of grief on Chinese social media site Weibo – but this quickly turned into anger.

There had already been accusations against the government of downplaying the severity of the virus – and initially trying to keep it secret.

Dr Li’s death has fuelled this further and triggered a conversation about the lack of freedom of speech in China.

The country’s anti-corruption body has now said it will open an investigation into “issues involving Dr Li”.

The Chinese government has previously admitted “shortcomings and deficiencies” in its response to the virus, which has now killed 636 people and infected 31,161 in mainland China.

Graphic showing the number of cases in China so far
Presentational white space

According to Chinese site Pear Video, Dr Li’s wife is due to give birth in June.

What has the public reaction been?

Chinese social media has been flooded with anger – it is hard to recall an event in recent years that has triggered as much grief, rage and mistrust against the government.

The top two trending hashtags on the website were “Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang an apology” and “We want freedom of speech”.

Both hashtags were quickly censored. When the BBC searched Weibo on Friday, hundreds of thousands of comments had been wiped. Only a handful remain.

“This is not the death of a whistleblower. This is the death of a hero,” said one comment on Weibo.

A photo circulating on Twitter reportedly sourced from messaging platform WeChat also shows a message in Chinese saying “Farewell Li Wenliang” written in the snow on a riverbank.

Many have now taken to posting under the hashtag “Can you manage, do you understand?” – a reference to the letter Dr Li was told to sign when he was accused of disturbing “social order”.

These comments do not directly name him – but are telling of the mounting anger and distrust towards the government.

Media caption Coronavirus: Shanghai’s deserted streets and metro

“Do not forget how you feel now. Do not forget this anger. We must not let this happen again,” said one comment on Weibo.

“The truth will always be treated as a rumour. How long are you going to lie? What else do you have to hide?” another said.

“If you are angry with what you see, stand up,” one said. “To the young people of this generation, the power of change is with you.”

Presentational grey line

An epic political disaster

Analysis box by Stephen McDonell, China correspondent

The death of Dr Li Wenliang has been a heart-breaking moment for this country. For the Chinese leadership it is an epic political disaster.

It lays bare the worst aspects of China’s command and control system of governance under Xi Jinping – and the Communist Party would have to be blind not to see it.

If your response to a dangerous health emergency is for the police to harass a doctor trying to blow the whistle, then your structure is obviously broken.

The city’s mayor – reaching for excuses – said he needed clearance to release critical information which all Chinese people were entitled to receive.

Now the spin doctors and censors will try to find a way to convince 1.4 billion people that Dr Li’s death is not a clear example of the limits to the party’s ability to manage an emergency – when openness can save lives, and restricting it can kill.

Chinese people are going to take some convincing.

Presentational grey line

How was the death announced?

There was confusion over when exactly Dr Li had actually died.

He was initially declared dead at 21:30 on Thursday (13:30GMT) by state media outlets the Global Times, People’s Daily and others.

Hours later the Global Times contradicted this report – saying he had been given a treatment known as ECMO, which keeps a person’s heart pumping.

Journalists and doctors at the scene said government officials had intervened – and official media outlets had been told to change their reports to say the doctor was still being treated.

But early on Friday, reports said doctors could not save Dr Li and his time of death was 02:58 on Friday.

Li WenliangImage copyright LI WENLIANG
Image caption Li Wenliang contracted the virus while working at Wuhan Central Hospital

What did Li Wenliang do?

Dr Li, an ophthalmologist, posted his story on Weibo from a hospital bed a month after sending out his initial warning.

He had noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars – the virus that led to a global epidemic in 2003.

On 30 December he sent a message to fellow doctors in a chat group warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid infection.

Graphic showing how the virus spread inside China
Four days later he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter.

In the letter he was accused of “making false comments” that had “severely disturbed the social order”. Local authorities later apologised to Dr Li.

In his Weibo post he describes how on 10 January he started coughing, the next day he had a fever and two days later he was in hospital. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on 30 January.

Media caption The BBC’s online health editor on what we know about the virus

What is the latest on the coronavirus?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his US counterpart Donald Trump that China is “fully confident and capable of defeating the epidemic”. The country has introduced more restrictive measures to try to control the outbreak:

  • The capital Beijing has banned group dining for events such as birthdays. Cities including Hangzhou and Nanchang are limiting how many family members can leave home each day
  • Hubei province has switched off lifts in high-rise buildings to discourage residents from going outside.

The virus has now spread to more than 25 countries. There have been more than 28,000 cases worldwide but only two of the deaths have been outside mainland China.

Source: The BBC

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25/01/2020

China virus toll hits 41; Australia reports first four cases

BEIJING (Reuters) – The death toll from China’s coronavirus outbreak jumped on Saturday to 41 as the Lunar New Year got off to a gloomy start, with Hong Kong declaring a virus emergency, scrapping celebrations, and restricting links to mainland China.

Australia on Saturday confirmed its first four cases, Malaysia confirmed three and France reported Europe’s first cases on Friday, as health authorities around the world scrambled to prevent a pandemic.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Saturday declared a virus emergency in the Asian financial hub, with five confirmed cases, immediately halting official visits to mainland China and scrapping official Lunar New Year celebrations.

Inbound and outbound flights and high speed rail trips between Hong Kong and Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, would be halted, and schools, now on Lunar New Year holidays, would remain shut until Feb. 17. The territory was also treating 122 people suspected of having the disease.

RELATED COVERAGE

  • U.S. to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan, China – WSJ
  • China’s President Xi holds politburo meeting on curbing virus outbreak – state TV

The death toll in China rose to 41 on Saturday from 26 a day earlier and more than 1,300 people have been infected globally with a virus traced to a seafood market in the central city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife.

Hu Yinghai, deputy director-general of the Civil Affairs Department in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, made an appeal on Saturday for masks and protective suits. Hospitals in the city have made similar pleas.

“We are steadily pushing forward the disease control and prevention … But right now we are facing an extremely severe public health crisis,” he told a news briefing.

Vehicles carrying emergency supplies and medical staff for Wuhan would be exempted from tolls and given traffic priority, China’s transportation ministry said on Saturday.

Wuhan said it would ban non-essential vehicles from its downtown starting Sunday to control the spread of the virus, further paralysing a city of 11 million that has been on virtual lockdown since Thursday, with nearly all flights cancelled and checkpoints blocking the main roads leading out of town.

Authorities have since imposed transport restrictions on nearly all of Hubei province, which has a population of 59 million.

In Australia, three men, aged 53, 43 and 35 in New South Wales were in stable condition after they were confirmed to have the virus after returning from Wuhan earlier this month.

A Chinese national in his 50s, who had been in Wuhan, was also in stable condition in a Melbourne hospital after arriving from China on Jan. 19, Victoria Health officials said.

State-run China Global Television Network reported in a tweet on Saturday that a doctor who had been treating patients in Wuhan, 62-year-old Liang Wudong, had died from the virus.

Police officers stand guard in front of the closed gate of Lama Temple where a notice saying that the temple is closed for the safety concern following the outbreak of a new coronavirus is seen, in Beijing, China January 25, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

It was not immediately clear if his death was already counted in the official toll of 41, of which 39 were in the central province of Hubei, where Wuhan is located.

U.S. coffee chain Starbucks said on Saturday that it was closing all its outlets in Hubei province for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, following a similar move by McDonald’s in five Hubei cities.

PROTECTIVE SUITS

In Beijing on Saturday, workers in white protective suits checked temperatures of passengers entering the subway at the central railway station, while some train services in eastern China’s Yangtze River Delta region were suspended, the local railway operator said.

The number of confirmed cases in China stands at 1,287. The virus has also been detected in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, and the United States.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday it had 63 patients under investigation, with two confirmed cases. While China has called for transparency in managing the crisis, after cover-up of the 2002/2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome spread, officials in Wuhan have come in for criticism over their handling of the current outbreak.

In rare public dissent, a senior journalist at a Hubei provincial newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party on Friday called for a “immediate” change of leadership in Wuhan on the Twitter-like Weibo. The post was later removed.

REINFORCEMENTS TO WUHAN

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus an “emergency in China” this week but stopped short of declaring it of international concern.

Human-to-human transmission has been observed in the virus.

China’s National Health Commission said it had formed six medical teams totalling 1,230 medical staff to help Wuhan.

Hubei province, where authorities are rushing to build a 1,000 bed hospital in six days to treat patients, announced on Saturday that there were 658 patients affected by the virus in treatment, 57 of whom were critically ill.

The newly-identified coronavirus has created alarm because there are still many unknowns surrounding it, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. It can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases.

Symptoms include fever, difficulty breathing and coughing. Most of the fatalities have been in elderly patients, many with pre-existing conditions, the WHO said.

NEW YEAR DISRUPTIONS

Airports around the world have stepped up screening of passengers from China, though some health officials and experts have questioned the effectiveness of such screenings.

There are fears the transmission could accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which began on Saturday, although many have cancelled their plans, with airlines and railways in China providing free refunds.

The virus outbreak and efforts to contain it have put a dampener on what is ordinarily a festive time of year.

Sanya, a popular resort destination on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, announced that it was shutting all tourist sites, while the island’s capital city, Haikou, said visitors from Wuhan would be placed under 14-day quarantine in a hotel.

Shanghai Disneyland was closed from Saturday. The theme park has a 100,000 daily capacity and sold out during last year’s Lunar New Year holiday.

Beijing’s Lama Temple, where people traditionally make offerings for the new year, has also closed, as have some other temples.

Source: Reuters

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20/01/2020

Calls for an investigation after woman drove into Beijing’s Forbidden City

  • Furious internet users have been digging for information on her background as they push for an explanation, while state media urges probe
  • ‘Lu Xiaobao’, who posted pictures of her and a friend with her car at the site, claims to be the wealthy granddaughter-in-law of a revolutionary hero
Pictures of the women posing in front of a car in the Forbidden City went viral. Photo: Weibo
Pictures of the women posing in front of a car in the Forbidden City went viral. Photo: Weibo
A Chinese woman who drove her luxury SUV into Beijing’s Forbidden City
and posted pictures online has prompted a public search for information about her, while state media called for the case to be investigated.
The photos – showing two women standing in front of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen parked in the World Heritage Site, which banned vehicles in 2013 – were posted on microblog site Weibo on Friday under the name “LuxiaobaoLL”. It was captioned: “As it is closed on Monday, [we] avoided tourists and enjoyed the palace.” The post went viral and drew tens of thousands of comments.
The Palace Museum, which runs the 600-year-old landmark, later apologised, confirming that a car had been allowed to enter the complex on Monday last week when it was closed to the public.
It did not identify the pair, but said it would “stop it from happening again”.
Lu Xiaobao claims she is married to the grandson of revolutionary hero He Changgong. Photo: Weibo
Lu Xiaobao claims she is married to the grandson of revolutionary hero He Changgong. Photo: Weibo
Social media user Lu Xiaobao, who posted the photos of herself and a friend, has claimed to be the wealthy granddaughter-in-law of a Chinese revolutionary hero, and that her fortune includes a house in Los Angeles worth more than US$11 million.
Lu herself and the family she says she married into have so far remained silent, and the claims could not be independently verified. But irate social media users have been digging online for information on her background as they push for an official explanation.

Some are concerned that flouting the car ban risked damaging the Ming dynasty complex, and the incident has also reinforced a widespread perception that certain people are granted privileges denied to ordinary Chinese because of their family connections.

Lucky Air passenger who threw ‘good luck’ coins at plane ordered to pay airline US$17,200

3 Jan 2020

Social media users seized on one of Lu’s Instagram posts featuring a house she claims to have bought in 2018. The property is apparently owned by Wang Zhijie, wife of Liu Zhongtian, the billionaire founder of aluminium products maker China Zhongwang, raising suspicion that Lu could be connected to the family.

But the company denied there was any link with the woman in a statement issued on Sunday. “Mr Liu himself doesn’t know Luxiaobao LL or her relatives directly,” it said.

State media has also weighed in on the case, with People’s Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece, running a scathing commentary on Saturday calling for a thorough investigation by the Palace Museum.

“People are distressed because our national heritage and culture – which we treasure – has been damaged,” the commentary read. “People are furious because there are still people trying to challenge the consensus that the 600-year-old Forbidden City is no longer a private property for feudal privilege.”

The history of the Forbidden City: a visual explainer Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of state-run tabloid Global Times, also called for a better explanation of the incident.

The woman has claimed that she is married to He Gang, the grandson of He Changgong, who joined the party in 1922, a year after it was established, and played an important role in its early development.

But Hu wrote on Weibo that if the woman’s claim was true, her background was “not so eminent” since He Changgong had not taken any important positions after the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.

The Palace Museum banned vehicles from the Forbidden City in 2013 to protect the complex. The ban has been strictly enforced, including when former French president Francois Hollande visited that year and had to leave his car outside and walk into the palace.

Source: SCMP

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20/01/2020

China confirms spread of new virus as cases surge

BEIJING (Reuters) – An outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has spread to more cities, Chinese authorities said on Monday, as the number of patients tripled and a third person died, stoking concerns about containment of the illness.

The Daxing health commission in the capital Beijing said it had confirmed two cases of coronavirus, while the southern Guangdong province’s health commission confirmed one case in Shenzhen. They mark the first cases in China beyond the central city of Wuhan where the virus first emerged.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus strain had been found in the city over the weekend, adding to 62 already known cases. A third death occurred on Saturday, the authority said in a statement.

RELATED COVERAGE

  • Masks on, Chinese start holiday travels as alarm mounts over mystery virus
  • South Korea confirms first case of new coronavirus in Chinese visitor

This brings the total number of known cases worldwide to more than 200, underscoring the challenge for health authorities seeking to contain the outbreak. South Korea on Monday reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, a 35-year-old female Chinese national who had travelled from Wuhan, the fourth patient to be reported outside China.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese tourists will be traveling domestically and abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday period that starts later this week.

A report by London Imperial College’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by Jan. 12 there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with onset of related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report.

CONTAINMENT EFFORTS

Authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travellers from Wuhan. Last week, two cases were reported in Thailand and one in Japan. All three involved people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city.

The virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China.

Its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts.

China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday it will step up prevention efforts, but acknowledged it still doesn’t know the source of the virus.

Shares in pharmaceutical firms and mask makers in China surged Monday because of the outbreak.

The outbreak was one of the top trending topics on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where many users expressed concerns about their safety.

“Who knows how many people who have been to Wuhan may be unaware that they have already been infected?,” one user said.

China’s Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper, said in an editorial the government needs to disclose all information and not repeat the mistakes made with SARS. Chinese officials covered up the SARS outbreak for weeks before a growing death toll and rumours forced it to reveal the epidemic.

“Concealment would be a serious blow to the government’s credibility and might trigger greater social panic,” the editorial said.

Source: Reuters

Posted in Beijing, capital, cases surge, China, China confirms, Communist Party, coronavirus, Daxing health commission, Global Times, Guangdong, London Imperial College, mask makers, Masks on, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, new virus, People’s Daily, pharmaceutical firms, pneumonia, SARs, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Shenzhen, spread, Uncategorized, Weibo, Wuhan, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission | Leave a Comment »

10/12/2019

China’s rare nod for Korean war film seen as boost to nationalism

  • The Battle of Triangle Hill is known in China as a victory against foreign aggressors
  • Film’s timing linked to deteriorating relations between Beijing and Washington on multiple fronts
A scene from the 1956 Chinese film Shang Gan Ling, about the Korean war Battle for Triangle Hill, subject of a new film which is about to go into production in China. Photo: Handout
A scene from the 1956 Chinese film Shang Gan Ling, about the Korean war Battle for Triangle Hill, subject of a new film which is about to go into production in China. Photo: Handout
One of the bloodiest battles of the Korean war is the subject of a film that will soon start production in China, in a move which is being linked to surging Chinese nationalism amid poor relations between Beijing and Washington.
The film, based on the Battle of Triangle Hill – also known as the Shang Gan Ling campaign in China – was given the green light by state regulator the China Film Administration in July, but was not reported by Chinese official media until last week.
Hou Jianwei, one of China’s best known war novelists, has been signed on as screenwriter for the film, to be produced by Ao Bo Film Zhejiang which confirmed on microblogging platform Weibo that production was already in “active preparation”.
“More than 100,000 people from the People’s Voluntary Army and forces from the US and South Korea took part in the 43-day fighting, and over 2.4 million shells of ammunition were fired. The battle was unprecedentedly fierce and 40,000 lives were lost,” the film company said in its most recent Weibo post.

“With a multitude of heroes, our army built up an impenetrable barrier in the East.”

China invokes Korean war talks as reason not to bow to US in trade dispute
News of the film has coincided with mounting confrontations between Beijing and Washington on multiple fronts ranging from trade and technology, to Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Korean war-themed productions have long been a taboo subject for China’s heavily censored film industry, partly because of Beijing’s complicated relations with the US and North Korea.

But the 1950-53 war, in which China and North Korea battled Western forces led by the US, has increasingly become a tool to rally public opinion behind Beijing’s ongoing trade war with the US. Study Times, a Central Party School publication, for example, has directly likened the trade war to the end of the Korean conflict, saying China was determined to oppose US bullying as trade negotiations entered their 17th month.

While Beijing has never given an official account of its decision to join the Korean war, it is often portrayed as a necessary intervention to shield China from US aggression.

The Battle of Triangle Hill has often been presented in China’s official media as a victory by the “volunteers” of the People’s Liberation Army over foreign aggressors.

News of the production has raised avid discussion on Chinese social media, with many seeing the new film as part of China’s efforts to reinforce surging Chinese nationalism in the face of growing pressure from the West.

“Isn’t the approval [to make the film] a strong signal to the West that we are now a strong power?” one Weibo microblogger wrote.

Source: SCMP

Posted in against, Ao Bo Film, Beijing, boost, Central Party School publication, China Film Administration, China’s, foreign aggressors, Hong Kong, Korean, Korean War, Microblogging, nationalism, North Korea, People’s Voluntary Army, platform, poor relations, rare nod, seen, South Korea, Study Times, taboo subject, talks, The Battle of Triangle Hill, trade and technology, trade dispute, Uncategorized, US, victory, war film, Washington, Weibo, Xinjiang, Zhejiang | Leave a Comment »

05/11/2019

Chinese pilot banned from flying after passenger cockpit photo

Photo taken from microblogging site WeiboImage copyright WEIBO/SCREENSHOT
Image caption The female passenger is seen here with her fingers in a V pose, also known as the peace sign

A Chinese pilot has been banned from flying after a photo went viral showing a female passenger in the cockpit.

The photo was taken in January on an Air Guilin flight from Guilin city to Yangzhou city, state media said, but was widely shared this week – causing the airline to take action.

It shows a woman posing in the cockpit with refreshments laid out next to her.

Air Guilin said in a statement the pilot had violated air safety regulations.

‘Thanks to the captain’

The incident took place on 4 January on flight GT1011 from Guilin city to Yangzhou city, according to state media outlet The Global Times.

But it was brought to the airline’s attention on Sunday after screenshots of the alleged passenger’s post started being shared widely on micro-blogging site Weibo.

The post showed the woman making a V sign with her fingers – a popular pose in China – with the photo captioned: “Thanks to the captain. So happy.”

The woman is rumoured to be a flight attendant in training at a Guilin university, according to news site Chinese News Service.

Air Guilin did not specify if the photo was taken mid-flight, but Chinese pilots and analysts said the photo appears to have been taken during the flight.

The pilot, who was not named, has been banned from flying for life, though it is unclear if he was fired from all roles by the airline.

Air Guilin said in a statement that he had “violated [regulations] by allowing irrelevant personnel into the cockpit”.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, passengers are not allowed to enter the cockpit without special approval or under “necessary” circumstances.

Other staff members involved in the incident have also been “suspended indefinitely” while further investigations are held.

“Passengers’ safety is always Air Guilin’s priority. We take a zero-tolerance approach against any inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour that might risk the aviation safety,” the Chinese carrier said.

Last year, Chinese carrier Donghai Airlines suspended a pilot for six months and revoked his qualifications as a flight instructor after he allowed his wife to go inside the cockpit.

Source: The BBC

Posted in Air Guilin, banned, Chinese News Service, Chinese pilot, Civil Aviation Administration of China, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), cockpit, Donghai Airlines, Flight attendant, flight instructor, flying, Guilin university, micro-blogging site, passenger, peace sign, photo, suspended indefinitely, The Global Times, training, Uncategorized, V pose, Weibo, Yangzhou | Leave a Comment »

31/10/2019

‘Scary’ glass bridges shut in Chinese province

Aerial view photo shows tourists visiting on the glass-bottom bridge at Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon on August 20, 2016Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption This bridge in Zhangjiajie was the longest and tallest glass bottomed bridge in the world when it opened

A Chinese province has shut all 32 of its glass attractions – including bridges, walkways and viewing decks – as safety checks are carried out.

The attractions, spread across 24 sites in Hebei province, have been shut since March 2018, said state media CCTV.

The move had not previously been widely reported.

China has seen a flurry of glass attractions spring up across the country – but there have been accidents and at least two deaths.

There are an estimated 2,300 glass bridges in China. According to state media outlet ECNS, there are also an “undetermined number of glass walkways or slides”.

The glass attractions are an attempt to attract thrill-seeking tourists and capitalise on China’s growing domestic tourism.

The Zhangjiajie bridge in Hunan province – which was the highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge in the world when it opened in 2016 – arguably kicked off the craze.

But earlier this year, one tourist died and six others were injured after they fell off a glass slide in Guangxi province.

Rain had made the glass extra slippery, causing the man to crash through the guardrail, and fly off the slide. He died from severe head injuries.

The Hongyagu glass bridge – which until May this year held the title of world’s longest glass bridge – was among those shut in Hebei province.

Tourists walk on the glass-bottomed suspension bridge at Hongyagu Scenic Area on December 26, 2017 in Pingshan, Hebei Province of China.Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption The Hongyagu bridge in Hebei province

The closures have not just affected Hebei province – across the country, a number have been shut.

Earlier this year, the government called for local tourism authorities to carry out “comprehensive safety assessments” of glass bridge projects.

On social media site Weibo, many applauded the closures, with one saying it was “about time safety was addressed”.

Others criticised the sheer number of glass bridges built over the past few years.

Media caption Thousands wobble over the world’s longest glass bridge in Hebei province, China

“I don’t really understand why there are so many glass bridges recently. It’s a waste of money,” said one commenter.

The death in Guangxi province was not the only glass attraction fatality. In 2017, a tourist died after an accident on a glass slide in Hubei.

And in 2016, someone was injured after being hit by falling rocks while walking on a glass walkway in the city of Zhangjiajie.

In 2015, a glass skywalk in Henan province cracked despite being open for only two weeks, sending tourists fleeing.

 

Source: The BBC

Posted in 'Scary' glass bridges, accidents, bridges, China's, domestic tourism, glass bridges, growing, Guangxi province, Hebei province, Hongyagu glass bridge, Hunan Province, longest and tallest glass bottomed bridge, shut, two deaths, Uncategorized, viewing decks, walkways, Weibo, Zhangjiajie, Zhangjiajie bridge | Leave a Comment »

25/10/2019

Mahjong: Police clamp down on China’s most loved game

MahjongImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Mahjong has been referred to as the “quintessence of Chinese culture”

An apparent police ban on all mahjong parlours in a Chinese city led to panic among aficionados of China’s national pastime.

Police in Yushan in southeast China first announced the ban at the weekend, saying it was to curb illegal gambling and “purify social conduct”.

This led to shock and outrage with many calling the strategic, tile-based game the “quintessence of Chinese culture”.

Police then clarified that only unlicensed parlours would be shut.

It comes after several other cities also announced parlours encouraging gambling would be shut.

Mahjong is one of the most popular games in China, especially with older people.

While it does not have to be played with money, it is common for players to gamble with small amounts. A typical mahjong game could see players bet anywhere from $1 to $15.

‘People can gamble with anything’

On 20 October, police in Yushan, a small county in China’s southeast Jiangxi province, issued a statement announcing that all mahjong parlours in the county would be “closed” by 22 October.

Authorities said the ban would be enacted in an effort to “push forward the campaign against crimes and gangs… [to] solve the gambling and noise problem [and] purify social conduct”.

Gambling is illegal in China but under Jiangxi province law, those who engage in “win-loss entertainments such as mahjong and poker involving a small amount of money… shall not be punished”.

However, the law adds that people who “[gamble] money of more than 200 yuan ($28; £21)” could be subject to punishment.

Men play mah-jong in a streetImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption It’s a familiar sight to see retirees gather in parks to play mahjong

It wasn’t long before the backlash kicked in.

Some people pointed out that while China does face a widespread problem of illegal gambling dens, many mahjong parlours are in fact, legally operated with licenses.

Another commenter on social media site Weibo said: “Not all people play mahjong for gambling,” according to state media ECNS.

“My grandparents play mahjong as part of their daily entertainment”.

Others said it was a “lazy” solution by the government in an attempt to curtail illegal gambling.

“Mahjong [itself] is not a problem. People can gamble with anything,” said one comment on Weibo.

But one social media user saw the positive side of the ban, saying: “Finally! I have been woken up numerous times [by] mahjong players.”

Mahjong is known to be quite a noisy game, as the heavy tiles often make clacking sounds as they are shuffled around.

But their joy was short lived. Just one day after they made the announcement, Yushan authorities revised their statement, saying licensed mahjong parlours would not be affected.

They also clarified that the ban was meant to target places that encouraged “illegal gambling”.

Despite this, some licensed parlour owners told local news outlets that they were also not operating amid the clampdown, but it was unclear whether that was voluntary or enforced by officials.

Several other cities in Jiangxi have also banned mahjong in recent days, but had made it clear in their announcements that registered mahjong parlours would not be affected.

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What is mahjong?

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The game has also gone on to gain popularity in the West – and has recently made several appearances in mainstream pop culture.

It was featured as part of a pivotal moment in the Hollywood blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians, where two main characters met for a showdown of a game at a mahjong parlour.

Source: The BBC

Posted in aficionados, backlash, China's, Chinese culture, clacking sounds, clamp down, clarified, Crazy Rich Asians, game, heavy tiles, Hermes, Hollywood blockbuster, illegal gambling, Jiangxi Province, kicked in, Mahjong, mahjong parlours, most loved, national pastime, noisy game, outrage, Police, police ban, popularity, punishment, purify social conduct, quintessence, retirees, shock, shuffled, shut, solid palissander wood, strategic, subject, tile-based game, Uncategorized, unlicensed parlours, Weibo, West, Yushan | Leave a Comment »

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