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China has been portraying itself as having come out of the Coronavirus outbreak with a zero or very low infection count. Many times, Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of resuming production. However, recently some businesses that have resumed were asked to stop again, both at the national level and in the provinces or cities.

#1. On March 27, the China Film Administration issued a Notice that all theaters should remain closed and those that reopened should be closed immediately.

#2. On March 29, Shanghai announced it would close all indoor tourist attractions, including the three observatory towers (Oriental Pearl Tower, the 88th Floor of Jin Mao Tower, and Top of Shanghai Observatory at Shanghai Center) which had reopened on March 12, as well as the Shanghai Aquarium and Madame Tussauds Shanghai.

#3. On March 25, Sichuan Province stopped the order to close bars, discos, movie theaters, and video game rooms; thus they could operate again. However, on March 28, KTV (for karaoke) and Internet cafes at Chengdu City, Sichuan Province received Notice to stop business again. Some customers at KTV were told to leave in the middle of singing.

#4. March 29, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province issued an emergency notice that all facilities holding cultural activities, including movie theaters, performance theaters, singing and dancing facilities, and Internet cafes will not resume operation; any facility that has reopened should close immediately. Travel agencies should not arrange tourist activities across provinces.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Resuming Production: Cities Are Handing Out Money to Encourage Consumption
• Resuming Production: Hubei Airport Group Getting Ready for Operations
• Resuming Production: Companies in Shenzhen Fighting for Labors
• Resuming Production: After Issuing Direction for Movie Industry to Resume Operations, Beijing Said Not to Resume
• Resuming Production: By February 26, One Third of Small or Mid-Sized Companies Resumed Work

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To defuse its accountability of hiding information and its inaction which caused the worldwide outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tried to accuse other countries of creating the virus. The following are two cases:

#1: Zhao Lijian, Spokesman & Deputy Director General of the Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after accusing the United States of sending soldiers to bring the epidemic to Wuhan, retweeted a tweet by an American named Beatrice (an anonymous name), as evidence that the U.S. had the virus earlier:

From Twitter: Rt: I really think COVID-19 has been here in America for awhile. Do you guys remember how sick everyone was during the holidays/early January? And how everyone was saying they had the “flu” and the flu shot “didn’t work”?

The Daily Beast interviewed Beatrice and reported that she is not a doctor, nurse, or epidemiologist. She was just a normal person wondering aloud on Twitter what was going on with this disease.

#2: Global Times, a media under the CCP mouthpiece People’s Daily, referenced an NPR report quoting Dr. Giuseppe Remuzzi, director of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. The doctor said general practitioners in the country “remember having seen a very strange pneumonia, very severe, particularly in old people in December and even November.” Global Times created an article stating that Italy had the virus back in November 2019. It also tweeted:

#Italy may have had an unexplained strain of pneumonia as early as November and December 2019 with highly suspected symptoms of #COVID19, reports said.

However, on March 24, il Foglio, an Italian media published a special interview with Dr. Remuzzi. Dr. Remuzzi said that Chinese media misquoted his words. He stated three times in the interview, “No doubt this virus is from China.” Guilia Pompili, the reporter who interviewed Dr. Remuzzi mentioned that Chinese news reporters had inquired of Dr. Remuzzi many times recently and each time Dr. Remuzzi clarified his position that the virus was from China. However, he had not yet seen any of the reporters reporting his clarification, which he felt quite bizzare.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Propaganda and Lies: How China Produced Fake News of “Stores Are Closing” In Other Countries
• Propaganda and Lies: Mainland Chinese Calling the Returning Chinese “Flying Thousands of Miles to Poison Chinese”
• Propaganda and Lies: Overseas Chinese Fell for the Propaganda That China’s Epidemic Was Over
• Propaganda and Lies: The Truth about the Video “An American Spread Virus in Wuhan Subway”
• Propaganda and Lies: Italian Media Called out CCP for Spreading Fake News

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More and more voices have expressed an interest in holding the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for the worldwide outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus. Epoch Times summarized six legal grounds that international legal experts have suggested for nations or individuals to use to file lawsuits against the CCP.

1. Comparing it to a Terrorist Organization

Israeli attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner who has long been suing terrorist organizations and countries supporting terrorism, suggested that people could raise the point that the CCP’s action was like supporting terrorist actions.

2. Suing for Personal Injury, Death, and Other Causes of Action

Berman Law Group in Florida filed a lawsuit on March 19, accusing the CCP of failing to report the disease and also failing to take containment measures promptly.

3. International Trade Laws

Juliya Arbisman from Diamond McCarthy LLP, a law firm in New York, suggested international trade laws. For example, people can sue the CCP for hosting the illegal wild animal market that created the opportunity to spread the virus from animals to humans, based on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES ).

4. United Nations (UN) Charter

Ivana Stradner, an international law and national security expert at American Enterprise Institute (AEI), pointed out that the CCP violated the International Health Regulations (IHR) that requires its member countries to notify the World Health Organization (WHO) immediately about an emergency public health event that might cause international attention. She also said the CCP’s action violated Article Seven of the UN Charter, which authorizes the UN Security Council to take action to maintain or restore international peace and safety.

5. Biological Weapons Convention

David Matas, a Canadian human rights attorney said that Article One of the treaty is that any signing country, under no circumstance, can obtain or possess a biological weapon.

6. International Obligations and Customary International Law

Israel lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner thinks that the CCP’s accusation that U.S. soldiers brought the virus to Wuhan severely violated international obligations and customary international law. People can file lawsuit at the International Court of Justice.

Related posting on Chinascope:

• Justice: U.S. Law Firm Sued Beijing over Its Role in Coronavirus Pandemic

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The South China Morning Post reported that, since Europe suffered the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been conducting “Mask Diplomacy.” That is, through supplying the European Union (EU) countries with face masks and other medical equipment and materials, it is trying to boost its global leadership position and to control the discourse power. Beijing has blocked the shipping of medical supplies to other countries so that it can totally control which country it will help.

Italy, Spain, France, Austria, and many other EU countries, with Hungary being the latest, received aid or permission from China to import medical supplies from China. Some big Chinese corporate names – including billionaire Jack Ma and tech giant Huawei Technologies – have also sent medical equipment to the EU.

Josep Borrell Fontelles, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the EU, warned that Beijing “struggles for influence” in a “global battle of narratives.”

“There is a global battle of narratives going on in which timing is a crucial factor. China is aggressively pushing the message that, unlike the US, it is a responsible and reliable partner.

“In the battle of narratives we have also seen attempts to discredit the EU as such and some instances where Europeans have been stigmatized as if all were carriers of the virus.

“The point for Europe is this: we can be sure that perceptions will change again as the outbreak and our response to it evolves. But we must be aware that there is a geopolitical component, including a struggle for influence through spinning and the ‘politics of generosity.’”

Two recent developments have driven EU officials closer to the rhetoric of regarding China as a “systemic rival,” a phrase first used under the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen’s predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker.

First, there is the sense that China’s leadership prefers to deal directly with European countries, rather than through the EU. Von der Leyen was the only major European leader who did not receive a phone call from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Second, the EU was startled by the reaction of Serbia, which was on course to begin accession talks at some stage to join the EU. When the EU hastily enacted an export ban on medical equipment, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic lambasted EU solidarity as a “fantasy,” turning instead to Xi, whom he called a friend and a brother.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• “World Leader”: Netherlands Found China’s Face Masks Defected
• “World Leader”: Spain Found 70% Error Rate of China’s Coronavirus Testing Kits
• “World Leader”: The Coronavirus Testing Kits Czech Republic Bought from China Have 80% Error Rate
• “World Leader”: Global Times Called Sweden “Irresponsible” for “Surrendering to Coronavirus”
• “World Leader”: China’s Novel Coronavirus Vaccine Is Ready for Human Testing

Source: South China Morning Post, March 24, 2020
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3076728/eu-fires-warning-shot-china-coronavirus-battle-narratives

The Netherlands bought face masks from China. A shipment of face masks of grade level “KN95” arrived on March 21. However, the Dutch Ministry of Health found that these face masks did not meet the quality standard, though they had a quality inspection certificate from China. The problem with the face masks was that they couldn’t cover the face correctly and also the membranes that were supposed to capture the virus particles did not work properly.

The Holland government decided not to use these face masks.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• “World Leader”: Spain Found 70% Error Rate of China’s Coronavirus Testing Kits
• “World Leader”: The Coronanivus Testing Kits Czeck Republic Bought from China Have 80% Error Rate
• “World Leader”: Global Times Called Sweden “Irresponsible” for “Surrendering to Coronavirus”
• “World Leader”: China’s Novel Coronavirus Vaccine Is Ready for Human Testing
• “World Leader”: Experts: China’s Epidemic Control Model Cannot Be Adopted by Other Countries

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The Diplomat published an article that discussed the CCP’s tactics for overseas propaganda. It stated:

The elements of this campaign are well known. The general narrative goes like this: There are doubts about the origins of the virus, and China has demonstrated its effectiveness in managing the crisis. Its authoritarian system is validated in the face of the supposed ineffectiveness of democratic values.

For Beijing, the control of information becomes a priority after an initial relaxation designed to provide a safety valve for a population facing a major humanitarian crisis. Already severe in China, this control has now been reinforced. Above all, the regime is also trying to silence all foreign experts guilty of deviating from the “official line,” denounced in the Chinese media as “anti-Chinese elements.”

The outside world could be impressed by the “reactivity” of a system capable of authoritatively confining tens of millions of people. Italy gratefully welcomed the arrival of a Chinese plane — in the presence of the Italian president and the Chinese ambassador — bringing several doctors and tons of equipment.  The Serbian president also embraced Chinese aid, saying, “Hundreds of thousands of lives in Serbia will be saved thanks to the help that just came to us.”

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Propaganda and Lies: CCP Hires People for Its Propaganda Campaign
• Propaganda and Lies: CCP Accused U.S. and Italy as Virus Origins
• Propaganda and Lies: How China Produced Fake News of “Stores Are Closing” In Other Countries
• Propaganda and Lies: Mainland Chinese Calling the Returning Chinese “Flying Thousands of Miles to Poison Chinese”
• Propaganda and Lies: Overseas Chinese Fell for the Propaganda That China’s Epidemic Was Over

Source: The Diplomat, March 24, 2020
https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/chinas-coronavirus-information-warfare/

Recently, a few cases were reported in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was recruiting people to work on its overseas propaganda campaign.

#1: A Chinese artist Baduicao, who lives in Australia, told Deutsche Welle that he received a tweet inquiry from a “cultural promotion” Chinese media company, asking whether he was interested in cooperating. They asked him to post two tweets each month, with the company providing materials including content, pictures, and video links. The company would pay him 400 to 2500 Yuan (US $56 – 352) per piece. At least four other Chinese with over 10,000 Twitter followers also received the same inquiry. The company sent Baduicao a Twitter sample, which was a 15-second video, with Wuhan Pneumonia scenes and a voice stating the CCP’s propaganda message.

#2: A post on the Internet on March 22 showed that a media in China was urgently looking to hire a Chinese student studying in Europe to record a video about Chinese being discriminated against due to the Novel Coronavirus. The program would take two hours to produce and pay 60 Euro.

#3: As the CCP did not want overseas Chinese to return to China, a video of the “self-confession“ of an overseas Chinese was widely spread on Chinese social media. The man in the video said that he had lived overseas for over twenty years and had almost forgotten his homeland (China). It wasn’t until two months ago when the virus came, that he discovered that China is where people want to be. The man, in tears, asked himself, “Do I still have face to go back to China?” He paused and then said, “Let me just stay here quietly and enjoy the retribution.”

Shortly, Chinese dug out the man’s true identity. He is not an overseas Chinese, but a small actor who works on minor roles. He lives in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, China.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Propaganda and Lies: CCP Accused U.S. and Italy as Virus Origins
• Propaganda and Lies: How China Produced Fake News of “Stores Are Closing” In Other Countries
• Propaganda and Lies: Mainland Chinese Calling the Returning Chinese “Flying Thousands of Miles to Poison Chinese”
• Propaganda and Lies: Overseas Chinese Fell for the Propaganda That China’s Epidemic Was Over
• Propaganda and Lies: The Truth about the Video “An American Spread Virus in Wuhan Subway”

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More and more people started looking at lawsuit options to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for the worldwide outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus.

• Lawyer Larry Klayman and his group Freedom Watch filed a complaint in federal court in Texas seeking at least $20 trillion from the Chinese government because of its “callous and reckless indifference and malicious acts.” The complaint states, “Although it appears that the COVID-19 virus was released at an unplanned, unexpected time, it was prepared and stockpiled as a biological weapon to be used against China’s perceived enemies, including but not limited to the people of the United States.” The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Klayman, Freedom Watch, and Buzz Photos, a Texas company that specializes in high school sports photography.
• Some Chinese lawyers formed a volunteer group, the “Legal Advisory Panel on Novel Coronavirus Claims.” It provides legal support to patients and their relatives and even a free service for typical cases. They suggested that the CCP regime should provide compensation for all human rights violations, including patients, relatives of the dead, and minors whose parents passed away.
• On March 18, a 22-year old Turkish student Cagatay Orkun Celikbas wrote to the Chinese Embassy in Turkey to request compensation for his monetary loss and mental stress, including rent, counseling, and related education expenses incurred during the period that his college closed.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Justice: International Experts Suggested Six Legal Bases to Sue CCP
• Justice: U.S. Law Firm Sued Beijing over Its Role in Coronavirus Pandemic

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