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Global Times: Hong Kong Is Changing Textbooks

Global Times recently reported that seven Hong Kong publishers have submitted changes to their General Studies Textbooks. General Studies is a core course in Hong Kong high schools. Traditionally, Hong Kong has allowed private sector publishers to design textbooks and high schools have been allowed to pick textbooks from approved publishers. According to the Hong Kong Education Bureau, the publishers are making adjustments to the textbooks based on new “guidelines” that the government has offered. So far, the media has discovered that the changes are mainly on political topics. For example, “separation of powers” was removed; the mention of “fighting for social justice via social movements like demonstrations and protests” was also removed. Pictures of protesters asking for a “true general election” disappeared as well. The publishers that do not follow the guidelines that the the Education Bureau “recommended” will not be allowed to upload textbooks to the approved list.

Source: Global Times, August 19, 2020
https://china.huanqiu.com/article/3zWhfBksORA

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Social Stability

CNA: Peking University Tightens Permission to Attend Overseas Online Conferences

Primary Taiwanese news agency CNA (The Central News Agency) recently reported that China’s top university, Peking University, just announced new rules for attending online conferences held overseas. The new rules apply to all branches of the University. The leaders of all branches are required to review the applications from the faculty or from students strictly in order to tighten up attendance at conferences that organizations outside of China may host. The rules emphasized that “confidentiality requirements” must be “strictly” followed. No individual can personally decide on attending such events. Instead, each person must follow the exact same review and approval process the University had in place before for attending overseas events in person. All applications must be submitted for approval at least 15 days before the event starts and should include an invitation letter and a clear agenda. All online events hosted in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are considered “international.” The announcement mentioned that the new rules are based on the requirements that the government authorities have set. The goal is to “ensure the online international exchanges are done in an orderly fashion.”

Source: CNA, August 21, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202008210054.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

World Outbreak: California Church Network Sued Governor Newsom over Ban on Worship

On July 17, a network of California churches filed a lawsuit against California Governor Newsom, against his announcement to close or suspend indoor activities at many facilities, including places of worship.

The churches believe that the worship service has “been essential for 2,000 years.”

It also challenged Newsom for having a double standard in banning the indoor church service while state officials had been encouraging protests.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, representing Harvest International Ministry in the lawsuit, said in a statement on the lawsuit: “Newsom encourages tens of thousands of people to gather for mass protests, he bans all in-person worship and home Bible studies and fellowship. Such repression is well-known in despotic governments, and it is shocking that even home fellowship is banned in America.”  “This outrage will not stand!”

On July 15, three Northern California churches, including Calvary Chapel of Ukiah, Calvary Chapel of Fort Bragg, and River of Life Church in Oroville, filed a lawsuit, seeking to block Newsom’s July 1 ban on singing in houses of worship to stop the spread of coronavirus.

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Source: Fox News, July 20, 2020
https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-church-newsom-coronavirus-worship-ban

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World Outbreak: 37 Countries Reported Record High Daily Infection Count in the Past Week

On July 25, Reuters reported that 37 countries have reported record single-day increases in the coronavirus infections over the past week. This includes not only the leading infection countries like the United States, Brazil, and India, but also countries including Spain, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Uzbekistan, Israel, and others.

The Reuters data, compiled from official reports, shows a steady rise in the number of countries reporting record daily increases over the past month. At least seven countries recorded such increases three weeks ago; at least 13 countries two weeks ago; 20 countries last week; and 37 countries this week.

The true numbers of both cases and deaths are almost certainly underreported, particularly in countries with poorer health care systems.

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Source: Reuters, July 25, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-global-cases/record-numbers-of-coronavirus-cases-in-every-global-region-reuters-tally-idUSKCN24Q08E

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Infection Count: Dalian City Reported Coronavirus Infection Cases

Dalian City in Liaoning Province recently reported coronavirus infection cases. The infection also spread to other cities in the northeastern region of China. The municipal authorities claimed “wartime” status in Dalian and locked down certain areas within the city.

From July 22 to July 24, Dalian reported a total of 12 confirmed infection cases and 27 asymptomatic carrier cases. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is known for hiding information, the actual infection numbers are unknown.

#1: Dalian reported the first infection case on July 22 and two on July 23. It reported nine confirmed cases and 27 asymptomatic carrier cases on July 24.

Anshan City, Liaoning Province reported an asymptomatic case on July 24, which was due to close contact with Dalian’s patient.

Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province reported an asymptomatic case on July 24, which was also due to close contact with Dalian’s patient. (China Business Network)

#2: On July 23, Dalian city entered into “wartime” status based on the central and provincial directions. The authorities locked down two residential neighborhoods and conducted disinfections.

The Liaoning Provincial Health Commission sent a 50-member medical team, a 10-member disinfection team, and 8 nucleic Acid testing teams to Dalian.

On July 23, the National Health Commission sent an 18-member expert team to Dalian. (Beijing Daily)

#3: At a press conference on July 24, Zhao Lian, Deputy Director of the Dalian Health Commission stated that, in principle, residents of Dalian should not leave the city; anyone who must leave the city should provide negative result of a nucleic acid test conducted in the past seven days. (China News Agency)

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World Outbreak: North Korea Announced an Infection Case

North Korea has reported its “first” coronavirus infection case. A person who escaped to South Korea recently crossed the border on July 19 to return back to North Korea. He was suspected of being infected with the coronavirus in Kaesong city, which is close to the border with South Korea.

On July 24, Kim Jong-un ordered Kaesong to be locked down. He held an emergency politburo meeting on July 25 and announced the implementation of emergency measures for Kaesong.

North Korea had not previously reported any infection cases, though the international community suspects that it hides the truth from the world.

In the past, North Korea had several politburo meetings and adopted several measures regarding the coronavirus, which also makes people wonder if the country has been infected:

  • January 22: Stopped visitors from entering the country. Closed the border with China and stopped international flights and trains.
  • February 28: Extended the winter break for all students and delayed the start of school.
  • February 29: Held a politburo meeting on fighting the coronavirus.
  • April 11: Held a politburo meeting and passed a joint resolution to continue increasing the national emergency pandemic prevention efforts.
  • July 2: Held a politburo meeting on increasing the national emergency pandemic prevention efforts. Kim Jong-un said that recklessly lifting the pandemic prevention measures would lead to an unimaginable and irreversible fatal crisis.

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Infection Count: Xinjiang’s Capital City Urumqi Locked Down

On July 17, 2020, the Chinese authorities locked down Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, due to the coronavirus infection.

The Xinjiang Health Commission reported a confirmed case in the city on July 15 and another five on July 16. There were also 11 asymptomatic carriers on those two days. However, since the Chinese Communist Party is known for hiding data, the actual infection count in Urumqi is unclear.

The authorities stopped all public transportation, locked down neighborhood communities, closed restaurants, and required visitors to provide coronavirus test reports (which should be negative) when staying in hotels. Taxi services were also stopped and a lot of flights were cancelled.

It seems that the Urumqi authorities reported its coronavirus cases after Zhejiang Province tested a traveler from Urumqi on July 15 and found he tested positive.

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Hiding Information: US Researcher Found That, in December 2019, the CCP Knew about Person-to-Person Transmission

A U.S. researcher found that, as early as the end of December 2019, hospitals in Wuhan had clear evidence of person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Associate Professor Mai (Mike) He, MD, PhD, Pathology & Immunology Section Head of the School of Medicine, Washington University, did the research based on patient cases in Wuhan in December 2019 and January 2020.

On December 27, 2019, Xinhua Hospital in Wuhan received a family case where both parents were infected. They tested the son on December 28 and found he had also been infected.

On December 29, the Wuhan Central Hospital received an infected mother and son, which was another example of family person-to-person transmission.

On January 1, 2020, the Wuhan Central Hospital received an infected doctor working at the clinic near the South China Seafood Market. It was believed that this doctor had been infected by his patients.

On December 27, Vision Medicals, a gene research and testing company based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, created the near-complete genome for the coronavirus . They called Wuhan hospitals and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on December 27 and 28 to report their findings. On December 29 and 30, due to the severity of the virus, the lab manager also went to Wuhan to provide a face-to-face report to the Wuhan hospitals and the CDC .

On December 30, the gene test of the virus at the CapitalBio Medical Lab in Beijing showed it was similar to SARS, which further confirmed the person-to-person transmission.

The National CDC sent an emergency group to Wuhan on December 31. They closed the seafood market on January 1, but, on their January 3 report, they claimed there had been no person-to-person transmission and no medical staff had been infected.

The National Health Commission also issued a notice on January 3, prohibiting anyone from releasing information to the outside and also prohibiting institutes from conducting virus tests without the Health Commission’s authorization.

It was not until January 20 that the National Health Commission announced person-to-person transmission. On January 23, the day that Wuhan announced a lock-down, the Chinese authorities reported 444 infection cases. According to Dr. He’s model, 240,000 people in Wuhan had been infected by then, with 30,000 infection cases on January 23.

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