Social Stability – Page 41

Hiding Information: Wuhan Virology Lab Deleted Files

The Daily Mail reported that the Wuhan’s Institute of Virology (WIV) has removed photographs taken of scientists being slack in the enforcement of safety standards. It also edited out references to visits that US diplomats made.

The institute edited its website page showing pictures of staff members entering caves to take swabs from bats that carried the coronavirus – with the scientists wearing minimal protective equipment.

The institute has also removed references to the March 2018 visit to the institute of Rick Switzer, a science and technology expert from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. As a result of Switzer’s visit, the U.S. Embassy sent cables to the U.S. State Department, warning about the risks of the bat experiments. One read: “During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they [the diplomats] noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to operate this high-containment laboratory safely.”

Last month, The Mail on Sunday published alarming pictures from inside the institute showing a broken seal on the door of one of the refrigerators holding 1,500 different strains of virus.

Concern about bat experiments has not been confined to the Wuhan institute. An Internet video posted in December showed Tian Junhua, a researcher at the nearby Wuhan Centre for Disease Control, collecting samples from the caves and saying, “We can easily make contact with the feces of bats which contaminate everything. So it is highly risky here. I feel the fear, the fear of infection.”

At the end of the film, a caption declares, “Nearly 2,000 types of viruses have been discovered by the Chinese CDC authorities over the past 12 years. Only 2,284 were discovered over the 200 prior years.” Chinese media reports from 2017 described how Junhua “forgot to take protective measures,” while “bat urine dripped from … his head like raindrops.”

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Source: Daily Mail, May 2, 2020
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8281085/Wuhan-virus-lab-cover-up.html

Hot Topics | | May 17, 2020 | Social Stability

World against the CCP: A Top Chinese Think Tank Warned Beijing about Global Anti-China Sentiment

Reuters reported that an internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into confrontation. The report concluded that global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, created the report. The ministry presented this report to top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders, including Xi Jinping, early this week.

The report concluded that Washington views China’s rise as an economic and national security threat and a challenge to Western democracies. It also said the U.S. was aiming to undercut the CCP by undermining public confidence.

It warned that anti-China sentiment sparked by the coronavirus could fuel resistance to China’s Belt and Road Initiative and that Washington could step up financial and military support for regional allies, making the security situation in Asia more volatile. It also warned Beijing to be prepared in a worst-case scenario for armed confrontation between the U.S. and China.

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Source: Reuters, May 4, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-sentiment-ex/exclusive-internal-chinese-report-warns-beijing-faces-tiananmen-like-global-backlash-over-virus-idUSKBN22G19C

Hot Topics | | May 12, 2020 | Social Stability

Virus Origin: Beijing Stressed Bio Lab Safety in December 2019 and January 2020

In December 2019 and January 2020, Epoch Times obtained multiple official documents from Beijing City and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (AR), regarding the management of bio labs.

1. December 31, 2019: The Inner Mongolia Health Commission issued the “Emergency Notice from the Inner Mongolia AR Health Commission on Effectively Strengthening the Biosafety Management of Pathogenic Microbiology Laboratories on Human Infectious Diseases.” The notice was marked “Urgent.” The notice stated that the health administrative departments and relevant units at all levels should take it as a “political positioning” issue. The health administrative departments at all levels should conduct early detection, immediate verification, prompt reporting, and proper handling of possible emergencies. The notice asked subordinate health commissions to register the first and second classes of pathogenic microbiology laboratories and conduct regular systematic reviews of those labs.

2. January 3, 2020: The General Office of the National Health Commission issued a not-to-release-to-public “Notice of the General Office of the National Health Commission on Strengthening the Management of Biological Sample Resources and Related Research Activities in the Prevention and Control of Major Emergent Infectious Diseases.” In this notice, “biological samples” was defined as blood, pharyngeal swabs, sputum, tracheal aspiration or bronchial lavage fluid, urine, and feces of patients, suspected patients, and their close contacts. The notice prohibits all institutions and individuals from publishing information about pathogen detection and experimental activities on their own.

3. January 14, 2020: The Health Commission of the Changping District, Beijing issued a not-to-release-to-public “Notice on Conducting Special Supervision and Inspection of Pathogen Microbiology Laboratories.” The notice requires good handling in the collection, transportation, use, and scientific research management of biological sample resources. It asked the first, second, and third classes of biosafety laboratories to conduct self-inspection on January 15 and 16. Another document, “Changping District Pathogen Microbiology Laboratory Biosafety Supervision Checklist” provides a set of procedures for the reception and storage of viruses.

4. January 16, 2020: The Scientific Discipline Education Division of the Beijing Hospital Management Center issued the “Emergency Notice on the Mutual Inspection of Laboratory Biosafety in Municipal Hospitals.” The notice said that the Beijing Hospital Management Center would organize a mutual biosafety inspection of 22 hospital laboratories in the city from January 17 to 21.

5. January 16, 2020: The Science and Technology Education Department of the Beijing Health Commission issued the “Notice of the Beijing Health Commission on Holding Laboratory Biosafety Training.”

6. January 16, 2020: The National Health Commission issued the “Notice of the General Office of the National Health Commission on Printing and Distributing Biosafety Guidelines for Novel Coronavirus Laboratories.” The notice was marked “urgent” and “not to be released to the public.” It emphasized “for internal use only and not allowed to be spread on the Internet.” The notice provided detailed regulations on how to extract nucleic acids from viral cultures, conduct animal infection experiments, and handle uncultivated infectious materials.

7. February 14, 2020: At a meeting of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Xi Jinping mentioned “Biosecurity” five times and asked “to incorporate biosecurity into the national security system and to publish the ‘Biosecurity Law’ as soon as possible.”

8. From April 26 to 29, 2020: The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress discussed “The Draft of the Biosecurity Law.”

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Hot Topics | | May 12, 2020 | Social Stability

Virus Origin: China Sent Confusing Messages on Investigation of Virus Origin in China

The U.S., the European Union, and Australia are demanding an investigation into how the coronavirus started in Wuhan. In the past, China has refused the request. However, on May 6, Chinese officials sent different messages on whether Beijing would offer to cooperate with such an investigation.

#1: At the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Press Conference on May 6, when asked when China would invite the World Health Organization (WHO) to conduct such an investigation, Hua Chunying stated, “Regarding this kind of scientific investigation and study, we, of course, hold an open attitude and are willing to continue close cooperation with the WHO… We are willing to, in addition, work with the international community on fighting the pandemic, and support the review and summarization of the pandemic situation at an appropriate time…”

Hua also criticized the U.S. for presuming China was guilty and using the investigation to play political games. (China’s Foreign Ministry Website)

#2: Chen Xu, China’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said on May 6 that, as long as the coronavirus is spreading and as long as the U.S. is still accusing Beijing, China will reject any international scientists’ requests to investigate the origin of the virus. When asked when China will invite the WHO to conduct an investigation, Chen said, “We cannot tolerate the free spread of such a ‘political virus’ (referring to the U.S. stating the virus came from the Wuhan Lab of Virology).” As for the invitation to the WHO, Chen said that, on one hand, Beijing must decide what the high priority (items) are and, on the other hand, Beijing needs a good environment. (Radio France International)

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Hot Topics | | May 10, 2020 | Social Stability

Connected to the CCP: Australian Billionaire Lost 900 Million Dollars for Supporting the CCP

Forbes reported that Australian Billionaire Andrew Forrest openly supported the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the coronavirus period and, as a result, saw his fortune shrink by close to $900 million.

During the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. and Australian governments demanded an investigation into how the virus started in Wuhan. However, Forrest defended China’s alleged role in concealing the possible cause of the virus outbreak.

Even the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said Forrest’s comments about the virus possibly originating outside China were nonsense. Morrison said, “I don’t think anybody is in any fantasyland about where it started. It started in China.”

Forrest also invited the Chinese consul-general in the State of Victoria, Long Zhou, to speak at a media conference organized by the Australian Health Minister, Greg Hunt. The Australian, a national morning newspaper, published a critical editorial on Long Zhou’s gate-crashing the Minister’s event at Forrest’s invitation. It stated, “Business must not dictate the nation’s foreign policy.”

A prominent radio talk show host, Alan Jones, described Forrest as a “Beijing propaganda sock puppet.”

Forrest’s wealth, estimated by Forbes at $8.8 billion, is based largely on a 30 percent stake in the iron ore mining company, Fortescue Metals, which sells most of its ore to Chinese steel mills.

The effect on the stock market of Forrest’s championing the CCP was severe. On May 4, while most mining companies suffered a price correction with leaders such as BHP and Rio Tinto down about 7 percent from their highs on April 30, Fortescue Metals fell 12 percent, resulting in Forrest losing about $900 million in his stake.

Public Opinion: An Open Letter with Fifteen Questions Challenging the Current Top Leader

After China announced it would hold the National People’s Congress and the National Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in late May, an open letter written in Chinese, addressed to the representatives of the two conferences was widely spread on the Internet. The letter posed 15 questions, mainly against Xi Jinping, though it did not call out his name.

It was said that Deng Pufang, son of China’s former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, wrote this letter. (However, in Chinascope’s view, this is unlikely since, if Deng Pufang indeed wanted to challenge Xi, he could do it in many other ways that demonstrate more political savvy than an open letter that everyone sees.) However, the letter is worth reading as it shows public sentiment against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its leader. The following are the 15 questions:

As representatives of the two conferences, is it more important to protect the interests of our country and people, or to protect the power of a certain authoritarian?
The Constitution clearly stipulates that the representatives of the two conferences have the right to supervise and correct the wrong decisions of CCP Central. However, a few years ago, CCP Central created a “crime of baseless comments” (for someone who criticizes the top leader or CCP Central) and this year it created a “crime of showing no respect.” What is the value of the representatives of the two conferences then?
The authorities want to “settle questions by THE ONE” (this is a phrase that Xi’s supporters use to state following Xi’s direction). Is “THE ONE” an Emperor who inherited his power from his family, or a publicly elected President, or the CCP General Secretary based on all party member’s votes? Since it is none of these, why he is “THE ONE”?
If party member criticizes the mistakes made by the central leaders, they are “making baseless comments.” If the public does that, they are “stirring up the subversion of the government.” To whom does our country belong?
The Wuhan pneumonia has spread to the whole world. Did the central government delay the prevention and control of this virus? Did it hide information from the public? Should we provide an explanation to the world? Who should bear the responsibility for allowing the pandemic to get out of control?
The relations between China and the United States continue to deteriorate. What responsibilities should the top leader bear?
The turmoil in Hong Kong has lasted for almost a year. Who has destroyed Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” structure? What responsibilities should the top leader assume?
The “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” irrationally invests money based on the central leaders’ own preferences, without the approval from the National People’s Congress and without consideration for the national economy and people’s livelihood. What kind of behavior is this? Now this program is about to be aborted. Who should bear the responsibility?
Without the approval of the National People’s Congress and without expert’s study, the central leaders decided to invest trillions of yuan to build a Xiong’an New District (next to Beijing) based on a few people’s suggestions. Now that the project has been aborted, who should bear the responsibility?
Why did Taiwan drift away from the mainland? What responsibility should the central leaders assume?
A large number of foreign companies have withdrawn from China, a large number of Chinese private enterprises have closed down, and a large number of workers have lost their jobs. Does this have anything to do with the central leaders’ wrong decision? If so, who should bear the responsibility?
What kind of behavior is it for the current top leader to use his power to amend the Constitution by removing the limit that a person can only serve the top leader position for at most two terms? If anyone with power can create law on his own, what is the use of the national Constitution?
CCP Central has decided to re-adopt the planned economy model that the world has long abandoned. Is this decision coming from the consideration of strengthening someone’s personal power or of the interests of the country and the people?
In recent years, China’s international image has plummeted and national credit has been totally lost. Who should bear this responsibility?
In order to prevent the retired senior comrades from proposing a collective motion to call for an expanded CCP Politburo meeting, the CCP Central sent military police to provide “special protection” to retired senior comrades and current high-ranking officials of the party, government, and military. The “special protection” is actually to restrict their communications, freedom of movement, and guest visits. What kind of behavior is this? Who gave him this power? (See Chinascope posting: Leadership: The Widespread of a WeChat Posting Calling for Politburo Meeting to Remove Xi Jinping and Leadership: Fu Zhenghua Removed from the Deputy Party Secretary Position of the Ministry of Justice)

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Hot Topics | | May 8, 2020 | Social Stability

Leadership: An Internet Posting That Defended Xi Jinping

In the past couple of months, there have been criticisms of Xi Jinping, including Ren Zhiqiang calling him “a clown who stripped naked and insisted on continuing to be an emperor.” (See Chinascope posting: Leadership: Ren Zhiqiang’s Article: “A Clown Who Stripped Naked and Insisted on Continuing to Be an Emperor”) and an Internet posting calling for an “Emergency Enlarged Meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Politburo” to “discuss whether Xi Jinping is suitable to continue to be the President of the country, the CCP’s General Secretary, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission” (See Chinascope posting: Leadership: The Widespread of a WeChat Posting Calling for Politburo Meeting to Remove Xi Jinping).

Recently, a posting that was claimed to be written by Xi Jinping’s brother, Xi Yuanping, spread on the Internet. The article defended Xi Jinping. It is doubtful that Xi Yuanping wrote the article, but it offers interesting reading on how someone could justify Xi’s actions. The following are excerpts from the posting:

I don’t want to defend my brother but I want you to understand how difficult it is to manage such a big country. He works around the clock, without any selfish thoughts. Even his most criticized action of removing the President’s two-term limitation was not for himself but rather for the stability of the country… My brother said privately, to be the top leader of the CCP, one must first be extremely “left” (holding the communist position), and then can he be extremely “right” (being open and liberal). Because being extremely “left” will allow him to establish a solid foothold in the party; after he has gained that foothold, he can start a thorough political reform… Some events that received public criticism were not based on his orders but from some other people’s digging holes for him. The handling (taking down) of a few people in the area of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (referring to Sun Lijun, Fu Zhenghua, and maybe a few other high-ranking officials), is to clean up that garbage… This pandemic has damaged the economy, but also offers an opportunity to start political reform. In the future, the opening of the media, public elections of city and county officials, and making the judicial system semi-independent (from the CCP), will gradually happen.

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Hot Topics | | May 7, 2020 | Social Stability

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