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Wuhan Hospitals Are Full; Patients Are Told to Stay at Home for “Self-Quarantine”

In the past, the Chinese Communist regime had been reporting unbelievably low numbers on the Wuhan Coronavirus cases. On January 22, 2020, it admitted the existence of the outbreak in China and reported 547 cases nationwide, with 444 cases in Wuhan.

However, several people told the Epoch Times that the situation in Wuhan is much worse than what was reported.

Some netizens reported that groups of people who had a temperature had lined up at hospitals waiting to be inspected. Many were told, after getting a shot, to go home and quarantine themselves. After being diagnosed with pneumonia, some were not even accepted for hospitalization.

Dr. Wei, a doctor at a local community clinic, said that many doctors were infected because the government hid the information during the early stages of the spread. “For nearly two months, we worked (with the patients) without any protection. Five people in my organization were infected. That’s about 10 percent of the total employees.”

A nurse from the Wuhan Union Hospital, the best hospital in Wuhan, said that some her colleagues have been infected and went home for self-quarantine. “Now the hospital does not allow us to resign and won’t allow us to leave Wuhan. Many medical staff members have been infected, but the hospital will not confirm that they have the virus. The problem is that, once confirmed, they will receive free treatment and their cases will be added into the national count.” “There is no effective treatment; it’s all up to one’s own ability to resist. … I’m at work every day. I could receive a notice any day telling me stay in the hospital (to be quarantined).”

Another citizen posted on the Internet that she heard from the medical staff that the infected medical staff members amount not just to 15 cases as the authorities reported; it was more than 150. The second floor of the Wuhan Union Hospital is packed with the infected medical staff members.

A woman reported to Epoch Times that her brother’s treatment was delayed and he died on January 7. “My brother had the ‘unknown pneumonia’ and died in ten days. He was not included in the official count of the Wuhan Coronavirus deaths.”

Five other family members of hers are also likely to have contracted the infection from her brother. Her sister was hospitalized on January 4. Her brother’s daughter and son-in-law also got pneumonia. The hospitals said that they didn’t have beds to keep them there, so it told them to quarantine themselves at home. Every day, they needed to come to the hospital and stand in line for up to four hours to get a shot. The son-in-law is now too weak to walk that much. Her brother’s sister-in-law and her husband were also infected; the husband was quarantined at a hospital and the sister-in-law wanted to be checked, too.

“We have no other request,” said her brother’s daughter. “We just want a hospital bed. We want to live. We are also the infection source. (Keeping us out of the hospital) will infect other people.”

Sources:
1. Epoch Times, January 22, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/1/22/n11814163.htm
2. Epoch Times, January 22, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/1/22/n11812966.htm

China News: Chinese Population Exceeded 1.4 Billion

China News recently reported that, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics newly released data, Mainland China’s total population exceeded 1.4 billion in 2019. This is 4.67 million more than in 2018. It is noticeable that the 2019 newborn population was 580,000 less than in 2018 and the 2018 newborn population was 2 million less than in 2017. Also noticeable was that the urban population increased by 17.06 million in 2019. At the same time, the rural population decreased by 12.39 million. This brings China’s urban population to 60.6 percent of the total population. The statistics also showed that China’s male to female ratio is now 104.45 to 100, which represents a five-year-in-a-row decline in the male population, making the population more and more balanced. However, China still has 30.49 million more males than females. Analysts expressed the belief that the increased population expanded the domestic market, which brings the hope of more opportunities for sustained economic growth. The increased urbanization rate is also a positive for further growth.

Source: China News, January 17, 2020
https://m.chinanews.com/wap/detail/zw/gn/2020/01-17/9063064.shtml

Human Rights Watch Released Its 2020 Report; China Responded

Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that the well-known international organization, Human Rights Watch, just released its 2020 report. Its Executive Director Kenneth Roth called for a globally united effort to counter Beijing’s attacks, since the Chinese government has been using its economic and diplomatic power to destroy the system that defends human rights. The new report indicated that the current regime has successfully turned China into a vast monitored nation in which the regime has nearly full control over society. The regime has been establishing censorship within China and is now exporting censorship internationally. Roth was refused entry into Hong Kong recently because he intended to hold a press conference there. China is now using traditional policing mechanisms as well as high-tech methods to enforce its control, not only in Mainland China, but also in places like Hong Kong. The Report said human rights violations continue to spread around globe, including in Sylvia and Yemen, but China is the focal point.

Global Times issued a report on the second day after the Human Rights Watch 2020 report was released. Geng Shuang, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented at a press conference that the Human Rights Watch Report, along with a Freedom House report, were flat-out lies. These two organizations ignored the fact that the Chinese people are the most authoritative ones to judge China’s human rights situation. China is currently in the best period of time in history for human rights. However, Geng admitted he never read any of these reports.

Sources:
(1) DW Chinese, January 15, 2020
https://bit.ly/2Rx7Dyy
(2) Global Times, January 15, 2020
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/9CaKrnKoTPa
(3) Freedom House
https://freedomhouse.org/article/chinese-communist-party-s-media-influence-expands-worldwide

LTN: Taiwan Legally Recognized the Wuhan Pneumonia as a New Infectious Disease

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that the Taiwan Center for Disease Control officially announced that the widely reported Wuhan pneumonia will very soon be recognized legally as a new severely infectious disease caused by a new virus. The legal process is nearing its completion. The Taiwanese government already asked the Mainland to provide the gene sequencing of the virus and has been arranging to send experts to Wuhan to make an on-site examination. The Taiwanese authorities have also established special procedures on monitoring and communication matters as well as airport and in-flight quarantine operations. All currently identified patients have been cleared. The government repeatedly warned the people not to visit Wuhan and the nearby regions. If anyone has to visit these places, it is strongly recommended that they avoid contact with livestock and frequently wash their hands. Since December 31, the Taiwanese port authorities have checked 17 flights which included 1819 passengers and crew members.

Source: LTN, January 10, 2020
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/life/breakingnews/3036015

Chinese Police Collect Blood Samples from Elementary and Middle School Boys

The Chinese Communist Party has forcibly collected DNA data using reasons such as “combating crime.” Beginning in 2016, the authorities in Xinjiang had massive collections of DNA samples from ethnic Muslims to establish databases for the purpose of surveillance and suppression. Now this practice has extended to the whole country. The regime is collecting DNA and other biological information on a large scale. All males, even elementary and middle school boys, are included and have not been spared.

In November, people from multiple cities in Guangxi Province told the Bitter Winter magazine, an Italian based publication focusing China’s religious freedom and human rights, that local police were collecting blood samples from elementary and middle school boys without notifying their parents. When asked for the reason, some teachers explained that it was to prevent children from being trafficked or lost, but they failed to explain why they were collecting only from boys but not from girls.

Bitter Winter obtained a document that the Public Security Bureau of Chongren County in Jiangxi Province issued in November. The document required the local Education and Sports Bureau to cooperate with the police to collect information on all male students in elementary and middle schools. The document stated that this work was carried out nationwide to collect information for the nation’s seventh population census, to issue third-generation digital ID cards, to improve the dissemination of population data, and to facilitate rapid identity verification.

Chinese media also reported that police have collected blood from male adult citizens for a number of reasons such as “free medical examinations” and “checking for drug abuse.”

A “Y-STR DNA Database Construction Work Plan Notice” that a county government in Hubei Province issued in September 2018 called for “the establishment of a male-dominated pedigree information database that comprehensively covered the rural areas,” and “through investigation of the family tree to maintain the social order and strengthen the ability to control the population.”

The Chinese government often uses the collected DNA data to suppress dissidents and religious believers. In July 2019, the police harassed the parents of a believer in the Church of Almighty God and forcibly collected blood samples.

Source: Bitter Winter, January 3, 2020

將建家系信息庫 警方強制採集中小學男生血樣未通知家長

Beijing News: Wuhan Disclosed Information on Unknown Viral Pneumonia

Beijing News recently reported that the Wuhan City Health Committee officially acknowledged the outbreak of an unknown type of pneumonia. As of 8 PM on January 3, the city confirmed 44 patients, of whom 11 were in serious condition. All confirmed patients are currently receiving treatment in isolated hospital zones. The government has traced 121 individuals who had close contact with the patients. The work of tracking down more people is still under way. As of now, no medical workers have been infected. A pathogen identification process is being conducted. Some common respiratory diseases, including flu, avian influenza and the adenovirus infection, have been ruled out. The outbreak is rumored to have started around a week ago. The Chinese central government and the Hubei provincial government have sent expert groups to the City of Wuhan. The disinfection process at the Huanan Seafood Place, where the outbreak originated, has started. Wider investigations of other spots have also started. The symptoms of this new unknown pneumonia are very similar to SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome), which had no cure and caused international panic in 2003.

(Editor’s note: Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei Province and has a population of 11 million. It is the largest transportation hub in central China. As of January 5, 58 patients were officially confirmed. Hong Kong has confirmed 14 patients.)

Source: Beijing News, January 3, 2020
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2020/01/03/669703.html

Xinhua: China Plans to Re-interpret Classic Religious Books

Xinhua recently reported that the Ethnic Group and Religion Committee of the Chinese National People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) just had a discussion forum on religion. Wang Yang, Standing Committee Member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a speech on the importance of controlling the interpretation of religious doctrine. Wang proposed that the translation and interpretation of religious theories should keep up with the pace of today’s social developments. The socialist core values should guide the re-interpretation process. This would be an effective way to defend China against extremists and their evil theories. Wang asked the committee to look into organizing a major effort to perform a comprehensive review of all religious teaching books, including the Bible, the Quran and the Buddhist books. The committee should start modifications and even do full re-translations.

Sources:
(1) Xinhua, November 26. 2019
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2019-11/26/c_1125277447.htm
(2) Radio France Internationale, December 23, 2019
https://bit.ly/2t9rVpu

The New “Hot Topics” on Chinascope

When there is a hot topic in China, such as the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, the Internet may be overloaded with information. Moreover, what is supposed to be the “official information” may not be authoritative as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in order to protect its appearance and its own self-interest, may block information or release inaccurate information. What appears as  hearsay on the Internet may contain more facts as individuals, out of a sense of conscience and courage, may reveal the truth in spite of the CCP’s pressure.

For those who face the challenge of identifying reliable or “official” data and information, Chinascope created the “Hot Topics” section to filter through Internet postings, both in Chinese and English, in order to provide our readers with information that is reliable, relevant, and up to date so they can better understand and shape government policies and actions.

As new information keeps flowing in, Chinascope will provide an English summary and then an excerpt in Chinese including key points of information, in addition to our detailed briefings.

The current “Hot Topic” is the Novel Coronavirus.