Skip to content

China’s Easing of Covid-19 Control Has Triggered a Drug Shortage

During the past three years of Covid control, China has been putting antipyretic and other drugs under strict regulation. As a result, some pharmaceutical companies have gone bankrupt. With the sudden relaxation of control, many companies that did not receive prior notice are facing pressure to scale up production immediately as they do not have an adequate supply.

The “four types of drugs” in China generally refer to antipyretic, anti-cough, antibiotic and anti-viral drugs. Among them, China is the largest producer and exporter of Ibuprofen, the antipyretic and analgesic drug. It accounts for 1/3 of the world’s production.

A social media account that collects articles from around 100 hospital management experts and medical observers posted, “The four types of drugs were strictly controlled in the early stage, but no one told the drug companies to increase production before the relaxation.” The article says that there are more than 500 ibuprofen manufacturers in China, and there is no shortage of raw materials. Even if there were only 200 manufacturers, “if they had been told a month in advance (to increase production and stock), there would be one box for every Chinese.

The City government of Zhuhai in Guangdong province announced that, since December 20, ibuprofen and other drugs have had to be sold in unpacked boxes, with a price cap and real name registration.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), December 20, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202212200385.aspx

Job Ads in China: Priority Is Given to Those Who Tested Positive for Covid-19

A sharp U-turn in China’s Covid-19 prevention policy also translates into theatrical changes in the job market. In the past, people who had been tested positive for Covid-19 had difficulties landing a job; they are now given priority when looking for positions.

Due to the suddenly loosened Covid-19 measures, the number of people who are infected with the disease has risen sharply. Some people believe that being infected with the disease is the equivalent of gaining immunity. “It is better to be infected first,” so that they can avoid facing the uncertainty of being infected all the time.

The Wechat account of Legal Daily, a major state newspaper, posted in an article on December 20 that some recent job openings claim that “priority is given to those who have tested positive for Covid-19.” Some even explicitly say, “not interested in those who have tested negative for Covid-19.” A lawyer in Beijing said that this may be employment discrimination and is illegal.

Before the dramatic change in the Covid-19 policy, there was no lack of job market discrimination against those who were Covid positive. Back in October, a large number of Foxconn workers in Zhengzhou, Henan province, left the factory on foot because, among other things, they were afraid that even if they recovered from the epidemic, they would have difficulty finding a job.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), December 22, 2022
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202212200277.aspx

Hangzhou’s Covid-19 Statistics Have Drawn Suspicion

How serious is the current epidemic in China? It is hard to determine the truth. Take Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, for example. Local hospitals have recently seen an exponential increase in Covid-19 fever patients. As many as 90 percent have tested positive. However, the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission said on December 17 that only 43 cases were confirmed in Hangzhou.

The Qianjiang Evening News, a popular metropolitan newspaper in Hangzhou, reported that the fever clinic at one campus of Zhejiang Hospital saw more than 600 patients on December 16.

In addition, fever clinics at hospitals affiliated with the Zhejiang University School of Medicine reported a single-day attendance of more than 1,000 people.

The newspaper quoted doctors from several hospitals in Hangzhou who said that 90 percent of the patients in local fever clinics had tested positive.

Hangzhou has a residential population of more than 12 million. The Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission reported on Saturday December 17 that the province’s medical institutions reported only 52 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, of which Hangzhou accounted for 43 cases.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2022
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/4-12172022120644.html

China Tried to Pacify Iran’s Anger

Xi Jinping recently visited Saudi Arabia and attended the 2022 China-Arab States Summit hosted in Saudi’s capital city Riyadh. China signed a joint summit statement declaring its support for the United Arab Emirates “to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands; Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa” under international law. The UAE and the Iranese have been disputing these three islands in the Strait of Hormuz for decades, where Iran grabbed them after the British Royal Navy stopped patrolling them in 1971.

Iran expressed fury for the betrayal by China which had supported it for long time. Iran called in China’s Ambassador to express its grievance. In the meantime, many Iranian media have complained about China.

On December 10, the Arman Daily, an Iranian newspaper published an article titled, “Taiwan Independence: A Legal Right” on its front page. The article stated that Beijing would have to accept Taiwan’s independence despite attempts to suppress the country by force.

To calm down Tehran, on December 13, Beijing sent Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua (胡春華) to meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Xinhua News reported that Hu told Iranian officials that China “will not waver in its determination to develop their comprehensive strategic partnership” and that “China firmly supports Iran in opposing external interference and safeguarding its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national dignity.”

Source: Epoch Times, Dec 14, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/14/n13884833.htm

Revealed: China Has Police Stations in at Least 53 Other Countries

Safeguard Defenders, a non-profit organization focusing on human rights, published a revised version of its investigation report on China’s police stations overseas. The revised numbers show that China has established at least 102 police “service centers” in 53 countries outside of China. Beijing uses these police stations to carry out suppression activities over China’s own citizens in foreign countries. However, these operations are illegal and violate the state sovereignty of the hosting countries.

Italy has 11 of China’s police stations, the largest number among all countries. Canada has five. The U.S. has at least four, two in New York, and one in Los Angles. There is also one at an unknown location.

The governments of the Netherlands and Ireland  have demanded that China close these illegal operations in their countries.

Source:
1. Epoch Times, December 9, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/9/n13881186.htm
2. Turkish Radio and Television Agency, December 6, 2022
https://www.trt.net.tr/chinese/hua-ren-shi-jie/2022/12/06/wai-mei-cheng-zhong-guo-zai-hai-wai-she-yu-100suo-jing-cha-zhan-1915367

Taiwan’s Media and Its Society Ranked Number One in Influence by China

Taiwan Democracy Lab recently announced its “China Index.  It ranked China’s influence on 82 countries or regions in nine categories including academia, domestic politics, the economy, foreign policy, law enforcement, media, military, society, and technology. Among the overall ranking, the top five countries are Pakistan, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Peru and South Africa (tied).

Taiwan ranked number one in two categories: media and society, and number 11 in the overall ranking. Germany ranked the top among all European countries.

Source: Epoch Times, December 9, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/9/n13881687.htm

Political Commentator: Insider Information on Xi’s Decisions

Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese scholar and political commentator who lives in Australia, recently shared with the Epoch Times some information he obtained from a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) insider.

On terminating the “zero-COVID” policy, the upcoming Premier Li Qiang  a Chinese politician and a senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party, serving as the second-ranking member of the 20th CCP Politburo Standing Committee, behind CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, informed Xi Jinping that the World Health Organization (WHO) is likely to announce COVID as a general epidemic, no longer a severe pandemic. If China continues the “zeroing out” and lockdown policy, it will become a joke of the international society. So Li Qiang wants China to forgo the zero-COVID policy before WHO’s announcement. Another reason is that China’s economy has gravely deteriorated and local governments are facing bankruptcy.

On the in-flight regarding Jiang’s death: Zeng Qinghong wrote the eulogy that gave high praise to Jiang. Jiang’s family asked Xi to read it and threatened that they would hold a private funeral instead of the state funeral if Xi did not agree to their terms. Xi’s supporter Li Shulei, head of the CCP Propaganda Department, suggested to Xi to meet their demand for now since Jiang is dead. In the meantime Xi could get ready to cleanse Jiang’s remaining power including both officials and businessmen. The target time to take them on is after March next year, after the National Congress meeting and Xi’s people take over the state power.

Source: Epoch Times, December 13, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/13/n13883837.htm

COVID Is on a Rampage in China

China recently loosened its COVID control policy after people took to the streets to protest the extreme, inhumane lockdown measures. As a result, COVID has  spread widely throughout the country.

On December 13, the authorities reported only 7,451 infection cases for the entire nation, which the public just did not accept as a number they could trust.

A video posted by a Beijing resident showed that an entire subway station, which used to be fully packed, had only three people in it, including the recorder himself.

Many doctors, nurses, and other medical staff are infected. They are asked to continue work if they can. Work units informed their employees to stay at home and not go to hospitals as hospitals had already “run beyond their full capacity.”

Radio Free Asia quoted an Internet posting that the author called 911 but was told that there were already 4,000 people ahead of him in the queue. Its reporter called Beijing’s hotline 120. The operator told him there were already 40 people waiting for an ambulance, and suggested the caller go to the hospital himself, so he would not be putting a wrong hope on an ambulance.

Funeral homes worked at full speed to cremate bodies. A Beijing resident posted on social media that after his father passed away, he could not find a funeral home to take in his father’s body. A doctor posted on social media that there was a five to seven day wait for cremation and his hospital did not have an empty morgue any longer. Radio Free Asia reported that four elderly people died in the Emergence Room of the Beijing University Hospital. Other patients stayed and waited with the corpse in the same room.

In addition to the present danger to the elderly, this COVID is also claiming young lives. Three children, at the ages of 13, 8, and 2, respectively, died after they had a high temperature.

Source: Epoch Times, December 13, 2022
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/12/13/n13884197.htm