Chinascope – Page 306

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.

Hiding Information: The CCP Tried to Silence Dr. Yan Li-Meng and Discredit Her after She Spoke Out

Dr. Yan Li-Meng, who specialized in virology and immunology at the School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, came to the U.S. in April 2020, to inform the world that the Chinese government knew as early as late December 2019, that the coronavirus could be transmitted from person to person.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) discovered that she had left, it did many things in an attempt to stop her from telling her story. Once she spoke, it attempted to discredit her so nobody would believe what she said.

#1. During her interview with Fox News, Dr. Yan said the Chinese authorities swarmed her hometown of Qingdao and that agents ripped apart her tiny apartment and questioned her parents. When she contacted her mother and father, they pleaded with her to come home, told her she didn’t know what she was talking about and begged her to give up the fight.

The University of Hong Kong, which is under the influence of the CCP, took down her web page and revoked her access to online portals and emails, despite the fact that she was on an approved annual leave. The university sent a statement to Fox News, claiming, “Dr. Yan Li-Meng is no longer a staff member at the University.” (Fox News)

#2. (Unconfirmed) An online account reported that the Fox News’ interview with Dr. Yan was originally planned to be released on July 9. However, someone (it may have been Cui Tiankai, China’s Ambassador to the U.S.) made eight phone calls to relevant offices (to stop the release). Xi Jinping called the White House four times. Xi threatened, “This interview must not be broadcasted. Otherwise there will be consequences.” (Sound of Hope)

#3. The University of Hong Kong denied that Dr. Yan had done research on person-to-person transmission at the university from December 2019 to January 2020. Its web page stated: “University of Hong Kong noticed that some relevant report did not match the key facts that we understood. Actually, from December 2019 to January 2020, Yan Li-Meng did not conduct any research at the University of Hong Kong, on the person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus that she mentioned in her interview.” (Hong Kong University website).

#4. A news commentator pointed out on Twitter that the University of Hong Kong’s statement was a fallacy and a shift of the actual meaning. The University of Hong Kong’s statement only said that from December 2019 to January 2020, Dr. Yan didn’t conduct coronavirus research at the University of Hong Kong. It didn’t confirm or deny that Dr. Yan did anything outside of the university. In fact, Dr. Yan said in her interview that in December 2019, she contacted her network of medical contacts in China to gather information, because the CCP blocked information from coming to Hong Kong or other overseas researchers.

After the statement from the University of Hong Kong, the CCP media expanded its comments to such statements as. “Yan Li-Meng Has Never Conducted Research on Person-to-Person Transmission of the Novel Coronavirus.” (Sound of Hope)

Hiding Information: Fox News’ Interview with Yan Li-Meng Revealed China Knew about Person-to-Person Transmission in December 2019

On July 10, Fox News published an exclusive interview with Dr. Li-Meng Yan, who specialized in virology and immunology at the School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong. The lab that Dr. Yan worked at is a World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory specializing in influenza viruses and pandemics.

Dr. Yan managed to leave Hong Kong on April 27, 2020 and came to the U.S. to inform the world that the Chinese government knew, as early as late December 2019, that the coronavirus could be transmitted from person to person.

She feared that, if she tried to tell her story in China, she “would be disappeared and killed.”

Dr. Yan said that, at the end of December 2019, Dr. Leo Poon, her supervisor at the University/WHO reference lab, asked her to look into the odd cluster of SARS-like cases coming out of mainland China. The Chinese government didn’t provide information to overseas experts, including those in Hong Kong. So, she turned to her network of professional contacts in various medical facilities in mainland China since she grew up and completed most of her studies there.

One friend, a scientist at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China, had first-hand knowledge of the cases and told her on December 31, 2019, about human-to-human transmission.

She reported some of these early findings to her boss Dr. Poon.

A few days later, on Jan. 9, 2020, the WHO put out a statement: “According to Chinese authorities, the virus in question can cause severe illness in some patients and does not transmit readily between people… There is limited information to determine the overall risk of this reported cluster.”

Dr. Yan said she and her colleagues across China discussed the peculiar virus in the earlier days, but she soon noted a sharp shift in tone. Doctors in Wuhan went silent and others said not to ask them details.

According to Dr. Yan, the doctors said, ominously, “We can’t talk about it, but we need to wear masks.'”

“There are many, many patients who don’t get treatment on time or receive diagnosis on time,” Dr. Yan said. “Hospital doctors are scared, but they cannot talk. CDC staff members are scared.”

Dr. Yan said she reported her findings to Dr. Poon again on January 16, 2020.

He told her “to keep silent and be careful.” “Don’t touch the red line… We will get in trouble and we’ll be disappeared.”

Dr. Yan said Professor Malik Peiris, the co-director of a WHO-affiliated lab, knew but didn’t do anything about it.

The WHO website lists Professor Peiris as an “adviser” on the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee for Pneumonia due to the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

Countries Move Supply Chains from China; Japan to Subsidize 87 Companies to “Exit China”

Relocating manufacturing and supply chains out of China has become a trend amid the COVID 19 outbreak.

Japans’ Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on Friday July 17 that the first group of Japanese companies had received “exit China” subsidies. These subsidies are designed to help Japanese companies move manufacturing from China to Southeast Asia or back to Japan. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, 87 Japanese companies or groups will receive a total of 70 billion yen ($653 million) in funding. These funds will be used to transfer production lines to reduce Japan’s dependence on China and establish a flexible supply chain. Among them, 30 companies will shift production to Southeast Asia. Hoya, a hard disk components manufacturer, will relocate its factories from China to Vietnam and Laos. Sumitomo Rubber Industries will produce nitrile rubber gloves in Malaysia, while Shin-Etsu Chemical will shift the production of rare earth magnets to Vietnam. The remaining 57 companies will be relocated to Japan.

Household product manufacturer Iris Ohyama currently produces masks in factories in Dalian and Suzhou, China. Non-woven fabrics and other major materials are purchased from Chinese companies. With the help of Japanese government subsidies, the company will start producing masks at the Kakuda plant in Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan. All materials will be prepared locally, independent of overseas suppliers. Saraya, a manufacturer of sanitary products, is also eligible for subsidies. The company’s products include alcohol-based disinfectants.

The Japanese government allocated 220 billion yen (US$2.05 billion) in the supplementary budget for fiscal year 2020 to establish a subsidy program to encourage companies to relocate factories from China to Japan. Among them, 23.5 billion yen (US$0.22 billion) was used to promote the transfer of production lines from China to Southeast Asian countries.

Aside from Japan, Australian rare earth supplier Lynas has also previously stated that the outbreak of the epidemic highlights the importance of the decentralization of the supply chain from China. Lynas announced back on May 20, 2019 that it would build a rare earth processing plant in the United States, and signed a memorandum of cooperation with Texas manufacturer Blue Line Corporation. The U.S. government has repeatedly stressed the need to move the supply chain out of China. The White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in May that the Trump administration was willing to compensate American companies to help them move their supply chain out of China and Hong Kong and back to the U.S. The Times reported that British Prime Minister Johnson has ordered the “Project Defend” plan to end Britain’s dependence on the importation of key products from China, including pharmaceuticals and other strategic imported products. According to Agence France-Presse, before the outbreak, an investigation found that 104 German companies have decided or are considering withdrawing production capacity from China. In 2020, many companies in Taiwan made moving their production out of China an operational focus. According to a previous report in Science and Technology News, Quanta, Compal, Pegatron, Wistron, Inventec, Hon Hai, and others will work on relocating their production lines outside of China this year.

Source: Epoch Times, July 19, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/7/19/n12267649.htm

Briefings | | July 21, 2020 | Economy/Resources

UDN: Taiwan Representatives in Hong Kong Were Refused Visas

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Hong Kong said that several leaders did not receive their visas upon renewal. Four of the five group leaders in the Hong Kong Office left Hong Kong and returned to Taiwan. The Office is still operating. The Taiwanese government concluded that the officials were refused their visas due to the fact that they did not agree to sign the document that recognizes the “One China” policy. The Office performs the equivalent functions of an embassy in Hong Kong. Currently the Hong Kong Office does not even have a Chief Officer. The Taiwanese media described the situation as the direct result of the new Hong Kong National Security Law taking effect. In addition to top level group leaders of the Office, multiple secretary personnel are also waiting for visa renewals. The Hong Kong government did not respond to their renewal applications. The Office is still providing Taiwan visa services to foreigners and Hong Kong local residents. The Hong Kong government declined to comment on this matter.

Source: UDN, July 17, 2020
https://udn.com/news/story/7331/4709076

Briefings | | July 21, 2020 | Geo-Strategic Trend

VOA: China’s Largest Private Enterprise Rare Challenge to the Authorities Takeover Was Quickly Silenced

Tomorrow Holding Group, China’s largest private company, issued a statement on Saturday, July 18, publicly slamming regulators’ takeover of its nine financial companies. However, this rare public challenge was quickly silenced in the social media.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced on Friday July 17 that they will take over the nine companies that Tomorrow Holding Group owned: Tian An Property Insurance, Huaxia Life Insurance, Tian An Life Insurance, Yi An Property Insurance, New Times Trust, New China Trust, New Era Securities, Guosheng Securities, and Guosheng Futures. At the end of 2019, the total assets of these companies exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan (US$0.17 trillion). Among them, Huaxia Life Insurance’s assets accounted for nearly half of all assets, about 587.3 billion yuan (US$83.99 billion).

Tomorrow Holding was accused of putting multiple financial assets at risk, that its founder owned them secretly and that the founder illegally owned or controlled a large number of financial licenses through countless shell companies and has sat on a large amount of financial institution funds for a long time. They were said to have caused the major shareholders to be trapped in a debt crisis. The action by the regulatory commissions marked the final collapse of this comprehensive financial enterprise that the once popular character Xiao Jianhua controlled. Chinese industry insiders commented, “Tomorrow has become yesterday.”

The statement that the Tomorrow Holding Group issued said that the company has been actively working on asset disposition, but the regulatory body’s sudden takeover has disrupted their work. The statement said that the companies have no liquidity risk have had no protests from the investors, and that the regulator exaggerated the risks.

In China, it is rare for listed companies, especially private companies, to challenge the authorities’ decisions openly after being investigated and punished by regulatory authorities. The statement Tomorrow Group issued was immediately deleted from all social accounts. The official message from Wechat stated that the contents violated the regulations.

Xiao Jianhua founded the Tomorrow Holding Group in 1999. Over the past 20 years, Xiao has developed the company in many fields including finance, industry, real estate, communication services, energy, and the Internet. At the end of January 2017, Xiao Jianhua was secretly arrested in Hong Kong and then returned to the mainland.

Source: Voice of America, July 18, 2020
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-s-tomorrow-holdings-slams-seizure-of-its-financial-firms-20200718/5507955.html

Briefings | | July 19, 2020 | Economy/Resources

China Blasted Open Embankment to Deal with Disastrous Flooding

A new round of heavy rain that started on July 17 is wreaking havoc on the middle and lower reaches along the Yangtze River. With torrential rainfall taking place, areas such as Chongqing, Jiangsu, and Anhui, the Yangtze River, Lake Tai, the Huai River and other waters are experiencing severe flooding.

The Hydrological and Water Resources Survey Bureau of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province issued its highest flood warning on July 19, indicating that, due to heavy rainfall, the water level of Lake Chang has reached 32.84 meters, 0.34 meters above the warning level. The water level of Lake Hong is 26.99 meters, .02 meters above the highest level. It is expected to rise and stay at a high mark for a while. The water level of 12.83 meters of Lake Chao in Anhui province exceeded the historical high of 12.80 meters, which was in 1991. The flooding in the Yangtze River on July 18 also rewrote the record books of Nanjing city’s hydrological history, bringing a water level to 10.26 meters, 0.04 meters higher than the record set in 1954.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, at 3 a.m. on July 19, the embankment of the Chu River in Anhui province was blasted open in two gaps, and water flowed into two flood storage areas. It was a measure viewed as a last resort to handle the continuously rising water level that would possibly run over the embankments. These two areas were previously used in 1991, 2003, 2008, and 2015.

Affected by the water coming from upstream and local areas, the inflow and water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir continued to rise. On July 17, the upstream of the Qing River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, saw a peak water level of 420.68 meters. It was higher than the historic level of 420.64 meters in 1989. As the water level continued to rise, the urban district of Enshi city was almost soaked. The authorities decided to elevate the emergency response of the urban flood control to the highest level.

Source: Central News Agency, July 19, 2020
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202007190121.aspx

Briefings | | July 19, 2020 | Economy/Resources

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UDN: Taiwan Representatives in Hong Kong Were Refused Visas

VOA: China’s Largest Private Enterprise Rare Challenge to the Authorities Takeover Was Quickly Silenced

China Blasted Open Embankment to Deal with Disastrous Flooding

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