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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo held a meeting on February 21 to discuss the control and prevention work on the novel coronavirus. The meeting pointed out, “While the wide spread of the epidemic has been initially controlled and the number of new cases nationwide and the suspected cases have been declining, we must understand it clearly. The turning point of the nationwide epidemic’s development has not come yet.”

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Leadership: Ding Xiangyang: Xi Jinping Ordered Wuhan Lockdown
• Leadership: Xi Stressed Biosafety as Part of National Security System
• Leadership: Xi Explains His Role in Containing Coronavirus since January 7
• Leadership: Xi Jinping Told Trump That by April, the Heat Will Kill Coronavirus
• Leadership: Xi Jinping Made a Public Appearance on February 10
• Leadership: Xi Jinping: I Have Been In Charge All Along

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Ding Xiangyang, the Deputy Chief Secretary of the State Council and a member of the Central government’s Supervision Group at Hubei Province, stated that it was Xi Jinping who ordered the Wuhan lockdown.

Ding made such statement at a press conference on February 20, 2020. Ding said, “Actually, when Vice Premier Sun Chunlan came to Wuhan on January 22, she made two decisions based on the specific direction from the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (Xi Jinping), that would be a ‘city lockdown’ and that the holiday would be extended (so people had to stay home instead of going back to work).” “It is not easy to reach a consensus with everyone at that time, but with the CCP Central’s support, we were determined to do that. No matter who said what, we were determined to do that.”

On January 27, 2020, when China Central Television (CCTV) interviewed Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang,   Zhou stated that he had decided to lock down the city under the pressure in spite of people’s negative response. (See posting Leadership: Wuhan Mayor Not “Authorized” to Release Epidemic Information to the Public Before)

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Leadership: Xi Explains His Role in Containing Coronavirus since January 7
• Leadership: Xi Jinping Made a Public Appearance on February 10
• Leadership: Xi Jinping: I Have Been In Charge All Along
• Leadership: Wuhan Mayor Not “Authorized” to Release Epidemic Information to the Public Before

Continue reading →

Xinhua reported that, on September 18, 2019, in preparation for the upcoming Military World Games, Wuhan held a drill about the novel coronavirus infection.

The Emergency Response Exercise, jointly organized by Wuhan Customs and the Executive Committee of Military World Games, was held at the Tianhe Airport in Wuhan. It simulated two situations: an arrival of baggage was found to have excessive nuclear radiation and a passenger was found to be infected with the novel coronavirus. The coronavirus drill included multiple steps, such as epidemiological investigations, medical inspections, setting up a temporary test area, quarantine and testing, patient transfer, and sanitary treatments. Continue reading →

After Xi Jinping gave the direction to include biosafety as part of the national security system, Science and Technology Daily reported that Henan Province issued an order on February 18 on safely managing laboratory animals.

The order requires strengthening the monitoring and control of the entire process of laboratory animals and strengthening the disinfection and sterilization of each stage including production, transportation, and use. The dead bodies and waste of laboratory animals must be strictly and harmlessly treated so as to prevent the escape of animals and the spread of pathogens that could endanger human health, public health, and environmental safety. It must be ensured that the production and use of experimental animals are safe and controllable; it should immediately be reported to the local veterinary department and the Provincial Science and Technology Department if irregular batch deaths of laboratory animals are found to have occurred.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Leadership: Xi Stressed Biosafety as Part of National Security System
• Virus Origin: SARS Virus Was Leaked in Beijing in 2004
• Virus Origin: Patient “No. Zero” Had Symptoms on Dec 1
• Virus Origin: Who Was Patient “No. Zero”?
• Virus Origin: Genome Analysis of the New Wuhan Coronavirus Found Viral Sequences Suspicious of Laboratory Engineering

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Xinhua reported that, at the Communist Central’s Deepening Reform meeting on February 14, 2020, Xi Jinping gave an important direction on how to handle the control of the coronavirus epidemic, including biosafety, as part of the national security system.

Xi stressed, “(We) must strengthen the legal protection of public health… Incorporate biosafety into the national security system, systematically plan the development of a national biosafety risk control system, comprehensively improve national biosafety governance capabilities, publish the biosafety law as soon as possible, and accelerate the establishment the legal system and institutional structure for national biosafety.”

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Leadership: Xi Explains His Role in Containing Coronavirus since January 7
• Leadership: Xi Jinping Made a Public Appearance on February 10
• Leadership: Xi Jinping: I Have Been In Charge All Along
• Virus Origin: SARS Virus Was Leaked in Beijing in 2004
• Virus Origin: Patient “No. Zero” Had Symptoms on Dec 1
• Virus Origin: Genome Analysis of the New Wuhan Coronavirus Found Viral Sequences Suspicious of Laboratory Engineering

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There was a report that Ying Yong, the former Shanghai Mayor who was recently appointed to be the Hubei Provincial Party Secretary, has absolute power in Hubei’s battle to control of the coronavirus epidemic .

United Daily News, a newspaper in Taiwan, reported a story about Ying Yong: At an emergency meeting with the top officials of Hubei Province, Ying asked to impose the strictest traffic control starting at midnight on February 17, 2020. No cars would be allowed to move except those who had special permission from the provincial Public Security Bureau.

Some officials asked if this plan should be sent to the Party Central Committee for approval. Ying said there was no need for approval, but there was just a need to make Party Central be aware of it. He decided what to do in Hubei. Whoever had a different opinion could speak out, but would then be removed from his post. At this special time, the Communist Party Central Committee gave him all the power; he must take immediate action to be responsible to Party Central and the Hubei people.

Ying then asked Wang Guanbin, Director of the Provincial Public Security Bureau, how many days he would need to complete the traffic control? Wang said there could be some challenges.

“I am not asking you if there are any challenges,” Ying answered. “You tell me how many days you need to make it happen.”

Wang didn’t give answer for over a minute. Ying then said, “You don’t need to answer. Deputy Director Jia, please answer this question.”

Jia stood up and made a salute to Ying, answering he would need three days.

Ying said, “Good! I give you five days. You are now the Acting Director of the Hubei Public Security Bureau!”

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Local Government: Xiaogan City, Hubei Province Sealed Residents’ Doors from Outside
• Local Government: Beijing Asked for “Protecting Patient’s Privacy”
• Local Government: Confiscating Each Other’s Medical Supplies
• Local Government: On February 13, a Few Cities in Hubei Issued “Wartime Control Orders”
• Local Government: On February 13, Beijing CDC Issued a “Wartime Status Order”

Excerpt in Chinese: Continue reading →

A giant  E-Commerce company, Dangdang, headquartered in Beijing, found a staff member was infected with the Coronavirus. As a result, the company let all people working at the headquarters work from home.

Dangdang resumed work on February 10. A staff member worked at the headquarters from February 10 to 13. On February 15, his mother was confirmed to have the coronavirus infection. On February 16, Dangdang let people who had come  in close contact with that staff member go home to be quarantined. On February 19, that staff member was “basically confirmed” to have the infection, so Dangdang let all of its employees working at its headquarters go work from home instead.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Resuming Production: Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Sichuan Working on Resuming Production
• Resuming Production: Jiangxi and Guizhou Provinces Working on Fully Resuming Production
• Resuming Production: Companies Discover Coronavirus Cases after Resuming Work – February 16

Source: QQ, February 20, 2020
http://kuaibao.qq.com/s/20200220A0GSP200?refer=spider

According to reports from several official media, China leaked the SARS virus from its laboratory in 2004. Around the Chinese New Year period of 2004 (late January 2004), a staff member at the National Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took the SARS virus out of the center’s Biocontainment Level 3 (BL3) lab (China calls it a P3 lab), and conducted further testing in a regular, less protected lab.

Due to the leak, there were nine cases of infection in Beijing and Anhui Province. The World Health Organization (WHO) also sent specialists to participate in the investigation of the leak.

Related postings on Chinascope:

• Virus Origin: Patient “No. Zero” Had Symptoms on Dec 1
• Virus Origin: Who Was Patient “No. Zero”?
• Virus Origin: Genome Analysis of the New Wuhan Coronavirus Found Viral Sequences Suspicious of Laboratory Engineering

Continue reading →