Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

US Energy Department: COVID Most Likely Caused by Lab Leak

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) released an updated report this past week on the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, with the department now saying that the pandemic was a result of a leak in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2019. The report says that it has made this judgment with ‘low confidence,’ which means it has low certainty in its claim.

It joins the FBI in federal agencies that believe that the virus escaped from the lab (the FBI has ‘moderate confidence’ in this belief). Four other agencies believe that the pandemic was the result of natural transmission.

China has criticized the DOE report, with Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning claiming that the US is using the lab leak theory to score political points, rather than seek a scientific conclusion. She cited the previous WHO investigation, which had concluded that the virus was likely the result of natural transmission. The WHO’s report has also been criticized, with China accused of obstructing the organization’s investigation.

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin Dies at 96

Former President of China Jiang Zemin, who led the country in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protest and its violent suppression, died Wednesday at 96.

Born in 1926, Jiang represented the third generation of Chinese leadership, following the tenures of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. He became communist party general secretary in 1989 and Chinese president in 1993. Under his leadership, the Chinese economy continued to grow and began to take on a more consumerist orientation. During his tenure, several state-owned enterprises were privatized and deregulated. These moves have been credited with strengthening the economy while also leading to higher unemployment and corruption.

China regained control of both Hong Kong and Macau during his time in office, increasing the country’s international standing.

 

Rare Widespread Protests Rock China amid Zero-Covid Policy

China’s ‘zero-covid’ policy, along with a deadly residential fire in Xinjiang which may have been exacerbated by the policy, have led to the greatest show of public discontent since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

A deadly fire in a residential building high-rise building in Urumqi, Xinjiang on November 24 was a major catalyst for the unrest. The building’s residents were reportedly prevented from fleeing the building as a result of the strict quarantine policies, and emergency responders experienced difficulty reaching the building and breaching barriers.

Protests have spread to major cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, and the capital Beijing. University students have also protested at Tsinghua, Peking, and Sun Yat-sen Universities.

Police are reportedly checking the phones of people on the streets to see if certain apps, such as Instagram or Telegram, are installed on them. Protesters and other observers have used these apps to share news and footage of the protests to the outside world.

 

Monday, May 31, 2021

China to Allow Couples to Have Three Children

The Chinese government will now allow married couples to have up to three children as the country aims to stem off demographic imbalance and population decline.

In the announcement, the government also vowed to provide educational and child rearing assistance, both commonly seen as barriers for couples who desire more children. 

Since 2015, China has allowed all couples to have up to two children as the population has continued to age. In addition, there are concerns over the gender imbalance, as the traditional bias for male offspring has led to more males being born than females.

 

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Coronavirus Cases Spike Across the US, World


Worldwide coronavirus cases reached 10 million this month as governments struggle to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The resulting infections have led to at least confirmed 500,000 deaths.

In the United States, the majority of states have reported a rising number of cases, with the only region spared from the uptick being the Northeast, which was most affected when the outbreak started in March and April. Texas, Florida, and Arizona have seen a large jump in cases, prompting state and local leaders to reinstitute certain control measures, such as closing bars, mandating mask wearing, and issuing stay-at-home orders.

Around one quarter of confirmed deaths worldwide have occurred in the United States, whose death toll currently stands at around 125,000. The worldwide number of deaths is likely higher than 500,000 because of underreporting and the suspiciously low numbers reported by the Chinese government, especially given China’s role as the epicenter of the outbreak.

Vice President Mike Pence has announced support for wearing masks in a recent interview with CBS News, though President Donald Trump himself has been ambivalent about encouraging masks and has not encouraged mask wearing mandates. Wearing surgical and cloth masks can reduce the spread of the virus to others if the wearer is sick, but has not been shown to offer significant protection to the wearer. The US government has encouraged protective N95 standard masks to be used only by health care professionals and other emergency responders. Notably, US health officials discouraged the purchase of N95 masks by individuals at the beginning of the outbreak, misrepresenting their effectiveness to the public, in an attempt to preserve them for health care workers.


Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic Infects the World


The United States, according to official numbers, leads the world in coronavirus disease (officially named COVID-19) cases at over 186,000 confirmed infections. China, the origin country of the outbreak, reports just under 82,000 cases, though given the country’s central role in the virus’s original spread and subsequent transmission as well as its much larger population, that number likely significantly underestimates the number of infected.

Countries with a higher per capita rate of infection than the US include Spain and Italy, which also have had higher mortality rates (~10%). The US, in contrast, has had a mortality rate of around 2%. The true mortality rate of those infected is likely lower than these reported numbers, as it only takes into account confirmed cases. Many coronavirus cases are asymptomatic or only show mild symptoms.

Most states in the US have issued “stay-at-home” orders, which only allow limited travel to essential work functions or for shopping. The New York metropolitan area has been especially hit hard, with local morgues running out of room for the dead and refrigerated truck being brought into service as temporary morgues.

China has begun to lift restrictions on Wuhan, the city in which the virus originated (likely at a wet market in which live animals and meat are sold). The country has come under international criticism for its handling of the disease as its government worked to silence the voices of those raising concerns of the virus when it first appeared late last year. The most visible whistleblower, Li Wenliang, died after raising the alarm on the virus. The Chinese government had targeted Li in December 2019, accusing him of “spreading rumors.”


Saturday, February 29, 2020

Coronavirus Causes Worry as Markets React


The coronavirus outbreak, linked to the virus now-named COVID-19, has sickened nearly 90,000 worldwide, with most infections occurring in China, the virus’s origin point, though rapidly spreading across the globe, including major outbreaks in Iran and Italy.

The virus, which causes a respiratory disease similar to influenza, spreads through respiratory droplets emitted from the body during sneezing and coughing. Cases can develop into pneumonia and possibly turn fatal. The fatality rate for the disease is estimated at 1-3%.

The prospect of a pandemic, in which the disease infects a significant population in most areas of the world, has sent shockwaves through the global markets, with many indices having their worst week since the financial crisis in 2008. The S&P 500 and the DJIA both fell around 10% this past week, with the DJIA shedding 3500 points.

In addition, concerns over the availability of health supplies, such as face masks, have surfaced as many of these products are made in China, specifically in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak.


Friday, January 31, 2020

Coronavirus Declared Health Emergency by WHO, US

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States government this week declared the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus a health emergency. This virus causes a respiratory illness that has led to 213 deaths, all in China, though its overall mortality rate is relatively low.

The US has limited to the number of airports that in which direct flights from China can land, and the State Department has issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for the country and encouraged travelers to rethink their plans. The Chinese government has continued its lockdown in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and the city in which the outbreak began, to prevent the virus from spreading further.

While the symptoms from this strain of coronavirus are not as severe as other previous viral outbreaks, such as SARS and MERS, the threat of continued spread, as well as a more severe mutation emerging in the near future, have put pressure on public health officials. The virus has already infected over 10,000 people worldwide.