Coronavirus News (212)

 “Woke-Washing” Your Company Won’t Cut It

Airships Are No Longer a Relic of the Past; You Could Ride in One by 2023

Construction of the World’s Biggest Nuclear Fusion Plant Just Started in France

The Global Work Crisis: Automation, the Case Against Jobs, and What to Do About It

BILL GATES CALLED MOST US CORONAVIRUS TESTS “GARBAGE” "THE MAJORITY OF ALL U.S. TESTS ARE COMPLETELY GARBAGE, WASTED."

MACHINE DETECTS COVID-19 IN 90 MINUTES HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE ALREADY ORDERING THOUSANDS.

Does the US-led Five Eyes have wider sights on China? A group of Renmin University international relations specialists says the alliance has become another part of Washington’s efforts to contain Beijing Japan is interested in becoming a ‘sixth eye’ but China should not respond by ramping up tensions, observer says

China, Pakistan push ahead with US$6.8 billion rail project in region disputed with India Beijing also announces the opening of a 118km stretch of the ‘Friendship Highway’ that will run from Islamabad to Kashgar Strengthening of ties comes a year after New Delhi revoked constitutional rights giving Kashmir greater independence

Japan could be on the brink of a second wave. Will Shinzo Abe act?

Forty percent of people with coronavirus infections have no symptoms. Might they be the key to ending the pandemic? New research suggests that some of us may be partially protected due to past encounters with common cold coronaviruses

SCIENTISTS THINK THEY FOUND THE CORONAVIRUS’ WEAK SPOT CRITICAL HIT!

‘No world peace without changing China’: Hong Kong’s Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai calls for American support The media mogul, who was arrested over alleged collusion with foreign forces before being released on bail, sought US support in Hong Kong’s fight for freedoms He also warned Hong Kong people against radicalism and urged them to steel themselves for a long fight to resist the encroachment on the city’s autonomy

Taiwan unveils record defence budget as Beijing stands firm on claim to island Tsai Ing-wen says Taipei will seek a ‘constructive security relationship’ with the US and strengthen its military Mainland military stages drills in Taiwan Strait in ‘warning to independence supporters’

US ‘follows China’s path’ in Africa by funding Mozambique liquefied natural gas project Exim Bank approves US$4.7 billion loan, the US’ largest ever to an African country, but American lending to the continent trails that of China The loan mirrors Chinese investments in Africa in the 2000s, aimed at gaining access to energy resources

Advice from a woman who survived covid-19, the 1918 flu — and cancer

Fauci amplifies Birx’s warning about ‘new phase’ of coronavirus spread in U.S.

Donald Trump says TikTok will be ‘out of business’ in US unless sold by September 15 In addition to Microsoft, at least two other interested buyers in the tech industry are in talks with ByteDance to acquire the video-sharing app, source says Trump also says the US should get money from the sale, though he did not say how that would be accomplished

Coronavirus: China positions itself for ‘vaccine diplomacy’ push to fight Covid-19 Beijing is offering loans and priority access to developing countries for vaccinations as they move to large-scale trials As richer nations scramble for early doses manufacturing constraints likely to cause shortages for years

China is home to four of the world’s five largest unicorns, led by Alibaba’s Ant Group Ant Group, the digital financial services arm of Alibaba, had a US$150 billion valuation to top the rankings of this year’s Hurun Global Unicorn Index The total value of all known unicorns in the world is US$1.9 trillion, equivalent to the GDP of Italy

Shenzhen should be elevated to same administrative status as Beijing, academics say Hong Kong’s neighbour and other cities should become centrally administered municipalities, updating regional structure drawn up in 1960s, article argues Change would bring greater resources and clout – but the proposal, floated before, is not official policy

China’s migrant workers facing end of an era as the world’s factory winds down amid coronavirus, US-China trade war China’s 290 million migrant workers have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus having already been under pressure from the US-China trade war One worker, Rao Dequn, has worked for 25 years in Chinese factories making goods for overseas markets, but will lose her job in less than a month

Coronavirus News (211)

China's Xi Jinping facing widespread opposition in his own party, insider claims Exclusive: Cai Xia, who has been expelled from the elite Central Party School, says president’s ‘unchecked power’ has made China ‘the enemy of the world’  .............  “When no one can oppose him, that means that his power is unlimited,” she said. “He has made the world an enemy. At home, all these big issues are left to him to decide. In other words, whether it is a domestic or international issue, it is very difficult for others to restrict him. It is inevitable that his judgment and decisions will be mistaken. “It is a vicious cycle. After a wrong decision is made, the result is not good. But those below are too afraid to tell him and wrong decisions continue to be made until the situation is out of control. In this vicious cycle, there is no way to stop the country from sliding towards disaster.” ...............  Cai said she believed that discontent within the party was widespread, especially among her generation as well as among middle and higher-level officials who came up through the party during China’s reform era under Deng Xiaoping, and later as China fully integrated into the global economy following its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.

'He killed a party and a country': a Chinese insider hits out at Xi Jinping An edited transcript of an interview with Cai Xia, who was expelled from the Communist party on Monday .............  For years, Cai Xia, a former professor at China’s elite Central Party School, has watched the ruling Communist party decay from the inside. Now she is out. ............  her describing the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, as a “mafia boss” was leaked online. ............   the Communist party of China has become a political zombie. The party has no ability to correct errors. So he singlehandedly killed a party and a country, showing that even when confronted with such a major question of altering the constitution, the party has no power to stop him. ...........  When no one can oppose him, that means that his power is unchecked. Under the Chinese system, starting with Mao, no one can restrict or limit the power of the highest leader. That is why you had disasters like the Cultural Revolution. .............    You can see the confrontation between China and the United States. He has made the world an enemy. At home, all these big issues are left to him to decide. ...........  he wants to consolidate his own position and authority. ............  up to now China has not even said a real death number. Actually, the disaster for Chinese people has already begun. There is large-scale unemployment, soaring commodity prices, and the people at the bottom cannot survive. .........  As long as you express a different opinion, you are in violation of party discipline, and he can use that to deal with you. Before, you could still speak out and you would be subjected to enormous pressure, but they couldn’t prevent you from speaking. ............  China is bound to go through political transformation, toward democracy, political freedom, rule of law and constitutionalism. This is the inevitable trend of modern human political civilisation. China will enter this stage sooner or later. ..............  Between 1959 to 1961, nearly 40 million people starved to death. The anti-rightist movement of 1957 and the Cultural Revolution hurt almost all Chinese elites and intellectuals. Also the Tiananmen protests in 1989 when the CCP used its army to shoot the peoplpandee. No matter what, this is unacceptable to Chinese people. .............  Democracy, freedom and the rule of law, are the most basic values and expectations of human. People yearn for freedom and freedom is only possible when people’s rights are protected, right? To protect these rights you need a system based on democracy and rule of law. Only when human rights are protected, can people be free, and freedom is human nature. .................  Now it is completely impossible for people to organise. WeChat groups are shut down every day. The CCP is using epidemic prevention as an excuse to increase high-tech surveillance of people. They can imprison you for any little thing. ............  the international community can do more to fight China’s authoritarian system in terms of human rights by pushing for the first and most basic human right – freedom of speech.  

CNN Poll: Most Americans embarrassed by US response to coronavirus

Italy at a crossroads as fears grow of Covid-19 second wave New infections are rising, raising questions over lockdown easing and planned reopening of schools