Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Frontier and Spirit merge, Baise and Heihe Omicron, Trump on China

 Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on airline management, disease control, CCP, U.S., cargo transport industry

News (1)

Frontier, Spirit Airlines merge to form fifth-largest airline




Two U.S. budget airline giants, Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines, have announced a merger that is expected to become the fifth largest airline in the United States.

Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines announced Monday that they have reached a merger agreement in a $6.6 billion deal that would make the two companies the fifth-largest U.S. airline.

Combined, they will offer more than 1,000 daily flights to more than 145 destinations.

What has not yet been determined is the new name of the airline, the choice of its chief executive and the location of the airline's headquarters after the merger.

Frontier Airlines will own 51.5% of the combined company, while Spirit Airlines will own the remaining 48.5%.

The merger is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.

News (2)

The first case! Patient with itchy skin after vaccinated with Medigen gets 5,000 NTD relief

Reporter : Xu Huizhu /  news.tvbs.com.tw/life/1709993

Among the 46 cases reviewed by the Vaccination Victim Relief Review Group of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in mid-January, 3 cases were determined to be related to vaccines, including 70,000 NTD for one who received the AZ vaccine in Chiayi County; 30,000 NTD for one who died after receiving the Moderna vaccine in Tainan. 10,000 NTD in relief funds, and one person in Chiayi received Medigen vaccine MVC-COV1901. Because of itchy skin, he received relief of 5,000 NTD, becoming the first case of Medigen vaccine victim relief! 

According to the latest record of the Vaccination Victim Relief Review Group in mid-January, after reviewing 46 cases, of which 33 were vaccinated with AZ and 10 with Moderna, a total of 43 cases were determined to have symptoms unrelated to the vaccine, or symptoms related but mild and common dizziness and rash. So there is no relief, and there are only 3 cases of relief.

After Case 3139 in Chiayi was vaccinated with AZ, the doctor diagnosed myocarditis, and the case was judged to be related to the vaccination, and a relief fund of 70,000 NTD was issued.

Case 2586 in Tainan, after receiving the Moderna vaccine, developed chest pain, body aches, difficulty in breathing, and then lost consciousness and died. Excluding the possibility of myocarditis, a relief fund of 300,000 NTD was granted.

Case 3184 in Chiayi suffered from atopic dermatitis and also received a relief fund of 5,000 NTD. 

Liao Yuwei, Director of Health of Chiayi, said, "On 24 August, the first dose of MVC-COV1901 was given. On 2 October, the second dose was given. After that, the symptoms of skin itching appeared. In mid-November, I helped deliver the package."

News (3) to (12) / Reporter : Li Jinfeng / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/02/08/a103342317.html

News (3)

The first lockdown of the Year of the Tiger, Nearly 4 million people in Guangxi live at home, and the traffic lights in Longlin are all red

Image : Residents line up to receive vaccines in Rong'an, southern Guangxi, China, June 3, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)


At present, the epidemic situation in Baise, Guangxi has increased sharply, and the number of confirmed cases has exceeded 100. Since 7 February 2022, Baise has been locked down, and the local epidemic control has been upgraded.

The CCP official reported on 8 February 2022 that Baise added 64 new confirmed cases and 2 asymptomatic infections throughout the day on 7 February. Previously, officials said that there were 6 new cases in Baise throughout the day on 5 February, and 37 new cases throughout the day on the 6th. That is to say, from the 5th to the 7th at 12 am, the number of cases in Baise has reached 109.

Because the CCP has always covered up the truth, the outside world has generally questioned the authenticity of the figures.

News (4)

Lights turn red in Longlin County, Baise

On 7 February, the Public Security Bureau of Longlin Autonomous County of Baise City announced that according to the quarantine requirements, the traffic lights at the intersections in the city have been turned to red lights. All those who do not comply with the notice requirements and do not self-quarantine at home will be regarded as running a red light.

News (5)

New round of nucleic acid testing in Baise on 7 February

CCP media reported that Debao County, Baise is scheduled to carry out a new round of nucleic acid testing on the spot for the permanent residents and foreigners in the area on 7 February. At the same time, Baise has strengthened control measures according to the changes in the epidemic situation.

News (6)

Baise suspends driver test businesses

Baise suspends the city's vehicle driving control and off-site traffic violation handling window business, and suspends the city's motor vehicle driver test businesses (including all subjects of automobiles and motorcycles).

The Debao County Government Service Center in Baise City has also suspended services from 7 February. Vehicles transporting materials in Baise need a permit to pass.

News (7)

Students prohibited from returning to or leaving Baise

In principle, students who have returned to study outside the city during the winter vacation are "not allowed in or out". Those employed in the city need to be approved before they can pass.

Those returning from high-risk areas need to be quarantined for 21 days, and those returning from low-risk areas need to be quarantined for 14 days.

News (8)

Citizen from Shenzhen spreads Omicron to Baise

Previously, the official notification stated that the first case of the epidemic in Baise was a returnee from Shenzhen. Specimens from two of the patients tested for the Omicron virus strain.

News (9)

Baise cancels all flights on 8 February 2022

A staff member on duty at Baise Bama Airport told The Epoch Times on the 7th that the epidemic situation in Baise was very serious. Starting from 8 February 2022, the airport canceled all incoming and outgoing flights.

From the early morning of the 7th, the whole city of Baise will carry out traffic control. In principle, vehicles and people will not enter or exit, and between the counties and urban areas of Baise City, between the towns and towns within the counties and urban areas, and between the towns and towns in the counties, urban areas and towns. The interior is also not necessarily immobile.

At the same time, people in the city were asked to isolate at home. All schools and various training institutions are closed, and public transportation is suspended. Except for supermarkets, farmers' markets, hospitals, and pharmacies that ensure the supply of livelihood materials, all other business premises will be closed.

News (10)

Panic in Baise after lockdown

This is another city closure in CCP China since the Year of the Tiger after Xi'an was closed. Baise  has about 3.57 million residents.

Ms. Wei, a resident of Longlin County, Baise, told NTDTV on the 7th, "The whole Baise is sealed off, you can't go in, you can't go out, you can't move around, the shops are also closed, and the small hotel is also a quarantine hotel. Now, close contacts They are all staying in the hotel. After entering, they will be tested (nucleic acid) every day. The government arranged it, and we can't go out now."

Baise residents were panicked by the sudden epidemic. Ms. Lin, a merchant from Baise Jingxi City, said, "I don't know what will happen tomorrow or wait a while. There is no notification now, and we don't know... We don't know what will happen in the next second, because the epidemic is serious now, and everyone does not know the next step. What's the plan?"

At present, Debao County, Baise City has delineated one medium and high risk area, 3 closed control areas, 3 control areas, and the whole area is a prevention area. Youjiang District, Tianyang District, Jingxi City, Longlin County in Baise, and Jiangnan District of Nanning  delineate sealed control areas and prevention areas.

It is reported that the lcokdown and control area is to stay at home, under the control area residents do not leave the area, and the prevention area strengthens social control.

Baise is located in the west of Guangxi, adjacent to Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and northern Vietnam, 266 kilometers away from Nanning, the capital of Guangxi.

News (11)

Nanning closes roads and communities

In fact, Nanning was also affected by the Baise epidemic and began to close roads and communities.

Mr. Zhao of Nanning told The Epoch Times on 7 February 2022 that from the evening of the 6th to the present (at 7 pm on the 7th), Nanning has been relatively nervous. Roads and communities are closed, and the passenger stations around the community where he lives have been suspended. 

News (12)

Long queues for nucleic acid testing in Baise

He said that some large hospitals have long queues for nucleic acid testing and some communities have also begun to do nucleic acid testing.

In addition, in the evening of the 6th, Liu Ning, secretary of the Guangxi Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and director of the Standing Committee of the Autonomous Region People's Congress, said that the epidemic prevention and control situation in Baise is very serious.

News (13)

There is a risk of spillover from the epidemic in these places! The latest research and judgment of the National Health Commission

According to CCTV news, on 8 February, the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held a press conference to introduce the situation of epidemic prevention and control during and after the Spring Festival.

During the Spring Festival, the epidemic situation across the country remained generally stable, and localized clustered epidemics were handled quickly and effectively.

The epidemic situation in Beijing and Tianjin is generally under control. In the epidemic situation in Heihe, Heilongjiang, 7 infected people have been reported. The virus sequence results of the infected people show that the virus is the Omicron variant. This epidemic is a local infection caused by a new overseas import source. In the epidemic, the infected people have more activities before they are controlled, and there is a certain risk of spread and spillover.

The Guangdong-Shenzhen-related epidemic has spread to 9 cities in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan. Among them, the epidemic in Yunfu, Huizhou, Meizhou, Heyuan and other places in Guangdong has been controlled.

On 6 February 2022, 2 cases of infection were found in the control area of ​​Shenzhen, indicating that the epidemic still has the risk of spreading. The epidemic affecting Baise, Guangxi is in the stage of rapid rise. More than 80% of the infected people in this epidemic live in the same natural village, and the spatial clustering is obvious. 

Due to the long hidden transmission time in the community, the many movement trajectories, and the flow of people during the Spring Festival, the risk of further spread and spread is relatively high. It is necessary to complete the investigation and control of risk personnel, speed up the nucleic acid screening in risk areas, and identify the source of infection in the community as soon as possible.

The spillover cases spread from Baise to Nanning in Guangxi and Guangzhou have many trajectories before being controlled, and there is a risk of epidemic spread and spillover.

Only 1 case has been reported in Shaoyang, Hunan. At present, the overall risk is not high but it needs to be closely watched.

The working group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council has dispatched a working group to Guangxi as soon as possible to establish a flat command system in conjunction with the local area, and promote the implementation of measures such as regional nucleic acid screening, flow investigation traceability, and risk population screening, so as to bring the epidemic under control as soon as possible. 

News (14)

Trump on Afghanistan withdrawal: "China is going to have Bagram"

Reporters : Frank Fang, Kash's Corner, The Epoch Times PREMIUM


Former President Donald Trump says the United States should have never abandoned Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan last year, given its strategic location in relation to China.

“I would have kept Bagram; it has always been my plan to keep Bagram,” Trump told former top White House aide Kash Patel on his EpochTV’s “Kash’s Corner” program. The interview will premiere at 8 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 7.

“It’s right next to China. It is one hour away from where they build their nuclear weapons.”

“How can you lose Bagram?” Trump asked during the interview, before adding “China is going to have Bagram.”

Bagram Air Base, the largest airfield in Afghanistan, was the heart of American military power in Afghanistan for nearly two decades before it was taken over by the Taliban last year. One of the construction projects completed by the United States at the airfield is a 12,000 foot (3,660 meters) runway, which opened in 2016 at the cost of $68 million. The airbase is about an hours’ drive from the Afghan capital Kabul.

The U.S. airfield was determined by the Pentagon to be neither tactically nor operationally necessary, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told a congressional hearing in late June 2021.

Less than two weeks later, the U.S. military left Bagram airfield. What ensued was the now widely-criticized chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in mid-August.

A recent report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) revealed that China has been secretly building three missile silo fields near Yumen, Hami, and Orodos in western China, the region that neighbors Afghanistan. The report concluded that China is engaging in an “unprecedented nuclear buildup” and China’s total Intercontinental ballistic missile force “could potentially exceed that of either Russia and the United States in the foreseeable future.”

Dan Steiner, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and global strategist, previously told The Epoch Times that keeping Bagram airfield, given its proximity to China, would have given the United States a “strategic advantage” in contending with threats posed by Beijing.

“The way they withdrew from Afghanistan was like we were the gang that couldn’t shoot straight,” Trump said. “I think it’s the most embarrassing day or week in the history of our country.”

In the aftermath of the Taliban’s swift takeover of Kabul, the Chinese regime seized on the event to embark on an aggressive propaganda campaign to label the United States as an unreliable ally and delegitimize American democracy.

Trump also claimed that Beijing has now acquired U.S. military weapons that were left behind from the withdrawal, and the communist regime is now “studying” and “re-engineering” them.

“You have to get strong with China. You have to do tariffs. You have to do a lot of different things,” Trump said.

News (15)

Trump to restart construction of the wall on the southern border if re-elected President

Reporter : Ivan Pentchoukov, The Epoch Times PREMIUM

Former President Donald Trump said that if he wins the presidency again, his first executive action would be to restart construction of the wall on the southern U.S. border.

The president told EpochTV’s “Kash’s Corner” on 31 January that completing the wall has a significance that extends beyond domestic policy because it would project an image of strength to China’s Xi Jinping and other world leaders.

“First of all, the wall, even for him,” Trump said referring to Xi. “You know why? Because when he sees millions of people pouring into our country, he loses respect for our country.” The interview premieres at 8 pm Eastern time on 7 February.

“When [he] and Putin and Kim Jong Un and Iran’s leaders, when they’re watching millions of people walk into our country … they lose respect.”

President Joe Biden rescinded or froze dozens of Trump’s border policies upon taking office in January last year. The relaxed policies have led to a flood of illegal aliens crossing the border in volumes unseen for decades.

Border Patrol agents apprehended 1.9 million illegal crossers in 2021, four times as many as were apprehended in 2020 under Trump. The number of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.–Mexico border reached an all-time high in 2021.

Biden froze the construction of the wall with an executive order issued on the day of his inauguration. Millions of dollars worth of materials have languished in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas since and could now be sold for scrap for pennies on the dollar. The wall’s accompanying roads, cameras, and sensors have remained uninstalled or unfinished.

Building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border was a Trump signature campaign promise. Democrats in Congress fought against funding the project tooth and nail and at one point shut down the government to block money for construction. Trump prevailed and, by the time he left office, the government built more than 450 miles of wall. More than 200 miles of fencing were under construction when Trump left the White House.

“It’s so easy. You close it up, you’ve got to close it up. And that would send a big signal, a really big signal,” Trump told Epoch TV.

“And then you’ve got to get their respect again. How do you do that?” the former president added. “You do that by making sure that they know that this country is here, and it’s here to stay and we’re not going to take any nonsense.”

Biden called the border situation a “crisis” in April last year, but the White House later walked it back and has refused to use the word publicly since.

News (16)

Trump slams Pence, challenges his comments about January 6
Video
Ottawa declared a state of emergency as riot police entered a truckers camp. Bannon dropped a heavyweight, accusing the FBI. The J6 defendant asked Trump to testify in court. Is President Trump in trouble? Reshaping the Republican RNC, President Trump will welcome the dawn.
News (17)
Medigen booster warrior! Caramel "does not mix": Taiwan is honoured to have its own domestic vaccine
"Brother Caramel" Chen Jiaxing, who intends to represent the DPP in the election of Taipei City Shilin Beitou District Councilor, completed his third Medigen vaccine dose of MVC-COV1901 early this 8 February 2022. He called, "Taiwan has its own domestic vaccine, which is very honorable."
Chen Jiaxing, who moved from the entertainment industry to the political arena, ran the schedule. This year, he was so busy that he did not even have time to go home for the New Year's Eve dinner. According to the "Minshi News Network" report, today he wore a vest for the election and went to the vaccination station. He chose Medigen vaccine MVC-COV1901 as his booster. As for why he didn't consider mixed vaccination, Chen Jiaxing said that there were no side effects in the previous two doses of MVC-COV1901, and now running the schedule requires a lot of physical strength. Therefore, he selected Medigen.
去年陳嘉行表示高端疫苗完全沒有副作用。(圖/翻攝自陳嘉行臉書) 高端戰士第3劑!焦糖「不混打」:台灣有國產疫苗很光榮
Image downloaded from : Chen Jiaxing Facebook
After Chen Jiaxing finished the first dose of MVC-COV2902 in August 2021, he once said that except that the injection place was a little hot, there was no discomfort at all. Regarding some netizens who mocked Medigen vaccine users as "new four-dose fighters", he emphasized that some countries are also allowing Medigen vaccine users to enter. "We are very proud of Medigen vaccine users. Taiwan has its own domestic vaccine."
News (18)
625 new covid cases in Hong Kong on 8 February 2022
Hong Kong reported 625 new covid cases, a new high.
Zhang Zhujun, director of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection, said that many patients belonged to cross-family infection clusters, and at least 19 large clusters of infection involved more than 10 people, some of which were spread in the dining room of relatives and friends and the workplace. In addition, employees or residents of many nursing homes have been infected.
The director of health of the Hong Kong government, Lin Wenjian, said that there have been more than 2,600 cases in the past two weeks, of which 898 were of unknown origin, and 33 buildings were confirmed to have vertical or horizontal transmission.
The authorities will start the anti-epidemic plan at home from now on, and arrange for close contacts and sub-close contacts to undergo 14-day and 4-day home quarantine respectively.
News (19)
U.S. approves $100 million in arms sales to Taiwan to curb CCP’s military attack on Taiwan
Image: On 16 July 2021, the United States and Australia held the 2021 Talisman Sabre exercise, launching Patriot missiles. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Trevor Wild, 38th ADA BDE Public Affairs.)

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on 7 February (U.S. time) that the State Department has decided to approve the sale of equipment and services worth about $100 million to Taiwan to help improve the Patriot missile system. According to media analysis, the Beijing authorities may attack Taiwan by force after the Winter Olympics, and the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are intended to deter the CCP’s military threat.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement that after the State Department approved the arms sale, it had submitted the required certification and notified the U.S. Congress, according to Reuters.
"The proposed arms sale will help maintain the recipient's missile density and ensure readiness for air action," the statement said. "The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and strengthen homeland defense. The recipient will not It is difficult to integrate these equipment and services into its armed forces."
The statement said the proposed arms sale complies with the Taiwan Relations Act and serves U.S. national interests. "The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and help maintain political stability, military balance, economy and progress in the region," the statement added.
The prime contractor for the sale is Andover, Massachusetts-based Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
The Associated Press said that the Biden administration’s announcement during the Beijing Winter Olympics may have strategic intentions.
The media pointed out that the Beijing Winter Olympics were "full of nationalist frenzy," and some analysts feared that the CCP might attempt to take Taiwan by force after the Olympics. Chinese warplanes have also entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone more frequently in recent months.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry also thanked the U.S. side for the arms sale, noting that the deal is expected to "take effect" within a month.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this is the second arms sale to Taiwan under the Biden administration, which fully demonstrates that the United States attaches great importance to Taiwan's defense needs and continues the policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan in recent years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that in the face of the CCP's continued military expansion and provocative behavior, it will continue to deepen the close security partnership between Taiwan and the United States to contribute to the long-term peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.
News (20)
New livery of JD Airlines / JD Express
Weibo blogger @Samuel_Zhang posted the first cargo plane livery of new Chinese cargo airline JD Airlines / JD Express.
Weibo Aviation V@FATIII said that the 737-800 was originally leased by Xiamen Airlines from a general aircraft leasing company and is now 15 years old.




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