Child hepatitis, epidemic profiteering in Shanghai, Joe Biden's tax evasion

Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on disease control, U.S., CCP, Russia, Poland, Bulgaria

News (1)

WHO notifies countries about children suffering from unidentified acute hepatitis, child hepatitis in Shanghai exposed

Image of children separated from their parents and quarantined together in Shanghai : Composite Web Screenshot

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 100 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children have been reported worldwide, and at least one death has been reported. According to online news, children in Shanghai, where the epidemic broke out, were also infected with similar hepatitis, leading to liver failure.

On 23 April 2022, local time, the World Health Organization announced that cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin are increasing among children, and at least one child death has been reported. A total of 12 countries have reported at least 169 cases in children, 114 of them in the UK. Other countries reporting cases include the United States, Spain, Israel, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, France, Romania and Belgium. On 26 April 2022, Japan reported that it has a possible case of child hepatitis but it is yet to be confirmed.

In early April, the UK began reporting cases of severe acute hepatitis of unknown etiology in children under 10 years of age, with symptoms including jaundice, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. All known viral hepatitis has been ruled out after laboratory testing.

The WHO has reported that as of 8 April 2022, 74 related cases have been detected in the UK, of which 6 children have received liver transplants. SARS-CoV-2 or adenovirus have been detected in some cases, and in others with both viruses.

On 26 April 2022, chat records of suspected medical staff were also reported on the Chinese Internet. It was revealed that in Shanghai, a three-year-old child was also found to be infected with unexplained hepatitis, jaundice and rapid liver failure. "It is estimated that it is not easy to treat." . The child was infected with the Omicron variant.

Image : Web Screenshot

The related news caused heated discussions online. Some netizens said that with the covi outbreak in mainland China, if there are more children infected with unknown hepatitis, it will be worse.

A netizen even noted in 1988, there was the Shanghai hepatitis which infected 30,000 Shanghainese.

Image : Web Screenshot.

Ref: https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/26/a103410763.html

News (2)

Joe Biden has unexplained income of about $5.2 million

Reporter : Josh Boswell, Daily Mail / https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10728521/Financial-records-reveal-Joe-Biden-5-2million-unexplained-income.html / Image : Web Screenshot

Joe Biden agreed to pay son Hunter's legal fees for his deal with a Chinese government-controlled company, emails reveal.

The revelation ties the president even closer to Hunter's overseas business dealings – and makes his previous claims that he never discussed them with his son, even less plausible.

Joe was able to pay the bills after earning millions of dollars through his and his wife's companies after he left office as vice president.

Some of the wave of cash came from their book deals and speaking engagements. 

But the president's financial filings reveal that he declared almost $7 million more income on his tax returns than he did on his government transparency reports, an analysis by DailyMail.com of the president's financial records shows.

Some of that difference can be accounted for with salaries earned by First Lady Jill Biden and other sums not required on his reports – but still leaves $5.2 million earned by Joe's company and not listed on his transparency reports. 

The "missing millions" – combined with emails on Hunter's abandoned laptop suggesting Joe would have a 10% share in Hunter's blockbuster deal with the Chinese – raise a troubling question: Did Joe Biden receive money from the foreign venture?

In January 2019, Hunter's assistant Katie Dodge wrote an email to book-keeper Linda Shapero and Biden aide Richard Ruffner, saying Joe had agreed to pay his hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills.

"I spoke with Hunter today regarding his bills. It is my understanding that Hunt's dad will cover these bills in the short-term as Hunter transitions in his career," Dodge said.

The assistant attached a spreadsheet of bills with the email, totaling $737,130.61.

One of the last items was $28,000 in legal fees for the "restructuring" of Hunter's joint venture with the government-controlled Bank of China.

The spreadsheet listed the bill as "Faegre Baker Daniels: BHR Restructuring" costing $28,382 and due 'ASAP'.

Bohai Harvest RST (BHR) is a private equity firm and one of Hunter's two major Chinese business ventures. The joint venture was co-owned by the state-controlled Bank of China.

Hunter's personal attorney, George Mesires, is a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, now called Faegre Drinker.

A separate October 2018 invoice from the law firm shows Hunter spent a total $68,933.41 on the 'restructuring' beginning in September 2016.

The same year Joe took on these bills from Hunter, he promised that 'No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country.'

Yet not only did Hunter hold on to his 10% share of BHR through 2021, confirmed by White House press secretary Jen Psaki last February, the emails also indicate Joe knew about it, and even agreed to pay Hunter's legal fees for the firm.

The bills also include $412,309.23 in unpaid taxes dating back to 2015.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that Hunter had taken out a million-dollar loan to pay his delinquent tax bill in an apparent effort to stave off an alleged tax fraud prosecution.

Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who along with Senator Chuck Grassley is investigating Hunter's foreign business deals, said Joe Biden's unaccounted-for millions are 'another disturbing piece of information that raises questions that deserve answers.'

'When will the corporate media start doing their job and ask President Biden these questions?' he said. 'And when will President Biden start being honest with the public? The American people deserve the truth.'

Iowa Republican Grassley told DailyMail.com, "Evidence of the president's financial and business connections to Hunter continues to grow. It's imperative for the first family to show the American people the transparency that they deserve."

The president's son is under federal investigation for tax offenses, money laundering and illegal lobbying for foreign clients.

Joe's financial transparency disclosures show that he had more than enough money to foot Hunter's burgeoning bills.

While in office Joe had a relatively modest income, but he enjoyed a flood of millions of dollars soon after he left office, much of which came from his memoir book deal and eye-watering speaking fees.

Between 2017 and 2019 he and First Lady Jill Biden reported $16.5 million in gross income on their federal tax returns, released by the Biden campaign.

The vast majority came from their two companies, CelticCapri Corp and Giacoppa Corp, which they use for speaking and writing engagements.

But in Office of Government Ethics (OGE) fillings for the same period, Joe only reported $9.6 million in income for himself and his wife.

Some of the remaining roughly $7 million came from wages earned by the First Lady from her Northern Virginia Community College teaching job and a salary she paid herself from Giacoppa, which the couple were not required to report to the OGE.

Hunter’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski claimed he met with Joe Biden to discuss a business deal with the Chinese 

However, a comparison of the income reported by Joe from his CelticCapri company on OGE reports versus what he told the IRS, shows a difference of almost $5.2million which remains unaccounted for.

No conclusive evidence has yet emerged that Joe profited from any of Hunter’s business deals but the potential discrepancy in the president’s financial filings, and his alleged links to Hunter’s Chinese ventures, raise troubling questions over where the unexplained $5,180,071 came from.

Joe's OGE filing submitted in July 2019 shows around $8,699,787 of income for him and Jill from 2017 through May 2019. This includes $7,451,727 which he said came from CelticCapri Corp.

His OGE form submitted in May 2020 added another $907,160 that wasn't paid until after their 2019 report, bringing the total for the period to $9,606,947, and the total for CelticCapri to $8,065,464.

Joe's 2017 federal tax return shows $11 million of adjusted gross income, almost $4.6 million in 2018, and $985,233 in 2019. That's a total of about $16.5 million – some $6,990,032 more than what was listed on his OGE forms.

Joe’s tax returns detail income from CelticCapri of $9,636,690 in 2017, $3,030,667 in 2018 and $578,178 in 2019, making a total of $13,245,535.

This is $5,180,071 more than the CelticCapri earnings he reported on his OGE forms.

The OGE forms do not give precise figures for many of the couple's assets, only rough value ranges.

But according to Joe's form for 2015 while he was vice president, he and Jill reported assets worth between $317,028 and $1,080,000. By July 2019, the couple had assets worth between $2,237,033 and $7,955,000.

The figures show an increase in assets of at least $1,157,033 – and could be as much as $7,637,972.

It is clear from the president's tax returns that his income largely came through his firm, CelticCapri Corp. Some of it is itemized on his OGE forms as being earned from speaking engagements and a book deal for his memoir, Promise Me, Dad. But where the remaining $5.2 million money came from remains a mystery.

In a now-infamous email sent by Hunter's business partner James Gilliar in May 2017, it was suggested 10% of the equity in their joint venture with Chinese oil giant CEFC would be "held by H for the big guy".

Another partner in the deal, Tony Bobulinski, has claimed that the message meant Hunter would secretly hold the shares for his father, who was involved in the deal.

Several other emails on Hunter's laptop refer to Joe as "the big guy".

A report by Grassley and Johnson in September 2020 uncovered $5 million in wire transfers from Hunter's Chinese partners to a company controlled by the president's son.

One of the CEFC executives, Patrick Ho, also paid Hunter a $1 million retainer to represent him over a Department of Justice bribery prosecution.

In an audio-recorded conversation stored on Hunter's laptop, the president's son referred to Ho as the "f***ing spy chief of China'".

Ho did indeed appear to have ties to Chinese intelligence agencies, as he was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant aimed at investigating potential foreign spies but Hunter’s claim that Ho was the ‘spy chief of China’ - or a senior Chinese intelligence officer - has not been proven. 

Video

[Dialogues] Zhu Rongji's astonishing self-exposure of the CCP generals' 100 billion corruption, Putin and Xi Jinping are no more, and the military is structurally flawed 

Zhu Rongji made an astonishing exposure that hundreds of billions of CCP generals are corrupt; Putin and Xi Jinping are gone, and the military is structurally flawed; the military spent on yachts, and the former Russian foreign minister said that "you can only lie to the president"; Defective "friendly neighbours" specially supplied to the Russian military intelligence bureau; Indian army stones smashed through CCP military vehicles.

Ref: https://www.youtube.com/embed/aCxzl2GUb1, https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/27/a103411042.html

News (3) to (4) / Reporters : Li Jing and Luo Ya / Editor : Li Qiong / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/4/26/n13721214.htm

News (3)

Shanghai famine, the CCP grassroots use group buying for profiteering exposed

Image : On 26 April  2022, in Jing'an District, Shanghai, authorities deployed police officers on the streets to prevent and control them. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

During the lockdown of Shanghai, donations from all over the country continued to be sent to Shanghai but the news that Shanghai citizens fell into the plight of famine continued to be exposed. According to various sources, the grassroots personnel of the CCP took advantage of the authorities’ strict epidemic prevention and control measures to make huge profits in terms of supply guarantees and group purchases. An insider disclosed that some people who belong to the government's insurance supply unit can earn 300,000 RMB a day through community group purchases.

News (4)

Volunteers: The insurance supply unit is rich or poor, it needs to be related

Image : Web Screenshot

Recently, screenshots of the conversation between a volunteer named Shuaijun and netizens in Shanghai have been widely circulated in the circle of friends. This screenshot of the conversation shows that the volunteer held a certificate issued by the Volunteer Association (under the leadership of the Shanghai Municipal Civilization Commission) with a registration date of 30 March 2022, after the Shanghai authorities announced the city's "closure". He was registered shortly.

According to Shuai Jun, he is affiliated with a security supply unit and supplies scarce supplies to the community, with a daily income of 10,000 RMB.

He mentioned, "I hope the epidemic will not end."

Shuaijun also explained that he is not responsible for community group purchases. Using the official pass, he can transport 500 cigarettes into Shanghai every day, and then sell them through community group purchase channels, earning 100 RMB each.

He said, "My current guarantee unit is set by the government, and the pass is also issued by the government, all of which are issued by the government, so I compare it with that, you know, the person who asked me to go, he made 300,000 a day."

Regarding the inside story of the guarantee, a community volunteer in Shanghai told The Epoch Times, "The community and the streets have temporary passes that allow you to go out, and the guarantee list is issued by the government, at least up to the district government, city government. government."

The volunteer said, "The biggest problem now is that there are materials outside, but you can't enter the community. If you want to enter the community, you must participate in community group purchases, or participate in group purchases organized by the government, and you will be slaughtered by others. I I feel that the government just does not want everyone to buy cheap food and normal price food.”

"Group buying team leader" asked, "Which suppliers can enter the community?"

After the closure of Shanghai, the authorities implemented the CCP's strict policy of "dynamic clearing" the epidemic, which caused serious secondary disasters, and people complained.

Recently, a video released by a "group buying team leader" named Yingying has been circulating on the Internet. In the video, Yingying revealed that in this Shanghai epidemic, some people are busy fighting the epidemic, and some people are driving up prices to make the country difficult to make money.

She said that people can hardly get vegetables in regular shopping channels. She organized group purchases of milk and vegetables in her community. Because of her special status as the group leader, she saw many inside stories in group purchases, including sellers driving up prices, giving the head of the shopping commission, etc.

The "head" asks the following questions in the video:

The first question is, since the outbreak of the epidemic in Shanghai in mid-March, it has now been mid-April, and prices are basically so high. Why can't the basic price problem be solved after a month?

Second, after the outbreak of the epidemic in Shanghai, all parts of the country donated a lot of materials, including a lot of fruits and vegetables. Why are these commodities still in short supply?

Third, why can't you buy vegetables at all in conventional shopping channels? And the high-priced dishes in the group buying in the community will always be in stock?

Fourth, which suppliers can obtain the qualifications for vegetables and fruits to enter the community? Are there open and transparent standards? Is there a problem of power rent seeking?

On 23 April, a video of "a regiment leader in Shanghai living in isolation" circulated on the Internet. In the video, a man in Shanghai shared his life in isolation at home. At that time, the man was eating hot pot, but when he turned the camera, not only were there a pile of beef and mutton rolls on the floor of his house, but the room was also full of various kinds of materials.

In the video, the man said that 20 days ago, he was also very poor, and even ate soy sauce bibimbap at one point. Since becoming the head of (community group buying), life has ushered in earth-shaking changes. For this reason, the man joked that he was embarrassed to tell his friends that he was quarantined in Shanghai.

In addition to the above-mentioned inside stories from the supply guarantee units and group purchasers, many citizens filmed videos to disclose the corrupt behaviour of the CCP’s grassroots party organizations—neighborhood committees and other officials who participated in selling donated materials to community residents at high prices.

In a video, a citizen opened a donated vegetable box and said, "Let's take a look. This is the vegetable that the neighborhood committee sent us a notice saying that it was too rotten and could not be sent to us." There was also a red paper in the box. The picture shows that it is the materials donated by Wuxi.

In the video, while checking the vegetables inside, the citizen said, "The radish is good, and the green vegetables are also good. We don't know where it is rotten?"

On 25 April, in another video called "New Century Fugitive Style", the neighborhood committee of Hongqiao Street, Changning District, Shanghai distributed 20 kg of rice to each building, and each family was given more than one kg of rice. Some citizens sarcastically said, " I really treat people as begging. If the rice is cooked and then sent, it will be more like it."

News (5)

(Shanghai War Epidemic Record) Traditional Chinese medicine fights the epidemic: Shanghai distributes traditional Chinese medicine decoction to more than 4 million people

Reporter : Chen Jing / Editor : Huang Yuhan / https://www.chinanews.com.cn/sh/2022/04-26/9740169.shtml / Image : Shanghai has optimized the intervention plan and organized experts to formulate new prescriptions such as "Fuzheng Anti-epidemic Recipe", which further improved the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine intervention. Photo courtesy of Shanghai Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine

In this round of epidemic prevention and control, traditional Chinese medicine has always played an important role, not only in the treatment of patients with covi infection but traditional Chinese medicine has never been absent. It has also become a "standard" among high-risk groups.

Since March, Shanghai has continued to promote the full coverage of the whole population with traditional Chinese medicine preventive prescriptions, in order to give full play to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of covid, and strive to establish a solid traditional Chinese medicine immune barrier. Recently, Shanghai has launched nine major actions to tackle tough problems, and the traditional Chinese medicine intervention action is one of them. So far, Shanghai has distributed traditional Chinese medicine decoction to more than 4 million people.

The Shanghai Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine introduced on 26 April 2022 that this traditional Chinese medicine intervention will focus on the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine intervention prescriptions to high-risk groups such as positive infections in the same building and unit, people in old communities, community workers, and volunteers; Distribute traditional Chinese medicine intervention prescriptions to groups such as colleges and universities and construction sites. It is understood that Shanghai has optimized the intervention plan and organized experts to formulate new prescriptions such as "Fuzheng Anti-epidemic Prescription", which further improved the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine intervention.

In the traditional Chinese medicine intervention action, the staff extended the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine interventions from "static" residential quarters and enterprise units to "dynamic" groups such as personnel in logistics guarantee sites and emergency transportation and distribution personnel. It is reported that the Shanghai Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine has distributed nearly 30,000 copies of preventive traditional Chinese medicine to a number of e-commerce companies. It is reported that in this operation, the personnel of the logistics distribution site and the takeaway delivery brother were also included in the key objects of traditional Chinese medicine intervention.

"One old and one young" are people who need careful care in epidemic prevention and control. The elderly often suffer from lack of righteousness, depletion of viscera, poor qi and blood, stagnation of phlegm and blood stasis and other basic diseases. At present, the Shanghai Municipal and District Health Commissions and the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in coordination with the civil affairs department, have distributed 80,000 copies of traditional Chinese medicine preventive decoction to elderly care institutions. During the interview, the reporter learned that, guided by the Shanghai Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and led by the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, a team of experts from Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Pediatrics has developed a traditional Chinese medicine anti-epidemic formula suitable for children after repeated research and discussion, and has provided services for the welfare of children in Shanghai. Nearly 1,000 children in the hospital and other hospitals were given the intervention decoction.

Guaranteeing the supply of decoction and medicine is the biggest "confidence" for completing the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine. The Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Association has played the role of "router", and many companies in Shanghai are working overtime to tap potential production capacity. It is reported that Shanghai Pharma Huayu Company has implemented closed-loop production management, and 47 production personnel have adhered to the closed-loop line, maintaining an average daily output of over 30,000 prescriptions. Under the condition that the original manufacturers were operating at full capacity, Lei Yun Shangxi District quickly organized and coordinated production capacity and transportation capacity after receiving the task, contacted the production enterprises, coordinated product distribution, and worked hard overnight to deliver more than 1.2 million packages at the fastest speed. The "Fuzheng Anti-epidemic Recipe" Chinese medicine decoction was delivered to 14 towns in the district smoothly and safely. Shanghai Zhenrentang has overcome many difficulties, organized some employees to resume work and production, and operated 280 decoction machines 24 hours a day, supplying traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions to the front line of Shanghai's epidemic prevention through the night.

"Several large leading Chinese medicine companies have recently faced the unfavorable factors of personnel closure and control. Everyone works together, communicates with each other, and starts work day and night. Now we can provide 2 million packets of intervention Chinese medicine every day, and we will do our best to ensure the supply." Association of Chinese Medicine Industry Chairman Yang Hong told reporters.

News (6)

Chinanews.com Review: Epidemic prevention and control cannot be increased layer by layer, but "encircled help"

Reporter : Li Jinlei / Editor : Cheng Chunyu / Source: China News Network / https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2022/04-26/9740167.shtml

Video: Xiaoxin Talkshow: Epidemic prevention and control cannot be increased layer by layer, but must be "encircled help" Source: China News Network

A few days ago, "It is strictly forbidden to prevent farmers from going to the fields on the grounds of epidemic prevention" has been on the hot search.

It turned out that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Health  Commission jointly issued the "Guidelines for Coordinating the Prevention and Control of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic and Agricultural Production in Spring", which requires that in areas where there is no epidemic situation, it is strictly prohibited to set up cards to intercept and arbitrarily block roads and villages on the grounds of epidemic prevention and not let farmers go to the ground.

Images : Video Screenshots

The time to plant new crops every year lies in the spring. Spring ploughing production cannot be delayed for a moment. In areas without epidemics, farmers are not allowed to go to the fields for epidemic prevention reasons. This is a typical layer-by-layer coding.

Images : Video Screenshots

It should be noted that in the prevention and control of the epidemic, some areas have exposed layers of overweight problems. Simple and rude "one size fits all", extreme and mechanized implementation of the central epidemic prevention policies and requirements have caused "secondary disasters" and caused mass casualties and dissatisfaction.

Images : Video Screenshots

In the case of layer-by-layer coding, there were some helpless pictures. The door of the truck was densely covered with various seals, which made people laugh bitterly.

In some areas, trucks from the city where the medium and high-risk areas are located are persuaded to return by “one size fits all”; some areas have illegally set up epidemic prevention checkpoints on the main lines or service areas of expressways, resulting in long queues of vehicles; some places have also closed expressways. Toll stations and service areas have blocked the logistics "arteries", causing problems such as vehicle detention and poor logistics.

Images : Video Screenshots

In this regard, the Ministry of Transport emphasized that it is strictly forbidden to set up epidemic prevention testing points on the main lines and service areas of expressways, and it is strictly forbidden to shut down expressway service areas without authorization, so as to ensure the smooth flow of national transportation trunk lines. It is necessary to formulate traffic control measures in accordance with laws and regulations, and must not increase the number of layers, and ensure that the traffic control policies are unified.

Images : Video Screenshots

In addition, some areas with oversimplified yet excessive epidemic prevention and control measures have resulted in some critically ill non-covid patients not being able to receive timely treatment, that is distressing.

Image : Video Screenshot

Epidemic prevention and control that is carried out layer by layer and simple "one size fits all" violates the spirit of the central government's "scientific prevention and precise policy implementation". Such behaviour is the incompetence of lack of scientific and precise prevention and control skills, and it is also a typical formalism.

The increase in epidemic prevention and control will not only increase the cost of epidemic prevention but also cause damage to economic and social development and the normal production and life of the people, and even affect food security and other "big countries".

Therefore, for any adverse consequences caused by layer-by-layer coding, the responsibilities of the relevant localities, units and personnel should be seriously investigated according to laws and regulations. At the same time, CCP members and cadres must continuously improve their knowledge and skills in scientific and precise prevention and control, show their responsibilities in coordinating epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, and do their best to resolutely correct formalism and bureaucracy. In this way, it can minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development and help stabilize the economy and society. 

News (7)

Zhongnanhai re-releases infighting signal, official media criticizes epidemic prevention as "one size fits all"

Editor : Wen Hui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/26/a103410359.html /Image : Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Premier Li Keqiang (right) attend the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall in Beijing on March 5, 2022. (Leo Ramirez/AFP via Getty Images)

Epidemic outbreaks continue to spread across China, and Beijing's high-level mandatory "clearing" policy has not only sparked public grievances, but even the CCP's official media has criticized the "one-size-fits-all" epidemic prevention, suspecting the release of CCP leaders infighting signal.

On 25 April 2022, the Economic Information Daily, a subsidiary of the CCP’s official Xinhua News Agency, published an article on the front page, titled “Epidemic prevention and development must prevent one from ignoring the other”. The article said that epidemic prevention is about life, and development is about livelihood, and those control measures that are overcorrected should be effectively corrected.

The article criticized some places due to "lazy and slack government, formalism", layered coding and "one-size-fits-all" phenomena in epidemic prevention, hindering normal agricultural production at the critical moment of spring ploughing.

The day before (24th), the new media "Xia Ke Dao" under the CCP's official media "People's Daily" also published an article criticizing the "one size fits all" and layer-by-layer problems of epidemic prevention in various places.

The article criticized that, in reality, there are indeed cases of random circuit breakers, closures, and unauthorized card interception. Farmers are not allowed to go to the fields, workers are not allowed to return to work, and hospitals are not allowed to receive medical treatment... In some places, especially where no clustered epidemics have occurred locally. In this way, using the name of the epidemic to increase the number of "one size fits all", it is obviously a simplification of epidemic prevention and control.

For farmers, it is a critical moment for spring ploughing and planting, but some local governments do not allow farmers to go to the fields due to epidemic prevention.

In this regard, the article "Xia Ke Dao" questioned: The agricultural time waits for no one, and when and what work can be done, how can it be broken at will? If you can't catch up with one step, you can't catch up with each step. Did some cadres forget this book? The common people miss the farming time and confiscate the harvest, who will make up for the loss, and who will bear the responsibility?

Since the outbreak of the CCP virus in China, the authorities have been adopting the policy of "dynamic clearing" proposed by Xi Jinping, but there have always been two voices in the official media. In addition to the above-mentioned article in the official media criticizing the "one-size-fits-all" epidemic prevention policy, high-level infighting has also been released before. Signal.

On 13 April 2022, Caixin.com reported that the State Council of the Communist Party of China recently released a new set of pilot standards for epidemic prevention and control, and decided to relax epidemic prevention and control in eight first-tier cities in China, including Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The above-mentioned epidemic prevention standards issued by the State Council of the Communist Party of China are considered to represent the voice of Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council of the Communist Party of China. However, not long after the above-mentioned report was published, it was blocked by the entire CCP network within a day.

At the same time, the CCP's Xinhua News Agency, "People's Daily" and other party media have published several articles in a row to defend Xi Jinping's "dynamic clearing" policy, and Xi Jinping once again emphasized during his recent inspection in Hainan that he insists on "dynamic clearing" and requires overcoming paralyzing thoughts, war weariness, fluke mentality, and relaxed mentality.

According to expert analysis, the above-mentioned signs indicate that infighting at the top of the CCP has become public in terms of epidemic prevention and control. Yokogawa, an American current affairs commentator, told Radio Free Asia a few days ago that internal disputes within the CCP are becoming more and more superficial, and there is strong opposition within the party.

In addition, there is another phenomenon in the CCP's officialdom. There are not a few officials who have been sacked due to ineffective epidemic prevention but so far, no official has been investigated for excessive epidemic prevention. It is widely expected that now is a critical period for the personnel of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In order to keep their positions, officials from all over the country did not dare not to respond to Xi Jinping's zero-covid policy.

News (8)

(Fighting against Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia/Covid) Zhang Boli: China has the ability to achieve "dynamic clearing"

Reporter : Li Chun / https://www.chinanews.com.cn/sh/2022/04-25/9738976.shtml / Image of Zhang Boli : Video Screenshot

 "Looking back, if China does not implement the "dynamic clearing"' policy, what will happen?" Zhang Boli, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine asked on 24 April 2022 in Shanghai. He pointed out that according to China's population density and population structure, once the epidemic control measures are relaxed, the Chinese will face the consequences of widespread virus spread, severe illness and a huge number of deaths.

On the same day, Zhang Boli was interviewed by the media in Shanghai. He said that "dynamic clearing" and "absolute clearing" (zero-covid) are two completely different concepts. "Dynamic clearing" is to take active measures to find and eliminate the epidemic. "It does not mean that the epidemic will never happen, but the core connotation is to quickly detect the epidemic and take measures quickly to stop the continuous community transmission of the epidemic."

Zhang Boli pointed out that the real realization of "dynamic clearing" requires conditions and foundations, unified leadership, unified will and the active cooperation of the general public, and a strong grassroots team to implement various prevention and control measures. There must be sufficient living and anti-epidemic material protection.

At present, in Shanghai, tens of thousands of medical personnel and experts from various fields across the country have come to support, and more than 100 square cabin hospitals have been established. Zhang Boli also said that it was precisely because so many teams came to support the epidemic in Shanghai that the run on medical resources was avoided.

He asked back,"If it is completely released and a large number of critically ill patients appear, how many medical resources will be needed to deal with it? If that time comes, it is hard to imagine how economic development and social exchanges will proceed. Everyone is worried about whether they will be infected, and how can life be at ease? So, we must firmly follow our own path and take the road of 'dynamic clearing'." 

Zhang Boli said that the practice of handling dozens of local clustered epidemics in China after Wuhan has proved that China has the ability to achieve "dynamic clearing". A series of experiences have been formed and good results have been achieved, and good results have been achieved at a small cost, ensuring the health of the people and the steady growth of the social economy. 

News (9)

The protests in Kunshan, Suzhou highlight the neglected plight of small and medium-sized cities

Reporter : Jin Shi / Special correspondent : Li Xinan / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/26/a103410919.html

[NTDTV, Beijing time, April 27, 2022] The "one-size-fits-all" lockdown policy is spreading across the country. Many medium and small cities in China have been blocked for a long time. 

Suzhou Kunshan, which is close to Shanghai, has been under closed management since the beginning of this month. Because the people could not bear the pressure of survival, large-scale protests broke out many times, but they were violently suppressed by the authorities.

The protesters angrily tore down the awning of the epidemic prevention station and tried to knock down the sign. The epidemic prevention personnel in protective clothing could not control the scene and could only flee in embarrassment. However, it didn't take long for the police cars to be dispatched to suppress, and many protesters were directly dragged away by the police.

Some citizens said that Kunshan's long-term closure and control made them about to collapse.

Kunshan citizen: "We have been trapped in Kunshan for more than a month. The lockdown was lifted immediately, and then the epidemic broke out. Now there is no food or place to live here, and now everyone is collapsed."

Mr. Feng from Kunshan told this station that mass incidents have been breaking out in the local Zhonghua community recently. Most of the people living in the community are non-locals, and they are also migrant workers at the bottom of the society. They work in the factory and work every day as a day's wages. The government ordered the community to be closed, and these people could not go out to work, and eating became a problem.

Mr. Feng from Kunshan said, "Outsiders are in the closed community, with no jobs and no income. They demand the government to solve the problem. The government did not negotiate a solution, and sent special police to suppress it. This was the same situation yesterday."

The video provided by Mr. Feng showed people climbing over the iron fence set up at the gate of the community, and some people trying to remove the iron fence.

An official was communicating with the public, but that did not seem to ease the conflict.

Official said, "Don't quarrel with me, if you quarrel with me, I have the right to take it away from you."

People took a selfie video, "The conflict continues to escalate, more and more people are starting to make trouble, and the police are here."

Kunshan is an important "Shanghai sector" in Suzhou, and it is also a gathering place for a large number of Taiwanese businessmen, including semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers. The closure of the city has caused a large number of shutdowns of these enterprises.

The situation in Suzhou and Kunshan is just a microcosm of countless small and medium-sized cities in mainland China.

Guangxi Dongxing resident: "We have been detained for more than 50 days. Yes, you heard that right. Except for going downstairs to do nucleic acid, everyone has been staying at home for almost two months."

There is less news from these places. Tang Jingyuan, a current affairs commentator on this station, believes that there may be two reasons for this.

Tang Jingyuan, a current affairs commentator: "First, these small and medium-sized cities have received less attention in public opinion, and it may be that the local area has relatively strong control over related public opinion."

Tang Jingyuan believes that the CCP's official blockade and control of many small and medium-sized cities have become normalized.

News (10)

Foreigner in Shanghai rushed out of the community and was arrested, shouting "I'm going to die" (video)

Editor : Jing Zhongming / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/26/a103410832.html

Shanghai's long-term brutal lockdown has also affected many foreigners. The video posted on the Internet showed that a foreigner was caught repeatedly after rushing through the fence of the community, shouting "I'm going to die", and it was suspected that he was close to a mental breakdown.

On 26 April, two videos (link 1 and link 2) were uploaded online. The video shows a white man tearing down the fence in the dark and forcibly rushing out of the blocked community. He was then captured by a number of anti-epidemic personnel in white and violently suppressed. An epidemic prevention officer threatened the man, saying that when people come to China, they must abide by the so-called "Chinese laws" and so on.

Netizens who broke the news said that the incident happened in Shanghai, and the white man may be of French nationality.

In the video, after the foreigner was captured, he looked at his mobile phone many times, broke down and cried for a while, and then tried to force his way out of the community again, but was captured again. He kept repeating "I'm going to die" in less-fluent Chinese. The epidemic prevention staff replied, "You are going to die, you can't die here."

Netizens speculated that the person was close to a mental breakdown and might have tried to leave by threatening him with death.

There are many foreigners in Shanghai. According to local netizens, during the brutal lockdown, many communities where foreigners live together have been treated like "concessions", with sufficient supplies and many foreigners going out. However, in some low-end communities where there are very few foreigners, there are also foreigners who are in a difficult situation, especially foreigners who are not good in Chinese.

News (11) to (17) / Editor : Zhu Ying / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/26/a103410681.html

News (11)

The boundaries of the closure of cities across China are blurred, and the situation of small and medium-sized cities is worrying

Image : On 8 July 2021, epidemic prevention personnel in Ruili, a border city in southwest China's Yunnan Province, sample a woman for a nucleic acid test for covi. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Under the spread of the epidemic, Shanghai  continued to be closed for a month, causing public grievances to boil and attracting attention from the world's public opinion. However, while the news focus continues to focus on first-tier cities, the outside world seldom notices that many small and medium-sized cities have experienced different degrees and rounds of long bans. What is the reason behind this?

Since Shanghai was strictly controlled due to the epidemic in late March this year, the eyes of the whole of China and the world have focused on this largest city and financial center in China. On 24 April, the capital Beijing also saw a surge in confirmed cases, and the news that Chaoyang District had entered a state of blockade jumped to the front pages of many media.

When the news of the closure and control of these first-tier cities spreads across the Internet, there are still some cities that seem to be forgotten but there, people have experienced long-term lockdowns, in some cases for more than five months. The reporter found that the long blockade has made the economy there wither, and people have left their hometowns to make a living.

On 25 April, Yiyi, a website well-known for creating short videos, published an article titled "The longest blockade is 160 days, and these cities are almost forgotten." Through interviews with residents of three border cities, Ruili in Yunnan, Dongxing in Guangxi, and Suifenhe in Heilongjiang, the article attempts to arouse people's attention to the local people's livelihood.

News (12)

Forgotten border ports under long-term closure

Beginning in 2020, Chinese officials have emphasized the so-called "foreign prevention of importation and domestic prevention of rebound" in response to the epidemic, and strengthened normalized epidemic control. Some border towns that are at the forefront of preventing "overseas import" have also begun to experience rounds of long blockades.

News (13)

Everyone who can leave has left Ruili

Ruili has the largest trade port on the China-Myanmar border, and its economy benefits from the advantages of border trade. However, since the outbreak of the epidemic three years ago, the citizens of Ruili have experienced 9 lockdowns for a total of more than 160 days, with at least 130 nucleic acid tests before and after.

According to official data released by Ruili, about 190,000 people were tested for nucleic acid tests on April 18, while nearly 380,000 were tested on April 13 last year. The article analyzes that, in the past year, at least 200,000 people have left Ruili.

A reporter from Radio Free Asia interviewed Mr. Yang, who works in a hotel in Ruili, and confirmed this: "The economy here is indeed not very good. Because of the epidemic, the city is often closed. Most of the traders go to other cities, usually to the nearest cities like Longchuan, Pingjiang, and Tengchong.”

Mr. Yang said that if he wants to leave Ruili, he still needs to be quarantined at home for 7 days and do an accounting test before going out. Another Ruili netizen told our reporter that the border in Ruili is still closed, and few people stay in the hotel. As for the locals, "everyone who can leave has left".

News (14)

Suifenhe reopens after 90 days

Suifenhe City is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province. It is the terminus of the Binsui Railway and is adjacent to Russia. There is a Sino-Russian Mutual Market Trade Zone in Suifenhe. In April 2020, the city was once closed due to a large number of imported cases from abroad.

According to the article statistics, since 25 January 2022, Suifenhe has been closed off and on for nearly 90 days, and express delivery, pharmacies, and hospital outpatient clinics have all stopped. Most of the Russian goods on the street have closed down.

A local restaurant staff told this reporter, "It's not open, it's not open, it's been about three or four months." He said that the closure control has now been lifted, and the restaurant is finally about to open.

News (15)

Nearly 100,000 people have left Dongxing

The border city of Dongxing in Guangxi borders Vietnam and is under the administrative jurisdiction of Fangchenggang. The local lockdown began on the evening of 23 February and normal life did not resume until 12 am of 24 April. The lockdown lasted for about 60 days.

According to the article, there are about 200,000 permanent residents, of which more than 150,000 are immigrants. Tourism, Sino-Vietnamese trade and related industries are the pillars, and most people rely on it for a living. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, nearly 100,000 people have left Dongxing.

News (16)

Dongxing man nearly broke down after more than 50 rounds of nucleic acid tests

After 50 days of Dongxing's closure, a video circulated locally: a middle-aged man hugged his head and cried, because more than 50 consecutive rounds of nucleic acid tests made him on the verge of collapse. This is also the longest blockade in Dongxing since the outbreak of the epidemic in early 2020.

News (16)

22 cities across the country are "closed", involving nearly 30 million people

It is not only the above border cities that are affected by the lockdown. In the past few days, more cities have been completely or partially closed due to the heating up of the epidemic. Among them, Baotou issued a notice on 25 April that two confirmed cases of covid were identified, and strict social control measures were implemented in Baotouy. The district will conduct nucleic acid testing for all staff from the evening of the 25th.

In addition, since 23 April, Hangzhou has implemented three-day control measures in some areas, restricted residents' travel, and conducted mandatory nucleic acid testing. Hangzhou is the technology centre of China and the headquarters of Alibaba Group.

Tangshan, Hebei has implemented temporary closure and control measures for the whole city from 19 April. The closure and control period is three days, but some areas have not yet lifted the closure and control.

Since 17 April, Wuhu has temporarily implemented static management of the main urban area, and immediately carried out nucleic acid testing for all employees.

According to previous reports from Caixin.com, from mid to late March to the present, Shanghai, Changchun, Handan, Quanzhou and many other places have "closed cities", affecting more than 60 million people whose communities are sealed”, covering Jilin, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and other provinces, involving nearly 30 million people.

Tang Jingyuan, a current affairs commentator in the United States, believes that this is an important phenomenon in China's current closure of cities. "The boundaries between the CCP's closed cities and semi-closed cities, or between hard and soft city closures, are becoming more and more blurred."

Under the so-called "global static management" measures, residents in these areas will stay at home except for nucleic acid and medical treatment, public transportation is suspended, schools are suspended, social vehicles are not allowed to go on the road, and all business places are closed, which is like a "closed city".

News (17)

Small and medium-sized cities are "silenced" and Shanghai's closure is "politicized"

The closure of Shanghai's city has attracted widespread attention on the Internet and other media, especially with the frequent occurrence of secondary disasters and public grievances. The authorities had to continue to strengthen the network blockade and public opinion control, and some netizens even found that people in many other cities could no longer see the speeches of Shanghai people in Weibo Moments.

However, in many other small and medium-sized cities, although they have been facing actual closure or semi-closure for a long time, there is very little relevant news. Tang Jingyuan believes that there may be two reasons for this: "One is that these small and medium-sized cities have received relatively little attention in public opinion, and it is also possible that the local area has relatively strong control over relevant public opinion. It is difficult to cause fermentation.”

Tang Jingyuan believes that China's official blockade and control of many small and medium-sized cities have become normal, and the public may become numb to this kind of information and become accustomed to it. In contrast, the closure and control of Shanghai has attracted widespread attention because firstly, Shanghai has a great impact on China and the world economy, and secondly, there are strong political factors behind the closure of Shanghai.

"Behind the closure of the city (Shanghai) is the so-called two lines of the CCP, a kind of open and secret struggle between the two models. After it is mixed with very strong political factors, it has led to a (very high) degree of non-cooperation in the whole of Shanghai. It is relatively rare, even public." Tang Jingyuan said.

The current round of city closures across China coincides with the early stages of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Tang Jingyuan said that Xi Jinping's political authority and whether he can be re-elected are closely related to the current social situation. This is the most important reason why the closure and control of Shanghai has been highly concerned at home and abroad. In those small and medium-sized cities, due to their small economic size and small population, it is difficult for the outside world to understand the extent and scale of damage to the local economy and people's livelihood caused by the blockade.

News (18) to (20) / Reporter : Chris Jewers, Daily Mail 

News (18)

Gas supplies from Russia to Poland and Hungary halted

Image courtesy : Daily Mail

Russian energy giant Gazprom today halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for its gas in roubles, as Vladimir Putin ordered.

The decision is the Kremlin's toughest response yet to crippling Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

In response, the UK warned President Putin that Russia's move will only add to its status as an economic and political pariah, while Poland and Bulgaria both said they are close to ending their dependence of Russian gas.

Moscow's move caused European gas prices to spike by as much as 24 percent.

The EU countries are the first to have their gas cut off by Europe's main supplier since the Kremlin launched what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, and after it threatened to turn off the taps to Europe.

The war has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and raised fears of a broader conflict with NATO - of which Poland and Bulgaria are members.

Last month, Putin ordered European countries to pay state-owned Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas company, in roubles after the West froze Russian assets and largely cut Moscow out of the West's economic system.

Other EU countries have refused Putin's order, but so far Poland and Bulgaria are the only two nations to see their Russian gas supplies halted.

'Gazprom has completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and PGNiG (Poland) due to absence of payments in roubles,' Gazprom said in a statement.

Gazprom also warned that transit via Poland and Bulgaria - which host pipelines supplying Germany, Hungary and Serbia - would be cut if gas was taken illegally. 

Polish state-controlled gas utility company PGNiG later confirmed that Gazprom had 'completely suspended' the supply of gas to Poland via the Yamal pipeline.

'Despite the fulfilment of all obligations under the Yamal contract by PGNiG, on April 27 this year, Gazprom has stopped delivering natural gas,' the Polish group said in a statement.

'The limitation of natural gas supplies is a breach of the Yamal contract. PGNiG reserves the right to pursue claims in connection with the suspension of deliveries and will use all contractual rights vested in the company and rights under the law.'

Putin had demanded countries he terms 'unfriendly' agree to a scheme under which they would open accounts at Gazprombank (a bank founded in 1990 specifically to serve Gazprom) and make payments for Russian gas imports in euros or dollars that would be converted into roubles.

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab slammed Russia's decision, saying it will only serve to add to its status as an economic and political pariah.

'We have been warning about this for a while but we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Polish friends and allies,' Raab told Sky News.

'It (halting gas supply) will have a ... very damaging effect on Russia as well because it is becoming further and further, more and more, not just a political pariah, but an economic pariah.'

Poland has repeatedly said it will not pay for Russian gas in roubles and has planned not to extend its gas contract with Gazprom after it expires in the end of this year.

'Payments for gas supplied from April 1 must be made in roubles using the new payments details, about which the counterparties were informed in a timely manner,' Gazprom said on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's energy minister Alexander Nikolov told reporters on Wednesday that his country had already paid for Russian gas deliveries for April, and halting gas supplies would be a breach of its current contract with Gazprom.

He said Bulgaria would observe the European Commission's stance urging countries not to pay in roubles for Russian gas as demanded by Putin.

'Because all trade and legal obligations are being observed, it is clear that at the moment the natural gas is being used more as a political and economic weapon in the current war,' Nikolov said.

Prior to Russia cutting the country's supply, Poland's climate minister Anna Moskwa said the country was prepared for the situation as it had worked for years to reduce reliance on Russian energy.  

News (19)

Bulgaria looking for alternative source of gas supplies

Bulgaria said it was working with state gas companies to find alternative sources and no restrictions on domestic consumption would be imposed for now, even though the Balkan country of 6.5 million people meets more than 90% of its gas needs with Russian imports.  

News (20)

Poland to receive gas supplies from Lithuania and Norway

Poland was expected to end its orders of Russian gas this year anyway, and on Tuesday, the Polish government had insisted it was ready to face any interruption of supply from Russia.

'There will be no shortage of gas in Polish homes,' Climate Minister Anna Moskwa wrote on Twitter. 'Since the first day of the war we have declared that we are ready for full independence from Russian raw materials.

'Poland has the necessary gas reserves and sources of supply to protect our security. For years we have been successfully making ourselves independent from Russia,' she added.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said gas storage facilities were 76 percent full and Poland was ready to 'obtain gas from all possible other directions'.

Poland has been receiving nine billion cubic metres of Russian gas a year, meeting more than half of its demand.

But it has alternative supply sources, including a gas pipeline connection with Lithuania that is due to open on May 1. 

Another new pipeline, delivering gas from Norway, is due to come online in October, reaching full capacity by the end of the year. 

Futhermore, Warsaw's underground gas storage tanks are said to be 80 per cent full and, with summer approaching, demand will be lower.

However, a long-term suspension could lead to restrictions on manufacturers, some of Poland's biggest gas consumers. 

Gazprom's decision to cut gas to two European countries was another dark turn in the war, which has revived the geopolitical rifts of the Cold War and had an immediate impact. European gas prices spiked by as much as 24 percent.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, called the move a 'weaponization of energy supplies' in a tweet.

'Gazprom's move to completely shut off gas supplies to Poland is yet another sign of Russia's politicization of existing agreements & will only accelerate European efforts to move away from Russian energy supplies,' he wrote.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the move "yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail. This is unjustified and unacceptable."

Details: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10758199/Russia-cuts-gas-Bulgaria-Poland-toughest-response-Western-sanctions.html,

Russia threatens to strike military sites in the U.S. and UK: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10758317/Moscow-says-attack-military-sites-NATO-countries-support-Ukraine.html