Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
The World Health Organization (WHO) is weighing an official name change for monkeypox, in light of concerns about stigma and racism surrounding the virus that has infected almost 1,300 people in more than two dozen countries.
The proposal echoes a similar controversy that erupted when the WHO moved quickly to rename Sars-CoV-2 after people around the world referred to it as the China or Wuhan virus in the absence of an official designation. The actual animal source of monkeypox, which has been found in a wide variety of mammals, remains unknown.
“In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatising,” the scientists’ group said in a letter online.
The WHO is consulting experts in orthopoxviruses – the family to which monkeypox belongs – on more appropriate names, a spokesperson said.
Other disease names that run counter to the guidelines include swine flu, according to joint recommendations from the WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
Naming diseases “should be done with the aim to minimise the negative impact”, the spokesperson said in an email, “and avoid causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups”.
Monkeypox has been endemic in west and central Africa for decades but cases have primarily been associated with spillover from animals, rather than human-to-human transmission.
News (3)
Wuhan lab isolated "causative agent" of virus closely related to monkeypox
Reporter :
Natalie Winters, The National Pulse / https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/06/13/wuhan-isolated-causative-agent-of-virus-closely-related-to-monkeypox/
Researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology isolated new strains of a virus that is “closely related” to Monkeypox in a recently published study.
The unearthed paper follows The National Pulse unearthing another study published by the controversial Chinese lab that detailed the assembly of new monkeypox virus strains in February 2022. The work came just months before the latest international outbreak of monkeypox cases which appear to have now reached the United States.
Eleven researchers from the Wuhan
Institute of Virology authored the newly uncovered paper “Identification, Isolation, and Characterization
of an Ectromelia Virus New Strain from an Experimental Mouse,”
originally published on July 21st, 2020. It was later included in the Wuhan
Institute of Virology’s scientific journal Virologica Sinica in
2021.
The study describes the
“isolation” of a new strain of Ectromelia Virus (ECTV) – “ECTV-WH” – from an
experimental mouse brain. The strain was flagged as potentially having “higher
replication efficiency in vivo and higher transmitting efficiency to cause
respiratory infection in mice.”
The Wuhan Institute of Virology
researchers also warn that ECTV is highly similar to Monkeypox:
“ECTV is closely related to
Variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox, and Monkeypox virus, the
causative agent of a severe zoonosis. It is an attractive virus model for study
of poxvirus pathogenesis, viral immune and inflammatory responses, and could be
used for antiviral and vaccine tests.”
At the time of the study’s
publication, the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s ECTV strain was “preserved in
the National Virus Resource Center.” Additionally, researchers noted it “could
be provided as an important virus resource for study on poxvirus.”
The study
was supported by several Chinese Communist Party-run scientific groups
including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and military-linked entities including the
National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The unearthed study follows the
Wuhan Institute of Virology conducting similar research into strains
of bat coronaviruses that could infect humans while admitting its facilities lacked proper laboratory safety
protocols.
News (4)
Monkeypox may be transmitted through sexual contact, study finds virus DNA in patient's semen
Image : A recent study found that monkeypox virus genetic material was found in the semen of some male patients, raising the question of whether this infectious disease may also have sexual contact infection. (Associated Press)
Monkeypox has spread to many countries around the world and thousands of cases have occurred, which has aroused the alertness of health units. Monkeypox virus is usually transmitted through contact with infected wounds, droplets, etc. However, recent studies have found that in Monkeypox virus genetic material has been found in the semen of some male patients, raising questions about whether the infectious disease may also be transmitted through sexual contact.
According to Reuters, many cases in this monkeypox outbreak occurred between close sexual partners; researchers at the Rome Hospital in Italy and Spallanzani, an infectious disease research institute, published a report on 2 June. For the first time in the report, they found evidence of monkeypox virus in the semen of four male monkeypox patients in Italy.
Later, among 7 male patients, it was found that the semen of 6 people contained monkeypox virus genetic material, and even the monkeypox virus in the semen of one patient could not only infect another person, but also replicate; Francesco Vaia pointed out that the data are still insufficient to prove that the biological characteristics of monkeypox virus have changed, leading to changes in the way it spreads.
But Waya added: "However... the presence of contagious virus in semen strongly points to the hypothesis that sexual transmission is one of the modes of transmission of this virus."
Ref: https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3959632
China claims Taiwan Strait is not an international waters, US refutes
Reporter : Yu Ting / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/06/14/a103454994.html
On Monday, the CCP Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again declared that the Taiwan Strait is not international waters but this remark has not been recognized internationally. The United States has refuted this earlier, see the details .
CCP Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, "China (CCP) has sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait."
On Monday (13 June 2022), the CCP once again claimed that the Taiwan Strait does not belong to international waters, but just a few days ago, when the defense ministers of the United States and CCP China met in Singapore, the United States had refuted the CCP’s claim.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin said, "As oppression from Beijing has become more severe, we have seen an increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan, including a record number of Chinese military aircraft flying near Taiwan in recent months. It happens almost every day."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pointed out that the CCP's provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait is becoming more and more aggressive, and further destabilization of the region must be stopped.
US Secretary of Defense Austin said, "We remain committed to maintaining the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but the CCP's actions threaten the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region."
However, the CCP's statement is more like aimless. The CCP Defense Minister Wei Fenghe declared that if Taiwan were to be split off, the CCP army would "don't hesitate to fight."
Historian Zhang Tianliang said, "What the United States said is that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are very important, and it opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, so the CCP said that if you dare to pursue Taiwan independence, we will fight the United States at all costs. You are nonsense, the United States When did the United States want to pursue Taiwan independence? Of course, the United States said that it opposes unilateral change of the status quo. There is another meaning, that is, it opposes the CCP's military reunification of Taiwan. Therefore, the CCP always distorts what others say, and stuffs it into the mouth of the other party, which is very shameless. "
U.S. Defense Department spokesman Martin Meiners emphasized to Bloomberg that the U.S. will continue to conduct sea and air operations within the scope of international law, including through the Taiwan Strait.
In addition, the United States this month once again approved a total of 120 million US dollars in arms sales to Taiwan to enhance Taiwan's naval capabilities.
News (6) to (8) / Reporter : Luo Tingting / Editor: Wen Hui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/06/14/a103454994.html
News (6)
Analysis: Zhao Kezhi's backyard fire is suspected of high-level infighting in Tangshan beating case
Image : On 19 November 2021, a personnel earthquake occurred in the Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China. Zhao Kezhi was removed from the position of Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security and replaced by Wang Xiaohong. (composite image)
The Tangshan beating case was rarely intervened by the Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China and handed over to a different place to handle the case, which highlights that the Tangshan public security system is not trusted by the authorities. Some analysts pointed out that the Tangshan beating case was suspected of involving high-level infighting. The fire broke out in the backyard of Zhao Kezhi, the minister of public security who made a fortune in Hebei, and Wang Xiaohong, the secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security, was likely to take the opportunity to "fight Zhao".
News (7)
Tangshan beating case may trigger official shock in Hebei
Recently, a group of underworld men in Tangshan publicly beat a woman in a barbecue restaurant, causing a sensation in public opinion. The Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China rarely intervened, and the arrest was carried out by the Public Security Bureau of Langfang, Hebei Province.
Time critic Yue Shan wrote in The Epoch Times that the Tangshan assault case was suddenly dealt with as a major case, and it was very unusual for publicity and speculation. Zhao Kezhi, Minister of Public Security, is suspected of a fire in the backyard.
Hebei is where Zhao Kezhi made his fortune. He served as Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee from July 2015 to October 2017, and then moved to Beijing to take charge of the Ministry of Public Security. Zhao Kezhi has a large number of old ministries in Hebei, including Zhao Jinjin, the current director of the Tangshan City Public Security Bureau.
When Zhao Kezhi was in charge of Hebei, Zhao Jinjin was the head of the Anti-Terrorism Team of the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department, and the Party Secretary and Director of the Langfang Public Security Bureau. After the Tangshan beating incident fermented, Zhao Jinjin was criticized by the outside world for his ineffectiveness in cracking down on gangs. And Zhao Kezhi is the first deputy leader of the national anti-criminal leading group, and also belongs to the ineffective anti-criminal operation during his tenure.
According to information published on the Internet, Chen Jizhi, the main criminal of the Tangshan beating case, has a "rich case" and has appeared as the person subject to execution in 7 civil execution cases, involving private lending, traffic accidents, and unjust enrichment.
According to the public records of the Tangshan police station, Chen Jizhi was arrested in December 2015, but he acted freely and owed tens of thousands of yuan in air tickets from 2015 to 2016. In 2019, the court ruled that Chen Jizhi was involved in the case of intentional wounding, and he was marked as criminal detention and at large.
However, Chen Jizhi, who was "on the run", dared to violently beat women in public places, showing that he had no fear of the local police. After the incident, the Tangshan police dispatched the police but did not arrest anyone, which also raised doubts about the collusion between the local police and bandits.
Yokogawa, a current affairs commentator based in the United States, told NTDTV that this incident showed that at least one of them was related to the local public authority and had a strong background in power. Because under the CCP system, "underworld without a background of power cannot exist."
The mainland self-media "Current Situation Observer" issued a document on June 12, pointing out that Zhang He, the former vice governor of Hebei, served as the umbrella for the underworld forces, and a group of local officials were sacked. Zhang He served as secretary of the Tangshan Municipal Party Committee in December 2002, and later served as the vice governor of Hebei. He retired in 2014 and was investigated on April 29, 2020.
In addition, Liu Kai, the former head of the Public Security Bureau of Hebei Province, was transferred to the vice governor of Jilin Province in May this year, but it remains to be seen if he loses the power of public security.
Liu Kai's former public security director was Dong Rensheng, who served from 2013 to 2017 and is currently the deputy director of the Hebei Provincial People's Congress. In addition, Wang Dongfeng, the former secretary of Hebei, has not entered the National People's Congress or the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as usual since he left office, which is somewhat strange.
In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Ren Jianming, a professor at the School of Public Administration of Beihang University, said that the Tangshan local public security department is most likely to provide protection for the Tangshan underworld beating case. Party and government leaders may also be held accountable.
News (8)
Analysis: Wang Xiaohong borrowed the power to "fall Zhao"
Yue Shan believes that after the Tangshan beating incident fermented, the Ministry of Public Security personally intervened and handed over to the Langfang police to handle the case in another place. It is likely that Wang Xiaohong, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security, was borrowing the power to "fall Zhao".
Wang Xiaohong is a confidant of Xi Jinping and has worked with Xi for many years in Fujian. After Xi came to power, Wang Xiaohong has been promoted all the way. He is considered to be the successor of the Minister of Public Security, and may even take over the post of Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee.
Yue Shan analyzed that after Wang Xiaohong became Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Public Security, he had already held real power. And Zhao Kezhi, who is nearly 69 years old, can retire safely. In addition to being affected by the Tangshan underworld case, his problem may lie in the Sun Lijun case.
Yue Shan believes that Sun Lijun's promotion to the deputy minister of the Ministry of Public Security is a matter of Zhao Rennei. He has "leadership responsibility" and cannot rule out the suspicion of not knowing about Sun Lijun's "conspiracy".
News (9)
Canada pushes anti-slavery bill, calls for accountability for CCP's human rights persecution
Reporter : Anne / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/06/14/a103455009.html
Recently, various parties in Canada expressed their support for the "Anti-Slavery Act", which passed the second reading in the Federal House of Representatives. Some lawmakers said that while ensuring that Canada does not import slave labor products, human rights persecutors should also be held accountable.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said, "We're trying to do what other like-minded countries do, and that's tackling slave labour."
The Combating Forced and Child Labor in Supply Chains Act (Bill S-211) obliges government agencies and private companies to report production practices involving slave or child labor in their supply chains. The bill also sets up an inspection system and prohibits the importation of such goods.
NDP Rep. Heather McPherson elaborated, "The bill would require companies to make changes, conduct due diligence, not just report, but also give victims of abuse the opportunity to receive compensation."
Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe said, "We want to make sure that there are no slave labour products on store shelves in Canada."
According to statistics from World Vision Canada in 2016, at least 1,200 Canadian companies imported goods worth up to $34 billion in suspected slave or child labor manufacturing.
Liberal MP John McKay said, "Neither you nor I want to be unwitting supporters of slave labor."
According to the survey data, the CCP's slave labor industry includes at least 681 prison enterprises, and the victims of slave labor include Falun Gong practitioners, Xinjiang Uyghurs, human rights lawyers and petitioners.
Wang Zhiyuan, chairman of the International Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, said, "(The victim) worked 12 to 19 hours a day, sometimes couldn't sleep for days and nights, and was tortured in many cases."
Toronto Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Tina used to be a high school English teacher in Shanghai. She was illegally detained in Shanghai Women's Prison for three years because she did not renounce her beliefs, and was persecuted by slave labor.
Toronto Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Tina said, "Sometimes we will work from 6 in the morning until 12 in the evening."
Canadian Conservative Congressman Guinness called for Canada to pursue overseas human rights violators in accordance with the law.
Canadian Conservative Rep. Garnett Genuis: "We call for the use of the Magnitsky Act to sanction human rights violations in China."
The U.S. Prevention of Forced Uyghur Labour Act, which will take effect on 21 June 2022, prohibits any forced labor products from Xinjiang from entering the U.S. market. On 9 June, the European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a similar resolution.
News (10) to (13) / Editor : Wen Hui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/06/14/a103455147.html
News (10)
Before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the party media exploded that the middle-level officials wanted to flee
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is approaching, the signals of infighting released by high-level officials are becoming more and more obvious, and the minds of middle-level officials are also changing. According to CCP media, as the main force in the CCP’s officialdom, some middle-level officials do not want to be promoted, and some even choose to escape using various methods.
The official WeChat account of Banyuetan, a current affairs platform under the CCP media Xinhua News Agency, reported that, as the main force of grassroots governance, middle-level officials in counties and townships have high work pressure and low salaries.
News (11)
Middle-level officials flee in a variety of ways
The report said that at the beginning of this year, a grassroots official asked anonymously on the online platform, "How can I be the director of the township party and government office?" And this is not the case at the grassroots level. According to a report from a county in the southwest, two CCP officials were severely dealt with for refusing to be promoted.
The report said that the attractiveness of middle-level officials in some counties and townships in China is currently weakening. Some grass-roots officials do not want to be promoted to such positions, and some officials who have held middle-level positions also choose to flee through elections and secondments.
For example, a middle-level official in a township in the southwest said, "Sometimes, just after a meeting, the superiors will ask whether the leading group has been established, whether the plan has been formed, and whether the village has inspected it." They "stubbornly choose", and a lot of work cannot be carried out. In the end, it became that the approval policy of the superiors was not timely, the public had opinions, and the accountability board hit them, and the subordinates did not implement them in place, and they had to take responsibility for mistakes.
News (12)
Officialdom is popular for "pulling gangsters down"
The report also said that some middle-level officials had little change in their salaries after being promoted, but the pressure of responsibility increased significantly, and it was more difficult to get promoted, resulting in a few people's mentality of "promotion is too old, it is too early to retire, and gangsters are pulled over".
Many netizens feel the same way about the situation faced by grassroots officials. Someone left a message on Weibo, saying, "Grassroots cadres do the work of ten people alone, and the rest of the provincial and municipal finances support 9 inspectors and inspectors to look back. In order to cope with the inspections and inspections of these 9 inspectors, which one? The grassroots cadres have to do 9 additional A4 embroidery jobs, for a total of 20 jobs."
Another person said, "I'm most afraid of various inspections and questions from the Disciplinary Committee. I don't have enough energy to deal with these every day, and I have to do practical things. It's not like a big leader has a secretary, and all reports have to be written by myself. To talk about who doesn’t want to be a high-level executive, it’s better to ask the high-level people who want to go back to the county and township.”
News (13)
The phenomenon of lying flat is common, and there is another hidden reason for "refusing to be promoted"
In fact, the phenomenon of CCP officials "refusing to be promoted" has a long history. In addition to the above-mentioned phenomenon mentioned by the party media, as early as the end of last year, the CCP media "Learning Times" published an article criticizing many officials for refusing to be promoted because some people were greedy for "fat shortages", in order to stay in office to make money, and some people were afraid to leave. After the original unit, his corrupt behavior was exposed.
Some officials are under the high pressure of the authorities' "anti-corruption" and worry about being held accountable, so they simply choose to be "peaceful officials". Officer".
Political commentator Tang Qing recently commented in The Epoch Times that in today's China, people's minds have changed, and officialdom has changed.
As the epidemic continues to break out in various parts of China, the policy direction passed between Xi Jinping's "zeroing" and Li Keqiang's "stabilizing the economy" has made officials at various places in a dilemma. Before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the signals of infighting released by high-level officials are becoming more and more intense.
Tang Qing believes that there are more than two factions behind Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, and the internal power struggle will definitely not stop. This is an unresolved contradiction. "The highest level fights fiercely, the middle level protects the black gauze hat, the lower level is at a loss, and the most important thing is to steal money. This is the officialdom of the CCP, there are ambitious people, there are opportunistic people, there are those who want to escape, and there are those who lie flat. Everyone is waiting for China to happen. Change." Tang Qing said.
News (14)
Falsified history: New textbook says Hong Kong was never a British colony
Reporter : Li Zhaoxi / Editor: Lin Qing / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/06/14/a103455276.html / Image : On 26 April 2021, Hong Kong students take the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE). (Anthony Kwan - Pool/Getty Images)
Beijing authorities have launched a so-called "education reform" campaign in Hong Kong. The new textbook has clearly declared, "Hong Kong has never been a British colony."
According to the South China Morning Post, four sets of civic and social development (Civic) textbooks submitted for review in Hong Kong clearly stated that Hong Kong was never a colony, saying that the Chinese government never recognized the 19th-century treaty that handed control of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom.
Britain occupied Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War (1840-1842) and later signed a treaty giving it 99 years of control over the adjoining New Territories area. The treaty ended with the British handover of control of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997.
Later, the Communist Party usurped power and called the agreements signed by the Qing Dynasty and subsequent governments with foreign countries to cede land and other agreements as "unequal treaties". Now Beijing refuses to recognize those treaties, emphasizing that Hong Kong affairs are entirely domestic.
The materials have been made available to schools for them to pick and choose what they want to teach starting this September. In a statement to Bloomberg, the Hong Kong Education Bureau said textbook publishers are responsible for selecting appropriate materials for textbooks based on official guidelines.
In addition, the new textbook insists on the Chinese government's stance on the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition protests, blaming it on "external forces."
Some in China believe that recognizing Hong Kong as a colony would open the door to Hong Kong's independence. The Chinese government has expanded its control over Hong Kong through measures including reforming the electoral system. Beijing has accused Hong Kong's schools of partly fueling the dissent that fueled protests against the Communist Party in 2019.
Since the 2019 protests, the CCP has overhauled Hong Kong’s curriculum, asking children to remember the crimes under Beijing’s security laws, running National Security Education Days in schools and advising teachers to report children's violations of security laws.
In the "Civil and Social Development Curriculum and Assessment Guidelines (Secondary 4 to Secondary 6)" launched by the Hong Kong Education Bureau a year ago, it pointed out that given that many topics in this subject involve history and culture, moral standards, the rule of law and the rule of law, teachers should not Guide students to adopt the inquiry method of "positive and negative binary opposition".
The practice questions of the new civics textbook also do not require positive and negative opinions. There is a question saying that "the implementation of the national security law is not only beneficial to the Hong Kong SAR, but also to the country", requiring students to use the information provided and "what you know" to provide reasons support this claim.
History cannot repeat itself, but the reality is enough to illustrate the problem. In 1997, when British rule in Hong Kong was coming to an end, pollsters polled Hong Kongers: 75% said Hong Kong would be "worse" and only 5% said it would be "better."
The 1961 Hong Kong census found that of the more than 3.1 million Hong Kongers, 50.4% were born in mainland China and only 47.7% were born in Hong Kong.
According to The New York Times in 1964, millions of refugees from China poured into Hong Kong. In fact, the vast majority of Hong Kong's population at the time were refugees and immigrants, who or their descendants fled China's oppression and misery to find a better life in the British colony.
Migration patterns are pretty telling on their own, people usually migrate to a better place, not a worse place.
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News (15)
We should stand with Taiwan! Culture ministers of Taiwan and Germany hold talks
Reporter : Ling Meixue / https://art.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/3960361 / Image : Under the arrangement of Xie Zhiwei (from left), representative to Germany, German Federal Minister of Culture Claudia_Roth held talks with Taiwanese Minister of Culture Li Yongde at the German Reichstag. (Provided by the Ministry of Culture)
The Republic of China Culture Minister Li Yongde started his first trip to Europe after taking office on the 13th. The first stop was arranged by Xie Zhiwei, the representative in Germany. On the 14th, he met with the German Federal Minister of Culture Claudia Roth in the German Federal Parliament. During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on Taiwan-Germany cultural exchanges and topics such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and transitional justice. This is also the first cultural ministers' meeting between Taiwan and Germany, which is an important milestone in Taiwan-Germany cultural exchanges.
The Ministry of Culture stated that the German Federal Minister of Culture Lotter specifically mentioned in the meeting that democratic Taiwan is at the forefront of fighting against dictatorship. In the face of the difficult situation of CCP China's challenge, it still faces the challenge with great courage and democratic strength. Yes, "Taiwan has the absolute right to ask all democratic partners in the world to unite and cheer for Taiwan". Li Yongde responded that although Taiwan is facing pressure from dictatorial and hegemonic countries, under the leadership of President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has made every effort to consolidate the values of freedom and democracy without being humble or arrogant, and has a deeper connection with all liberal and democratic countries in the world. .
The two sides also discussed issues such as human rights and transitional justice. Regarding Taiwan becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, Lotte mentioned the scene where millions of people cheered for Taiwan at the gay parade held in Cologne. Taiwan was also invited to participate in the Cologne Gay Parade on 3 July as well as film festivals in Berlin and Munich. Lott said, "I hope the exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and Germany can be strengthened."
Previously, under the arrangement of Xie Zhiwei, Li Yongde met with Daniela Kluckert, the German Federal Minister for Digital and Transport Affairs, Evelyn Zupke, the Special Envoy for Victims of the East German Dictatorship and Dictatorship, and related art articles on the evening of the 13th. Kelu mentioned that culture, like economics and academia, binds Taiwan and Germany closely. Culture is the basis for exchanges between Taiwan and Germany but the premise of exchanges must be peace. We should stand with Taiwan."
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