Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
News on disease control, covid traceability, CCP, U.S.
News (1)
Deaths in Singapore hit record 60-year high after the rollout of covid injections
Image synthesis : Web Screenshot
Reporter : Rhoda Wilson, The Expose / https://expose-news.com/2023/03/01/deaths-in-singapore-hit-record-60-year-highs/ / Image : In the graph below as downloaded from the Department of Statistics Singapore, the blue line is the crude death rate and the red line is the perinatal mortality rate for the years 1960 to 2022.
Last week the Department of Statistics Singapore published data on number of deaths and death rates for 2022, the second year after the rollout of the covid “vaccine.” The data shows a 10.4% increase in the number of deaths during 2022 compared to 2021. And comparing the number of deaths in 2022 to the pre-pandemic year of 2019 there was a staggering 26% increase.
In Singapore, the mass covid injection campaign began on 30 December 2020. The year of the vaccine, 2021, was already the highest death rate since records began 61 years earlier. Now 2022 has broken that record and is the highest death rate in 62 years.
Additionally, 2022 recorded the highest number of perinatal deaths in 20 years. The perinatal mortality rate increased by 58.6% compared to 2021 and 84% compared to 2019. Perinatal Death is “stillbirth and death of babies under seven days of age”.
Aussie17 has been monitoring Singapore’s data closely because it is a highly controlled environment. “The data is extremely accurate and reliable, and there is no reason to believe any data has been fudged (like the recently released UK ONS data),” Aussie17 said.
The mass injection campaign began on 30 December 2021. Four “vaccine” brands are available in Singapore: Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna/Spikevax, Novavax/Nuvaxovid and Sinovac-CoronaVac. The government announced in October 2021 that a vaccine-or-test mandate would take effect in January 2022 for practically every worker in the public and private sectors. From 1 February 2022, covid vaccination was made a mandatory condition for the approval of new applications for work passes, long-term passes and permanent residence in Singapore. And the original Moderna/Spikevax vaccine was replaced with the updated bivalent version for all adults aged 18 and above beginning 17 October 2022.
As Aussie17 noted, over the last three years, the number of covid deaths in Singapore was 1,712.
The Department of Statistics Singapore does not provide data by vaccination status, however, the elephant in the room is that deaths have skyrocketed for two years in a row since the “vaccine” rollout began. Our World in Data confirms the skyrocketing all-cause excess deaths in Singapore which began in September 2021, roughly 9 months after the campaign to inject covid “vaccines” into the population first began.
Featured Image : Covid-19 Vaccines, Access and The Intellectual Property Wars, Oriental Review, 8 March 2021 (right)
News (2)
Influenza A also white lung? The public questioned the authorities' use of this to cover up the second wave of the epidemic
Reporters : Wang Yanqiao and Li Yun / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/03/01/a103659627.html / Image : Video Screenshot
Recently, the CCP declared that "the number of flu cases in Beijing exceeds the number of covid cases." At the same time, a doctor in mainland China said that "influenza A can also cause white lung" which caused heated discussions among netizens. Many people have questioned that the authorities are using "flu" to cover up the second wave of the epidemic.
A doctor from mainland China: "Flu and covid, these two are actually not very easy to distinguish, both of which are respiratory infectious diseases."
Recently, a number of topics related to "influenza A" have rushed into hot searches, from "Influenza causes white lungs" to "Nucleic acid can also detect influenza A virus" and other content, with over 100 million views.
Mr. Zhang, a Chinese citizen: "If it has white lungs, then there is no doubt that it is not influenza A. This is undoubtedly covid. So what is the proportion of white lungs? You can see flu, influenza A but for viruses, you can’t see the real official data.”
Recently, there have been suspected outbreaks of Influenza A in many places in China but the symptoms are severe, and the authorities have strictly controlled it. Many schools have been closed because of this. People questioned that the authorities are using "A Influenza" to cover up the second wave of the epidemic. Some netizens posted an article saying that "influenza A is also covid, and covid is also influenza A".
Ms. Liu, a Beijing resident: "I don't believe what the government says anymore. Because I started to cough within two days since I had a fever. Experts say that it will be fine in three to seven weeks. You don't need to see (disease). Wait for me to see it and say there are already pulmonary nodules. How many people have pulmonary nodules, why doesn’t it report it? What’s wrong with you now? The government has told us, and you are the first responsible person. There is no way! You can only start buying it yourself medicine."
The public no longer believed the official statement. In order to save themselves, there was another wave of drug rush, and the "oseltamivir" in many pharmacies was out of stock.
Chinese people: "Yesterday it was said that Oseltamivir was out of stock, and today I saw on Douyin that the H1N1 outbreak broke out, and there was a wave of rushing for the drug everywhere."
Chinese people: "Everyone is terrified by the three-year epidemic. I am afraid that when it is my turn to get sick, there will be no medicine to eat and no hospital to stay in."
Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Jiangsu: "Now there is definitely influenza A. We all know one reason for these problems. The government's credibility and transparency are very low. Because in the past three years, no one believes the data released by the government. The common people can only save themselves."
News (3)
Covid or flu? CCTV said "Nucleic acid can also detect influenza A" , which is on the hot search
Editor : Li Chengyu / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/02/28/a103659242.html / Image : A child is sampled for a nucleic acid test for the covid virus in Yantai, Shandong Province, China, 14 March 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Another wave of covid broke out in CCP China. The official declared that it was "mainly influenza", but many people were worried about whether the virus was a covi variant. The CCP’s CCTV stated that “nucleic acid can also detect influenza A virus”, and it was listed on Weibo’s hot search.
On 26 February, the official Weibo of the CCP’s CCTV website posted a blog post, claiming that “recent fever and fatigue may be influenza A” and that nucleic acid testing at a hospital “can also detect influenza A virus.” If you have symptoms of diarrhoea, you should focus on "considering possible norovirus infection."
In addition to "nucleic acid can also detect influenza A", there is also an "expert statement" that "flu can also cause white lung". These claims make it even more doubtful whether the CCP’s official announcement of the “flu epidemic” is covering up another wave of the CCP virus.
Recently, the CCP has just announced that "the fight against the epidemic has achieved a decisive victory", and it is also on the eve of the "two sessions" when the party and government change. Under such circumstances, the authorities are definitely "unwilling to see" another major covid outbreak.
The covid virus is still mutating as it spreads. The "flu symptoms" claimed by the authorities are similar to the CCP virus infection. With the official suspension of large-scale nucleic acid testing, it is difficult for ordinary people to determine what kind of virus they are infected with.
In addition, the official claims that "norovirus causes diarrhea symptoms". Diarrhea is also a typical symptom of the covi variant XBB. Not long ago, the CCP admitted that XBB variants were found in China, and the public is also worried about whether there will be a new wave of XBB transmission.
CCTV declared that "nucleic acid can also test for influenza A", which quickly aroused the attention of netizens. On 27 February, related topics were once on Weibo hot searches.
As a result, another "expert" came forward to explain that "this nucleic acid is not that nucleic acid", and the nucleic acid detection for influenza A virus and the detection of CCP virus "use different reagents".
Some netizens are worried that if CCTV once again promotes "nucleic acid testing", whether the nucleic acid companies that made a lot of money earlier will make a comeback. Some netizens also said, "When I hear nucleic acid, I tremble," and the official media is promoting "nucleic acid testing", whether it is a sign of returning to "clearing".
Since the officially declared "type A flu" is very similar to the symptoms of the covi infection, many people are unable to judge, so China once again set off a chaotic rush to buy drugs. In addition to anti-CCP virus drugs, the anti-flu drug Oseltamivir has also joined the public's rush-buy list, and many pharmacies and hospitals are out of stock.
News (4)
Beijing jumped to respond to the "leak theory" Expert: The CCP is afraid of mentioning the origin of the virus
Reporter : Lin Yi / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/03/01/a103659588.html
Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy’s investigation into the source of the CCP virus caused Beijing to jump, and the CCP Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again denied that the virus originated from a Chinese laboratory. The U.S. State Department responded on the 27th.
On 26 February 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that the novel coronavirus (covid virus) was most likely caused by a leak from a Chinese laboratory.
The Energy Department's conclusions are significant because the department has considerable expertise, the report said. The U.S. Department of Energy has always been considered to have the functions of biological and chemical weapons research and intelligence analysis.
Some experts believe that it is of special significance for the United States to refocus on virus traceability when the epidemic situation in various countries has passed and calls for traceability have gradually faded.
Current affairs commentator Yokogawa: "The current U.S.-China relationship is in a downward spiral. The CCP's comprehensive threat to the United States has become the consensus of all walks of life in the United States. From banning Tiktok to shooting down spy balloons, then at this time, it is appropriate to remind the epidemic situation. The source is a manifestation of US-China relations. On the other hand, the new US Congress is also conducting its own investigations, putting pressure on the US executive authorities.”
The latest conclusion of the U.S. Department of Energy on the origin of the virus has aroused dissatisfaction in the CCP. On the 27th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China responded that it should stop stirring up the "lab leak" argument, stop smearing, and stop politicizing the traceability issue.
Yokogawa: "The Chinese side's performance is predictable, because the Chinese government originally shared vaccines and cleared them to divert the attention of international traceability, but unexpectedly, both of these failed, and it had to be unblocked suddenly, and the result almost reproduced the early stage of the epidemic In the case of the lockdown of Wuhan, the CCP is actually very afraid that people will bring up the source of the epidemic again but the CCP’s rebuttal is very weak.”
In response to the CCP’s denial, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that he did not want to entangle the CCP on this issue but hoped to see a greater degree of responsibility from China.
The U.S. State Department spoke to Price: "For more than two years, we have continued to ask China (the Communist Party) this basic question. CCP, from the beginning, has been preventing international investigators and members of the global health community from obtaining the information they need. To study the origin of the covid virus."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also admitted that the WHO investigation team was hindered when investigating the source of the virus in China.
Yokogawa: "The CCP will only obstruct the real traceability, and it will not cooperate. Therefore, traceability requires the joint efforts of all countries, civil society, congresses, parliaments and governments internationally."
At present, the U.S. intelligence community is still divided on the origin of the virus. The U.S. Department of Energy and the FBI believe the virus most likely originated in a Chinese laboratory, while four other agencies, as well as a national intelligence group, still maintain the view of natural transmission.
However, the United States has not relaxed its traceability of the origin of the CCP virus, and this has become one of the factors that have escalated the tension between China and the United States. U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said on the 27th that if the United States and China are to be able to cooperate, the CCP must "be more honest about the origins of the covid virus crisis that occurred in Wuhan three years ago."
News (5)
The CCP's two sessions are worried about high-level epidemics? Quarantine procedures for foreign journalists exposed
Editor : Li Enzhen / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/03/01/a103659620.html
The Two Sessions of the Communist Party of China will be held soon. It is reported that the Beijing authorities require foreign journalists covering the two sessions to isolate and declare close contact in advance.
The two sessions of the CCP (National People's Congress and CPPCC) opened in Beijing on 4 and 5 March 2023 respectively. The Hong Kong media "Ming Pao" reported on 1 March that the spokespersons of the National People's Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held their first press conferences at noon on 4 March and in the afternoon of 3 March respectively. Journalists apply in time to the press center of the conference respectively.
According to the report, according to the registration conditions, some regulations continue the previous epidemic control measures of the two sessions.
The document shows that if the registration is successful, the reporter must go to the hotel for isolation at 8 pm the day before the event, and declare whether he has had close contact with someone positive for covid without protection within 3 days, and the risk of infection has not been ruled out ;Whether there are symptoms such as fever and cough... The reporter must report truthfully, otherwise "bear legal responsibility and corresponding consequences."
Previously, Hong Kong media reported that several members of the CPPCC National Committee have been notified that during the two sessions this year, all stations will continue to implement closed-loop management, and personnel will not be allowed to enter or leave. The specific epidemic prevention measures will be notified separately.
As for whether it is necessary to conduct a collective nucleic acid test in Hong Kong before the meeting, we are still waiting for further notice from the top leaders of the CCP.
Some members of the CPPCC who attended the meeting said that although the Chinese Communist Party authorities have greatly relaxed the epidemic prevention measures, "leaders" showed up intensively during the two sessions and were still worried about the safety of the epidemic.
The CCP holds two sessions every year, and Beijing is full of grass and trees, with strict security levels.
On 22 February 2023, the Beijing Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that from 00:00 on 1 to 14 March, the use of drones and other "low, slow and small" aircraft is prohibited in the administrative area of Beijing, and balloons cannot be released without approval.
On February 22, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice stating that from 0:00 on 1 March 1 to 12 am on 14 March, within the administrative area of Beijing, units, organizations and individuals are prohibited from using drones, "low, slow and small" aircraft such as "traversing planes" carry out various unapproved flight activities and balloon launch activities.
On 27 February, the State Post Bureau of the Communist Party of China issued a notice stating that from February 25 to the closing date of the meeting, all mail shipments entering Beijing must not only be "received with real names, checked for inspection, and passed through security checks", but also stamped or pasted Acceptance inspection and security inspection marks, and indicate the security inspection unit and province.
The notice requires that all express mails entering Beijing undergo a "secondary security inspection" before delivery, and it is strictly forbidden to accept and deliver "slow and small" aircraft, crossing planes and other items destined for Beijing.
In addition, the notice also specifically emphasized the prevention and control of the epidemic. Postal management departments at all levels and enterprises are required to strictly follow the prevention and control guidelines and other requirements, and do a good job in the prevention and control of the epidemic in the new stage of the industry.
At the end of last year, the CCP suddenly released the epidemic control without warning, which led to the explosive spread of the epidemic in various parts of China, and the intensive death of current and retired senior CCP officials and experts from all walks of life.
Mr. Song, a Beijing resident, told NTDTV recently that during the two sessions, people and objects on the train and in Beijing will undergo two security checks. As the two sessions approached, Beijing began to tighten up, and there were more and more police cars.
News (6)
Worried about the collapse of the CCP regime at any time? Announcement of the Second Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Editor : Li Enzhen / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/03/01/a103659568.html
On 28 February 2023, the Second Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee ended in Beijing. The communiqué issued after the meeting stated that "various unexpected factors may occur at any time" and that we must be prepared to withstand "turbulent waves" and so on. Some analysts believe that these words show that the top leaders of the CCP have a strong sense of insecurity about the future, and they are afraid that the country will be "unsafe."
From 26 to 28 February2023, the Second Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing. After the meeting on 28 February, a communiqué was issued. The meeting approved the list of leaders of state institutions that were "recommended" to the two sessions and the "institutional reform plan."
The communiqué of the meeting emphasized that the international environment is "severe and complex", the domestic reform, development and stability tasks are "hard and onerous", and "resolutely safeguard national security and social stability". It is a great test of high waves, rough seas and even stormy seas."
Regarding the economy, the communiqué stated that the triple pressure of demand contraction, supply shocks, and weakening expectations is still relatively large. "The foundation for economic recovery is not yet solid, and various unexpected factors may occur at any time." bottom line".
The communiqué of the meeting also emphasized the need to use "Xi Core and Xi Thought" as the guide and strengthen "the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership as the command", and so on.
Radio France Internationale reported on 1 March 2023 that observers analyzed that through this general overview, there is a strong sense of insecurity about the prospect of the Second Plenary Session chaired by Xi Jinping, and the words and sentences are all about Strengthening stability and national security, and saying that China's development is facing various unexpected factors. Xi Jinping has used "black swan" and "grey rhino" to describe unexpected events in the past.
According to the report, Xi Jinping, who seized all the power at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and started his third term as general secretary, seems to be the perpetuation of the CCP’s regime as the top priority when planning for the two sessions, appointing new government members, and institutional reforms. The strengthening of "party leadership" means, to put it bluntly, the leadership of Xi Jinping.
The report pointed out that keeping the country "never changing color" is indeed a major worry for Xi Jinping, because he wants to set a precedent for lasting power or even lifelong power after Mao. But now that the domestic and foreign environment is becoming more and more unfavorable to the CCP, it is inevitable that there will be undercurrents within the CCP. In the report of the 20th National Congress, Xi Jinping said that the big party "needs an attitude that the bigger the party, the more fearful it becomes, and the stronger it becomes, the more fearful it is." Are you warning the whole party or are you revealing your inner unease? Li Xi, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, shouted before the Second Plenum of the Communist Party of China to "resolutely clean up the door" and "really reassure the Party Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping", which is even more meaningful.
On 1 March, political commentator Tang Hao analyzed in the program "Crossroads of the World" that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection released these harsh words on the eve of the two sessions, but in fact it revealed in disguise that there are still many people in the CCP who are "disloyal". Do you still make the general secretary "worried"? That's why the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has to intimidate those disloyal people to "take the initiative to explain the problem", otherwise they will "digging the flesh with a knife". From this perspective, the CCP definitely makes Xi very worried, and there may even be some people secretly challenging his power.
The communiqué of the plenary meeting did not disclose the relevant details of the "institutional reform plan". This plan has been interpreted by the outside world as China entering an era of "strong party and weak government".
Previously, Hong Kong media reported that the CCP is likely to establish a new "Central Internal Affairs Committee", which will be directly under Xi Jinping's control. It will integrate functions such as public security, anti-terrorism, and anti-espionage. Pulled out, directly under the jurisdiction of this "house committee".
Tang Hao believes that if such changes are really made, there will be two meanings: first, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security, which originally belonged to the government departments, are directly transferred to the "internal committee" of the Communist Party for control, which is tantamount to strengthening the Party. The ruling power of the machine has weakened the administrative power of the government system, that is, the state has given way to the party machine, and "the party advances and the country retreats."
The second meaning is that both the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security belong to the "knives", they are thugs with force and ammunition, so Xi Jinping is tantamount to skipping the State Council and directly grasping these knives to reduce these thugs Opportunities to fall under the control of others. To put it bluntly, Xi Jinping wants to be the "Security Czar" himself.
Tang Hao said that the current internal and external situation made Xi feel very unsafe, which is why he mentioned the word "safety" 89 times in the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Security Czar". However, is a person safe if he is full of knives, guns, and gunpowder? I'm afraid not necessarily.
Yuan Hongbing, a liberal jurist based in Australia, previously told The Epoch Times that the Communist regime has never been so dangerous as it is today. As long as there is a shock, the whole building may collapse.
Yuan Hongbing believes that on the surface, this building still exists, and Xi Jinping's cronies control all important nodes of the CCP's power. But from the perspective of people's hearts, inside and outside the party, he has become a loner. This is his biggest crisis. As long as there is an unexpected event that changes the balance of his power nodes, the building will immediately collapse.
News (7)
Yan Limeng: The CCP intends to spread covid virus around the world
Reporter : Dai Furuo / Editor : LinYan / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/2/28/n13940081.htm / Image : The P4 laboratory located in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Taken on 13 May 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
After the U.S. Department of Energy reported that the covid virus (covi) may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory, virologist Yan Limeng said on Monday (February 27), The United States achieved a "landmark achievement."
Yan Limeng issued a warning at the beginning of 2020, saying that the covid virus is a biological weapon developed by the CCP, and that the CCP is covering up the truth of the virus in every possible way, which eventually led to the global outbreak of the epidemic.
In September 2020, she told Carlson, the host of Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight," that the Chinese Communist Party deliberately created and released the covid virus, which caused a nationwide shutdown and a large number of deaths.
On Monday, Carlson asked Yan Limeng if she still believed the virus was released on purpose when the outbreak began nearly three years ago.
"Of course, it wasn't an accident (accident)," she replied.
"For those who don't have three or four years of experience in coronavirus biosafety laboratories, maybe they can easily accept that it was a laboratory leak accident. However, I am a scientist and I am engaged in laboratory research using coronavirus. I I can tell you that according to the printed protocol and other monitoring systems, (accidental) laboratory leaks that lead to outbreaks and pandemics in Wuhan cannot happen in such a laboratory.” Yan Limeng said.
"So right now we're definitely just taking the first step. It (the virus) came from a lab in China and we need to get to the bottom of where it came from and we need to move on," she added.
Carlson suggested that the CCP unleashed covid to destroy Western economies and boost its own global standing.
Limeng Yan said that based on the evidence she had seen and spoken to sources, covi was "intentionally brought out of this strict laboratory and released into the community."
"However, I don't think the outbreak in Wuhan was intentional. I think it's because the Chinese government and military scientists underestimated (the virus's) ability to spread." She added, "However, we should know that the Chinese government deliberately let it spread throughout the world to the extent that it subsequently killed millions of people worldwide."
Yan Limeng, a former doctor in virology and immunology at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, said she reported her findings to her supervisor on 16 January 2020, but that was when the supervisor allegedly told her to "keep silent and be careful."
"As he warned me before, 'Don't touch the red line,'" "We're going to get in trouble, and then we'll disappear."
In April 2020, Yan Limeng fled Hong Kong and began to call on the world to hold the CCP accountable overseas.
News (8)
FBI director: Covid virus most likely originated in Wuhan lab
Reporter : Li Xin / Editor : Ye Ziwei / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/3/1/n13940318.htm / Image : The FBI director said the novel coronavirus "most likely" originated from "a potential laboratory event in Wuhan, China." In this September 22, 2020, picture, FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC. (Olivier Douliery/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday (28 February 2023) that the agency assessed that the covid virus "most likely" originated from "a potential laboratory event in Wuhan, China".
In an interview on Tuesday, Wray told Fox News host Bret Baier that the FBI's work to determine the origin of the covid outbreak is continuing but many details related to the investigation remain classified.
"So, as you've noticed, Brett, the FBI has been evaluating for quite some time that the origin of this pandemic is likely to be a potential laboratory event in Wuhan," he said.
Wray added that he believes Beijing has been working hard to undermine the investigation of the origin of the new coronavirus by the United States and other members of the international community.
"I just want to say that, in my view, the Chinese government has been doing everything it can to try to obstruct and confuse the work here. The work that we're doing, the work that our American government and our close foreign partners are doing." "It's unfortunate for everyone," he said.
A few days ago, the U.S. Department of Energy released a report that determined with "low confidence" that a laboratory leak caused the covid outbreak.
The Energy Department concluded with "low confidence" that the covid outbreak "probably" originated from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, according to a classified report submitted to leading members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees.
The FBI had previously concluded with "medium confidence" that a laboratory leak was the cause of the spread of the coronavirus to the public, but other U.S. intelligence agencies were divided on whether that was the source, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
The U.S. intelligence agencies released their assessment report on the source of the virus in 2021 but they did not make clear conclusions on many issues.
The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Response, established last month, is also investigating the origins of the outbreak during the current Congress.
Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee concluded in a report released last year that the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan.
News (9) to (11) / Editor : Lin Yan / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/2/27/n13939616.htm
News (9)
Dynamic clearing and emptying the finances, local governments frequently raise money and raise controversy
Reporter : Zhang Ting / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/23/2/27/n13939616.htm / Image : The picture shows that on 15 February 2023, a large number of elderly people and supporters in Wuhan gathered at the gate of Zhongshan Park to protest against the deductions of medical insurance funds under the new medical reform. (Video screenshot)
Over the past three years, the CCP’s extreme “dynamic clearing policy” has emptied local finances, and the government is heavily indebted, facing the risk of default. In order to raise funds, local governments have resorted to various strange tricks, but experts believe that this cannot substantially solve the debt problem.
News (10)
Big spending, little revenue, local governments suffer a triple blow
According to the annual budget report of the local governments of the Communist Party of China, China's provinces will spend at least 352 billion RMB (about 50.69 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022 on epidemic prevention and control alone. To make matters worse, the central government has implemented tax cuts to stimulate the economy, reducing local government revenue. In addition, the central government's crackdown on real estate developers has created a real estate crisis that has swept the country, which has also hit local government revenues. Revenues related to land sales typically account for more than 30 percent of local government revenues. Between 2019 and 2021, that share will be around 40%. But revenue from land sales in 2022 has fallen by nearly a third compared with 2021.
The sharp increase in expenditure and the sharp drop in revenue have put local governments in financial trouble. Local governments have been borrowing to fill the gap.
Local governments have accumulated 35 trillion RMB ($5.04 trillion) in debt by December 2022, up from 30.5 trillion RMB in the previous year. This means that China's provincial debt burden is about 20% larger than the total GDP of Germany, the European economic powerhouse.
Preliminary estimates suggest China's economic growth will slip to 3% in 2022, the worst performance since 1976.
The Guardian reported that Wenye Sun, an analyst at research firm Trivium China, said local government debt was a "big trouble" for the national economy.
Sun Wenye said there was a real risk that more lower-level governments would default on their debt.
"In a worst-case scenario, this would trigger a financial crisis."
Hidden debt accumulated through local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) could more than double the total debt burden. Houze Song, a researcher on the Chinese economy at the think tank MacroPolo, estimates that the debt held by LGFVs has exceeded 70% of GDP.
Once the LGFV explodes, the Chinese government will face difficult choices. "Wall Street Journal" said that Thunderbolt sounds a bit familiar, because this kind of similar situation has existed in the Chinese real estate market for a long time in the past.
News (11)
With no money, many places turned to new ways to raise funds
Faced with increasingly dire fiscal conditions, some cities are turning to new ways to raise money. One way is to sell local assets.
In August 2022, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Rongjiang County, Guizhou publicly auctioned the 20-year franchise of the county's funeral home at a price of 126.8 million yuan.
In October 2021, the Southwest United Property Rights Trading Network released an auction on Sichuan's "Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Spot Sightseeing Tour Vehicle and 30-year Overall Transfer of the Management Rights of the Stalls", with a base price of 1.71 billion yuan and a deposit of 150 million yuan. The start and end dates of the project listing From October 26 to November 29, 2021. So far, no results from this auction have been seen.
The Guardian's China correspondent Amy Hawkins revealed that between 2020 and 2021, the fine revenue of 15 prefecture-level city authorities has more than doubled. Transport authorities in some places have even figured out how to require drivers to pay a monthly "fine package" of 2,000 yuan to cover any future fines for potential violations.
However, some experts are skeptical that the measures taken by local governments will be effective.
In a blog post, economist Luo Zhiheng objected to the arbitrary fines and charges imposed by local governments in an attempt to extract cash from ordinary people. Luo Zhiheng believes that some strategies adopted by local governments may be equivalent to "fishing in a dry lake".
MacroPolo's Song Houze said local governments have been "prioritizing debt rollover over debt repayment".
"As a result, debt continues to grow faster than GDP," he said. "Sales of assets or fines do little to help resolve the debt problem."
Another problem brought about by the local lack of money is the problem of medical insurance. Funding for health insurance comes from local government finances. When funds were in trouble, Wuhan and other cities promoted medical insurance reforms, and the local government reduced the rebates for personal accounts of medical insurance, triggering protests by the elderly on the streets. Despite the official explanation that part of the surplus in individual accounts is being used to meet growing public healthcare needs, protesters believe the government is taking their savings.
In September last year, Lanzhou Public Transport Group Co., Ltd., which had been in arrears of wages for many months, issued a notice to its employees, requiring them to obtain their own wages from June to September through loans. The state-owned company has defaulted on about 90 million RMB in wages for its employees, and has promised workers that the company will repay the loans on their behalf.
At that time, some family members of the employees questioned that this was to allow the employees to pay their own wages with loans. If the company itself could not handle the loan for various reasons, who would bear the risk of not being able to repay the loan?
News (12)
CCP China eases covid test rules for travellers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, New Zealand
China on Wednesday (1 March 2023) relaxes covid testing requirements for travellers from several countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia and New Zealand.
It is no longer mandatory for a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result, which was to be taken no more than 48 hours before departure.
Instead, eligible travellers flying directly to China can take an Antigen Rapid Test (ART), within 48 hours before boarding.
"Passengers are required to travel to China with a negative test result. If you received a positive test result, you should only travel to China when you tested negative for COVID-19," the Chinese embassy in Singapore said in a notice on Wednesday.
It added that the rules are being eased "in accordance with the current situation of (the) COVID-19 pandemic and to facilitate people-to-people exchanges".
The testing rules have also been eased for travellers from Indonesia, Thailand, Switzerland and Russia.
Singaporean travellers are required to declare their negative test results on this page of China Customs: https://htdecl.chinaport.gov.cn/htdeclweb/home/pages/healthDeclare/declare.html.
According to the notice, airlines will no longer check a passenger's negative PCR or ART results.
"You can go through customs with your health declaration result, and China Customs may conduct random sampling inspections," it added.
Refs.: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/china-eases-covid-19-testing-requirements-pcr-art-test-pre-departure-singapore-malaysia-new-zealand-3314341, https://www.shicheng.news/v/xBjaG
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From 1 May 2023, Singaporeans on business to CCP China can be granted visa-free entry by showing APEC business card
News (13)
The U.S. House of Representatives "Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party" held its first hearing
Reporter : Yu Wei / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/03/01/a103659925.html
The newly established "Special Committee on the Chinese Communist Party" of the U.S. House of Representatives held its first hearing on 28 February 2023. In his opening speech, the chairman of the committee, Gallagher, said that the US-China relationship is a battle for survival that will determine the life of the people in the 21st century, and the US has no time to waste. Gallagher emphasized that the era of American wishful thinking towards the CCP is over.
On 28 February 2023, Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said, "We must act with a sense of urgency. I believe that our policies for the next 10 years will lay the foundation for the next 100 years. We cannot let the CCP tech-fueled dystopia prevail."
Gallagher said that for most of the past half century, the United States has tried to win over the CCP through interests and contacts, believing that economic contacts will lead China to reform. Both parties made the same bet, and it did not work out.
He said that the CCP mocks American naivety and takes advantage of American goodwill but that era of wishful thinking is over. The Special Committee will not allow the CCP to cajole Americans, or manipulate Americans into submission.
The committee is made up of 24 Republican and Democratic members. Four witnesses were invited to the first hearing, including White House national security adviser McMaster and deputy national security adviser Pottinger during the former President Trump's time, Tong Yi, former secretary of Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, and American Manufacturing Federation chairman Paul.
News (14) to (17) / Editor : Chu Tian / Source : VOA / https://www.aboluowang.com/2023/0301/1872149.html
News (14)
Research shows that some Android smartphones sold in China leak a lot of user information no matter where they are used
Android smartphones are popular in China. However, some scholars have found that some Chinese brands sell versions in China that have security risks. Therefore, users are urged to pay attention and consider measures to block the outflow of messages.
A new study has found that Android mobile phones sold by three Chinese brands in China will send a "staggering amount" of user information to many parts of China without the user's knowledge, and even if the user uses these phones in other places, relevant The outflow of information has not stopped.
The research was carried out by academics from the University of Edinburgh and Trinity College Dublin. Paul Patras, an informatics scholar at the University of Edinburgh, told Voice of America that China has the largest number of Android phone users in the world, so he decided to study three popular phones in China, including Xiaomi's Redmi Note11, OnePlus 9R, and Realme Q3Pro.
"Our research found that a phone made for the Chinese market, for example, would disclose about three to four times as much information as a phone made for the European market, without the ability for the user to opt out," he said. Information is necessary to use some services. For example, a provider needs to know the version of the application and the system to provide software updates, or a map program needs to know where the user is in order to provide location-related services. But we find it strange Yes, many services extract many types of information, adding up will reveal too much information about individual users, which constitutes a problem of privacy leakage.”
News (15)
The Chinese version of the phone sends a lot of information
Patras said that users cannot know what information is being leaked on the phone, and researchers need to use Man-in-the-Middle Proxy technology to intercept the messages sent by the phone and interpret them. The study looked at whether four types of information were leaked, including system information, location information, user personal information, and social relationship information. Covering phone numbers, GPS information (GPS), connected and nearby Wi-Fi servers, phone numbers, apps and usage, call and SMS records, etc.
He said: "This information can be used for immoral purposes. For example, if you have a certain religious belief or sexual orientation and use related applications, such as Muslims use prayers, or if you are not straight and use some Dating apps. I think that's very personal information, and we don't want the phone system to share that information with anyone."
Patras pointed out that the phone number in China is a semi-permanent identifier, and the government can easily identify the user through the phone number. He said that most of the information will be sent to some servers in Beijing, a lot of location information will be sent to a server in Hangzhou, and other information will be sent to Guangzhou, Xi'an, Shenzhen and Nanjing.
News (16)
Information is transmitted overseas to China Unicom
He added: "One thing that we find a bit suspicious is that these phones have a Software Development Kit (SDK) from China Unicom installed, and assuming you bring these phones to the UK and use a UK calling card, The software development kit will continue to function and send information to China Unicom. We don't know what this information will be used for, but it is a bit worrying that this information is being sent without the user's knowledge."
Patras said that researchers have no way of knowing why Chinese manufacturers do this. They have inquired with three manufacturers, and only the "True Me" brand replied that it values user privacy and users have the right to opt-out. That claim does not line up with research findings, Patras said.
However, Patras also pointed out that phones sold by Chinese manufacturers outside of China will "generally comply" with local privacy protection laws, such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If users use the European versions of the "Xiaomi" and "RealMe" phones in the study, these phones will not send call and text messages.
News (17)
Patras: Users don't have much choice
Patras said users could try to change the phone's system but warned users that doing so could damage the phone. Users can also install apps that block the phone from sending messages, but mainland Chinese users cannot use Android's Google Play store, which may make it difficult for them to get related apps. What is more important, he said, is that users have greater concerns about privacy.
He pointed out that some states in the United States, Canada and South Korea have relevant privacy laws to protect users but the key is how strict the enforcement is.
"We can't avoid the use of mobile phones, we rely on them and put a lot of data on them, so unless there are laws that are stricter about what information can be collected, I'm afraid users don't have much choice," he said.
News (18)
Passengers entering South Korea from China that have zero covi-positive rate of landing inspection and will be exempted from inspection from 1 March 2023
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean government is about to lift the covid landing inspection obligation for people entering South Korea from CCP China. On 27 February the covi-positive rate of landing foreign personnel who entered South Korea for short-term residence from China was zero.
According to news from the Central Epidemic Prevention Headquarters on 28 February, a total of 2,114 people entered South Korea from China on the 27th, of which 190 short-term foreigners were tested for nucleic acid after entering the country, and no one was confirmed to be infected with covid. This is the fifth time that the covi- positive rate of arrival inspections has been zero since the government implemented inspections on arrivals from China on 2 January but this statistic only includes people whose test results were released as of 0:00 on 28 February.
Since 2 January, the South Korean government has required short-term resident foreigners entering South Korea from China to undergo landing inspection at the airport, and long-term resident foreigners and Korean nationals to undergo nucleic acid testing at health stations near their places of residence. From 2 January to 27 February, among the 93,230 people who entered South Korea from China, 14,824 short-term foreign nationals received the landing inspection, and 832 of them were diagnosed with infection, with a cumulative positive rate of 5.6%.
It fell to 0.6% in the third week of February as the outbreak in CCP China stabilized. Therefore, the South Korean government has decided to lift the obligation of covid landing inspection for people entering China from 1 March 2023, as well as the restrictive measures for flights from China to land at Incheon International Airport in a unified manner. (Q-CODE) obligations will be extended until 10 March 2023.
News (19)
Hong Kong's mask order is completely cancelled on 1 March 2023
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee Ka-chao, announced on 28 February 2023 that since the overall risk of the current epidemic in Hong Kong is controllable, the "mask mandate" in all places will be lifted from 1 March, and masks will not be worn indoors, outdoors, or when taking public transportation. .
Lu Chongmao, Director of the Hong Kong Medical and Health Bureau, added that the complete removal of the mask order is based on the fact that the epidemic has been controlled, regardless of sewage testing and death cases, the number of infection cases and influenza cases has not increased, and there have been no major outbreaks in hospitals and schools.
The mask order in Hong Kong has been implemented for 958 days since 15 July 2020. Lu Chongmao pointed out that the withdrawal of the mask order symbolizes that Hong Kong has fully returned to normal, and hopes that 1 March 2023 will be better for all.
News (20)
Masks are still required to be worn on public transport of Macau
The Coordination Center for Covid Virus Infection of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government stated on 26 February 2023 that the epidemic situation in Macau has remained stable in the past two months. Referring to the experience of prevention and control around the world, it will adjust the measures requiring masks to be worn from 27 February. People staying in the area are not required to wear masks. People who enter medical institutions, elderly and rehabilitation homes, drivers and passengers of public transport must continue to wear masks.
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