There isn’t news this week. More countries hate China. More people are sick with Wuhan nCoV. Cases rise in the Far East. Taiwan is one of the safest places to be—in terms of the virus, that is. Friends of Taiwan continue to be punished; this week regarded Czech in particular with the Senate chair planning a visit to one of the safest places to be in the Far East—in terms of the virus, that is.
The trend in Western journalism is to look down the nose toward China. Media censorship, mismanagement, discontent, and incompetence are part of the narrative. The US president has a different take.
Satellite-based data has been used to suggest that China may be burning thousands of bodies in Wuhan. The site that aggregated the data that was separately used to make this suggestion was windy.com—a Czech company. Go figure. Windy.com did not make the suggestion; it visually animates data already available to the public. There is no news here, only everyone’s data and someone else’s speculation. The interesting part is how quick the Western public is to jump on any excuse to think something bad about China.
Certainly, cynicism toward China is not without cited history. China remains indignant. Nothing is new, except Czech’s name in the headlines. China’s spite for Taiwan and friends only grows as spite for China and friends snowballs all the more. Perhaps next week will yield something new in the news. But, when so many people are so bound to make history repeat, there just might not be much to report—except for those who only read what repeats.
Great Pacific
Singapore ‘idiot’s guide’ to coronavirus crisis control: don’t do it like Hong Kong // SCMP
China
Shock Satellite Images May Show The Real Scale of China’s Coronavirus Deaths // Al Bawaba
Coronavirus Death Smog: Is China Burning Thousands of Infected Bodies? // CCN
Update: Rise in sulfur dioxide could be sign of mass cremations in Wuhan // Taiwan News
Flashback to 2018…
China’s great leap backward // The Hill
Coronavirus: Ukraine protesters attack buses carrying China evacuees // BBC News
Coronavirus Could Derail Xi Jinping’s Dreams for China // TIME
From protests…
China suspends Belt and Road Initiative in Kyrgyzstan // Taiwan News
China’s ‘War on Terror’ uproots families, leaked data shows // AP
China civil rights activist arrested for suggesting Xi should resign // Taiwan News
Taiwan
Coronavirus: Lost opportunity for China, Taiwan to mend ties // Straits Times
Taiwan tells WHO to not be ‘kidnapped’ by China after Mauritius ban // Taiwan News
Czech Companies the Latest Target of Chinese Retaliation for Taiwan Ties // The Diplomat
Virus Outbreak: Travel alerts raised for Japan, S Korea // Taipei Times
Taiwan wages war on single-use plastics // Taiwan News
Hong Kong
Hongkonger opens face mask factory as shortage continues amid coronavirus epidemic // SCMP
Virus Brings Out Ugly Side of Hong Kong’s Protest Movement // TIME
Why is Hong Kong full of white elephant monuments and what can we do about them? // HKFP