Cadence of Conflict: Asia, February 24, 2020

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

College admissions scam: Chinese mum Xiaoning Sui pleads guilty to paying US$400,000 bribe for son’s UCLA spot // SCMP

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

Strained Political Relations Strand Nearly 1,000 Taiwanese in China’s Coronavirus Outbreak Zone // VOA

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

Videos of Hong Kong police officers dining with Jackie Chan and other pro-establishment, anti-protest entertainers goes viral // SCMP

Why is Hong Kong full of white elephant monuments and what can we do about them? // HKFP