People in Beijing and Shanghai are going outside for the first time in months as warmer weather coincides with a gradual easing of fears across China about the coronavirus. It comes days after China reported no new domestic transmissions of Covid-19, a major milestone in the country’s fight against the pandemic
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Chinese inquiry exonerates coronavirus whistleblower doctor
Report on Li Wenliang’s death says he did not disrupt public order, but fought bravely
The Chinese doctor who was reprimanded for “spreading rumours” after he sought to warn colleagues about the emergence of Covid-19 has been officially exonerated by an investigation into his death.
However the report has also been criticised for not going far enough, after it only recommended the reprimand against Dr Li Wenliang be withdrawn.
Continue reading...Increasingly powerful, Xi’s China thinks it no longer needs Washington – or its foreign reporters | Richard McGregor
The ruling party and its leaders have long wanted to avoid the scrutiny of the foreign press. The expulsions show Beijing is confident in its growing might
Beijing’s decision to throw out correspondents from America’s most influential newspapers is, on one level, just part of a muscular tit-for-tat between the US and China over how to manage journalists stationed in each country.
In an announcement that caught the newspapers by surprise, the Foreign Ministry said US journalists at the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Washington Post whose press cards ran out this year would be expelled.
Continue reading...Coronavirus: Donald Trump steps up attacks on China and the media – video
The US president has sought to deflect criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic by attacking China and the media over their coverage of it. Speaking at his daily taskforce briefing, Trump accused Beijing of suppressing early information about the spread of the virus in Wuhan, and the media of corruption. ‘They’re siding with China,’ he said. ‘It’s more than fake news; it’s corrupt news’
Continue reading...China’s coronavirus lockdown strategy: brutal but effective
The world was astonished by the Wuhan quarantine but it seems to have worked
When China announced it was shutting down Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, in a bid to prevent further spread of the disease, the world was stunned and experts sceptical.
Beijing’s decision was a vast experiment, epidemiologists warned, that might not work despite its huge human and economic cost. Quarantine had never been tried on such an enormous scale in the modern world.
Continue reading...Chinese film star Yunxiang Gao and producer found not guilty of raping woman in Sydney
Actor and producer Jing Wang acquitted of sexually assaulting woman at the Shangri-La hotel in 2018
A Chinese movie star and producer have been found not guilty of raping a woman inside a Sydney hotel room, ending the near two-year legal saga.
Actor Yunxiang Gao and producer Jing Wang were on Thursday found not guilty of a raft of charges and cleared of sexually assaulting the woman inside the Shangri-La Hotel in the early hours of 27 March 2018.
Continue reading...China: expulsion of US journalists was response to ‘unreasonable oppression’
Beijing defends ban of 13 journalists, which has been criticised as irresponsible during coronavirus crisis
Beijing has defended its decision to expel journalists from three major US publications, saying it was responding to “unreasonable oppression” of Chinese journalists in the US, as a diplomatic row escalates between the two countries.
Speaking at a regular press briefing, the foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had been “compelled” to take countermeasures after Washington imposed restrictions on staff at Chinese state media outlets in the US.
Continue reading...China-US standoff escalates as Beijing expels major US media staff
New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post journalists among staff ordered to stop reporting and leave
China will expel US reporters of three major US news outlets, in a hugely damaging attack on foreign media coverage of the country – and an escalation of the showdown over the press between Washington and Beijing.
The decision, announced just after midnight Beijing time, requires US citizens working for the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal to halt reporting and hand in their press cards within 10 days, if their credentials expire before the end of 2020.
Continue reading...TikTok ‘tried to filter out videos from ugly, poor or disabled users’
Documents from the Incercept show social media app put pressure on moderators
TikTok moderators were told to suppress videos from users who appeared too ugly, poor or disabled, as part of the company’s efforts to curate an aspirational air in the videos it promotes, according to new documents published by the Intercept.
The documents detail how moderators for the social video app were instructed to select content for the influential “For You” feed, an algorithmic timeline that is most users’ first port of call when they open the app. As a result, being selected for For You can drive huge numbers of views to a given video, but the selection criteria have always remained a secret, with little understanding as to the amount of automation involved.
Continue reading...Trump sparks anger by calling coronavirus the ‘Chinese virus’
China’s foreign ministry says US president should ‘stop this despicable practice’
Donald Trump has referred to the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus”, escalating a deepening US-China diplomatic spat over the outbreak.
After giving an address on Monday warning of a possible recession, the US president posted on Twitter: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”
Continue reading...Markets plunge despite coordinated action by central banks
Sharp losses recorded after US interest rate cut, as Bank of England hints at further support to combat turmoil
The FTSE 100 fell below 5,000 points on Monday and trading on Wall Street was suspended for the third time in a week as markets were gripped by mounting concerns over the threat of a global recession, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs.
In an escalation of the worst turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis, stock markets suffered further sharp losses on Monday despite dramatic action taken by the US central bank late on Sunday in an attempt to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Write a diary, take action: Hubei residents on fighting coronavirus anxiety
As Covid-19 spreads worldwide, the people of Hubei explain how they dealt with the lockdown
In the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, where millions have been under lockdown for the last two months, Hubei residents have been coping with uncertainty, anxiety and stress.
As the virus spreads around the world, people living in the province spoke to the Guardian about how they coped with prolonged confinement, isolation and panic, and the strategies they used to protect their mental health.
Continue reading...‘Do not let this fire burn’: WHO warns Europe over coronavirus
Europe now centre of pandemic, says WHO, as Spain prepares for state of emergency
The World Health Organization has stepped up its calls for intensified action to fight the coronavirus pandemic, imploring countries “not to let this fire burn”, as Spain said it would declare a 15-day state of emergency from Saturday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, said Europe – where the virus is present in all 27 EU states and has infected 25,000 people – had become the centre of the epidemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined apart from China.
Continue reading...Fed bids to shore up confidence after worst week in 12 years
Pledges of help from EU, China and Germany plus declaration of US emergency produce mild rally after torrid week
The world’s most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve, is preparing a fresh attempt to shore up investor confidence despite a late rally on Wall Street on Friday that ended a torrid week for stock markets on a more positive note.
Fresh pledges of help from China, Germany and the European commission combined with Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over coronavirus to reassure investors after an ordeal for equities on both sides of the Atlantic that echoed the depths of the banking crisis.
Continue reading...First Covid-19 case happened in November, China government records show – report
Earliest case detected on 17 November, weeks before authorities acknowledged new virus, says Chinese media
The first case of someone suffering from Covid-19 can be traced back to 17 November, according to media reports on unpublished Chinese government data.
The report, in the South China Morning Post, said Chinese authorities had identified at least 266 people who contracted the virus last year and who came under medical surveillance, and the earliest case was 17 November – weeks before authorities announced the emergence of the new virus.
Continue reading...Chinese officials push conspiracy theory coronavirus originated abroad
Theory is gaining traction online in China that Covid-19 came from the US
One of the most popular topics on the Chinese microblog Weibo on Thursday was a one-minute clip of a US congressional hearing this week on how the country was dealing with the coronavirus.
In the video posted by the People’s Daily, Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is asked whether there may have been deaths attributed to influenza that could actually have been the result of Covid-19. Redfield responds in the affirmative: “Some cases have been actually diagnosed that way in the United States today.”
Continue reading...Coronavirus outbreak described by WHO as ‘pandemic’ amid ‘alarming levels of inaction’ – video
The World Health Organization has described the outbreak of the new coronavirus as a pandemic.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: ‘We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic.’
Continue reading...Coronavirus live updates: WHO declares pandemic as Italy extends lockdown measures
World Health Organization chief says number of cases reported and number of countries affected ‘doesn’t tell the full story’
- What is a pandemic?
- Full story: WHO declares coronavirus pandemic
- US death toll rises to 31 as official warns ‘things will get worse’
- UK cases jump to 456 and eighth Briton dies
- Share your experiences
In addition to the unnamed cabinet minister, the junior health minister Ed Argar is also self-isolating after having dinner with Nadine Dorries on Thursday night, the Guardian understands.
A cabinet minister is self-isolating while they await test results, a government source has confirmed, thought they would not confirm the identity of the minister.
Continue reading...Government majority cut as almost 40 Tories rebel over Huawei
Narrow victory is warning shot for No 10 which still has to legislate over Huawei’s 5G role
Thirty-eight Tory MPs have rebelled against the government in an unsuccessful attempt to force Boris Johnson to set out a timetable for excluding Huawei from future 5G phone networks.
The government’s majority was cut to 24 as the rebels were defeated by 306 to 282 on an amendment put down by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, amid concerns over the presence of a Chinese supplier at the heart of Britain’s digital infrastructure.
Continue reading...Wuhan closes last makeshift coronavirus hospital as China’s infection rate falls – video
The last of a dozen makeshift hospitals in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began, officially closed on Tuesday in a sign that authorities' efforts to curb the virus are working.
On Tuesday, China reported 19 new coronavirus infections, down from 40 a day earlier.
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