Month: December 2022

As much of the world returned to some kind of new normal in 2022, China remains the only country sticking to a strict “zero-COVID” policy to control the spread of a global pandemic. While credited with saving lives, the policy slowed the economy, exacerbated supply-chain disruptions, cost millions of jobs, forced a large portion of Chinese residents into some form of lockdown for months, and is now, experts say, forcing Beijing’s leadership to seek a way out of a problem they don’t admit having.
Over the last weekend in November, protests against the zero-COVID policy erupted across China, the country where the virus was first identified in humans in late 2019 and where authorities in Wuhan, site of the initial outbreak, locked down millions of residents for most of the first four months of 2020.

That draconian step saved thousands of lives, according to Chinese figures, and since then many Chinese have compared the 6.6 million deaths worldwide to Beijing’s official count of just 15,986 deaths. The U.S. alone has lost more than 1.08 million people. Beijing’s policy emphasized “always putting the people and their lives above everything else,” according to a November 25 analysis in the official Xinhua news outlet.
‘We want freedom!’
But three years into zero-COVID, people fed up with being locked down are in the streets chanting “No PCR test, we want freedom!” “End the lockdowns!” “Step down, Communist Party!” Protests of this scale are rare because the Chinese Communist Party limits freedom of speech and association.
Under President Xi Jinping, whose increasingly authoritarian rule was extended for a historic third term in October, many citizens vent on social media, trying to stay ahead of censors.
“China at one point was one of the world leaders in COVID response, and now it’s the only country in the world that hasn’t gotten back to a near normal,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Washington’s Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
“I think part of the reason for that is literally the stubbornness of Chinese leadership, and particularly Xi Jinping,” he told VOA Mandarin via phone.
Xi Chen, an associate professor of health policy and economics at the Yale School of Public Health, told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview that public outrage and economic impact indicate that China needs to make “a big adjustment in its public health policy.”
Medical experts inside China are making similar arguments. Dr. Zhang Wenhong, who heads Shanghai’s expert panel on COVID, said in a recent video circulating on the Chinese app WeChat that Beijing should consider relaxing its zero-COVID strategy soon.
“Look at the U.S., their cases are several times higher than us, yet their people are living their lives to the fullest. It’s time for us to adjust our policy, people should be able to relax and live a normal life, we as medical workers are the ones that should be prepared to face a rise in severe cases,” he said in the video, which China’s censors deleted soon after it appeared.
Georgetown’s Gostin said that through conversations with top epidemiologists in Hong Kong who advise Beijing on its COVID strategy, he believes that Xi understands that China needs to end its zero-COVID policy.
“But China is running out of time,” Gostin added.
Authorities commit to policy
Officially, Chinese leadership had shown little interest in ending zero-COVID before the end of last month.
On November 29, during the regular daily press briefing, a Reuters reporter in Beijing asked Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, “Given the widespread display of anger and frustration at the zero-COVID policy in recent days across China, is China thinking about ending it and if so, when?”

Zhao, usually quick with an answer, looked at the papers on his podium for almost 20 seconds before asking the reporter to repeat his question. Zhao then paused for another 15 seconds before saying that China is following a “dynamic zero-COVID policy” and there is no public anger.
His silence came after Xinhua issued commentaries on November 28, saying that while Beijing will do its best to accommodate the needs or desires of the people, it will stick to a “dynamic zero-COVID policy.”
“From newborn babies to centenarians, we won’t miss one infected case, we won’t give up on one patient,” one commentary said.
A day later, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees China’s COVID containment efforts, urged further “optimization” of testing, treatment and quarantine policies, according to Reuters. The agency cited other officials saying that current restrictions, such as forcing people from their homes into quarantine centers if they test positive for the virus, would be implemented more flexibly to reflect local conditions.
Zero-COVID above all
Xi has staked his political reputation on the fight against COVID, and that continues to mean mass testing, snap lockdowns and extensive quarantines.

According to estimates by the Japanese investment bank Nomura, about 412 million people in China were in some kind of lockdown as of November 23. That accounts for almost a third of China’s total population and was up from 340 million the week before.
Shanghai, China’s most populous city and financial hub, experienced two months of strict lockdowns this spring, bringing business to a halt and severing key links in already disrupted regional and global supply chains.

In November, with the number of cases increasing in Beijing, many residents in the country’s capital feared a similar lockdown as residents of other cities blamed the zero-COVID policy for tragedies.
Father says policy ‘indirectly killed’ his son
In the western city of Lanzhou, a 3-year-old boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning after COVID restrictions kept him from receiving medical care. His father told Reuters that the strict COVID-19 policies “indirectly killed” his son.
In China’s northern city of Hohhot, a 55-year-old woman committed suicide by jumping from the 12th floor, where she had been quarantined for two weeks. The woman was reported to have suffered from anxiety and was on anti-depression medication, sparking discussion about the impact on mental health from strict zero-COVID lockdowns.
The last straw was a fire in Urumqi on November 24 that killed at least 10 people and injured nine in a building with stringent lockdown protocols that that may have prevented victims from fleeing the flames. In a news briefing after the fire, Li Wensheng, head of the Urumqi City Fire Rescue department, said “the residents lacked the ability to rescue themselves.”

“I think China’s zero-COVID strategy has been disastrous for the country in so many different ways,” said Gostin of Georgetown. “Most importantly it’s really been a huge violation of human rights: not just the lockdowns, but also the intrusive surveillance that we’ve seen of the entire population on their mobile phones.”
To enter any public space, all residents of China rely on a color-coded smart phone app that tracks exposure to infection. In June, media reports surfaced that authorities in Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province, were using the codes to restrict the movement of people heading to protest at local banks that had frozen their deposits.

An economy upended
Although the zero-COVID policy had nothing to do with the Zhengzhou bank run, it has slowed the country’s economic growth.
Previous official estimates said China’s economy would grow 5.5% in 2022. Now, the International Monetary Fund has lowered China’s economic growth projection for this year to 3.3%. The difference equals about $400 billion in lost GDP.
“International trade and tourism have ground to a halt. Supply chains have been severely disrupted,” Gostin said. “And all in all, I think it’s actually reduced public trust in Xi Jinping, and it burst the bubble of so-called Chinese efficiency and effectiveness in policy.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, U.S. President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said that he thinks China’s zero-COVID strategy “doesn’t make public health sense” on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on November 27.
“They went into a prolonged lockdown without any seeming purpose or endgame to it,” Fauci said.
Exit strategy
Unlike almost all other countries, a large percentage of China’s population lacks immunity because most people have not been infected with COVID. Without this so-called herd immunity, it may be difficult for China to extricate itself from its zero-COVID position.
The elderly are among the most vulnerable, but according to new statistics released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on November 29, only 65.8% of people over the age of 80 have received booster shots, up from 40% as of November 11.
Chen of the Yale School of Public Health said there’s real concern among international experts about China’s ability to treat severe cases.
“There is no shortage of hospital beds in China. The number of hospital beds per 100,000 people is basically the same as that of the United States. But for intensive care unit beds, it’s a completely different story,” he said.
According to government statistics, there are 3.6 intensive care (ICU) beds per 100,000 people in China, compared to 11 in Singapore and 29.4 in the United States.
“This is China’s weakest point,” Chen said. “Once the country relaxes the zero-COVID strategy, there will inevitably be a proportion of severe cases. And there will be deaths considering the current ICU beds level.”
He added that as the country pours all its medical resources to COVID testing, there are few resources available for making these long-term preparations.
Shin-Ru Shih, director of the Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections at Taiwan’s Chang Gung University in Taiwan, said that even though the omicron variant has become less virulent, it is still a threat to Chinese people who have not been infected or vaccinated.
“The best way for China to fight against COVID and to reduce economic impact is vaccination by next-generation vaccines,” she said.
Gostin stressed that it’s particularly important to make sure that a large percentage of the vulnerable populations gets jabbed with effective vaccines and boosters, saying “that is the only way China can emerge from zero-COVID … without a considerable loss of life.”

Source: Voice of America

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said his Neuralink company is seeking permission to test its brain implant in people soon.
In a “show and tell” presentation livestreamed Wednesday night, Musk said his team is in the process of asking U.S. regulators to allow them to test the device. He said he thinks the company should be able to put the implant in a human brain as part of a clinical trial in about six months, though that timeline is far from certain.
Musk’s Neuralink is one of many groups working on linking brains to computers, efforts aimed at helping treat brain disorders, overcoming brain injuries and other applications.
The field dates to the 1960s, said Rajesh Rao, co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington. “But it really took off in the ’90s. And more recently we’ve seen lots of advances, especially in the area of communication brain computer interfaces.”
Rao, who watched Musk’s presentation online, said he doesn’t think Neuralink is ahead of the pack in terms of brain-computer interface achievements. “But … they are quite ahead in terms of the actual hardware in the devices,” he said.
The Neuralink device is about the size of a large coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull, with ultra-thin wires going directly into the brain. Musk said the first two applications in people would be restoring vision and helping people with little or no ability to operate their muscles rapidly use digital devices.
He said he also envisions that in someone with a broken neck, signals from the brain could be bridged to Neuralink devices in the spinal cord.
“We’re confident there are no physical limitations to enabling full body functionality,” said Musk, who recently took over Twitter and is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
In experiments by other teams, implanted sensors have let paralyzed people use brain signals to operate computers and move robotic arms. In a 2018 study in the journal PLOS ONE, three participants with paralysis below the neck affecting all of their limbs used an experimental brain-computer interface being tested by the consortium BrainGate. The interface records neural activity from a small sensor in the brain to navigate things like email and apps.
A recent study in the journal Nature, by scientists at the Swiss research center NeuroRestore, identified a type of neuron activated by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, allowing nine patients with chronic spinal cord injury to walk again.
Researchers have also been working on brain and machine interfaces for restoring vision. Rao said some companies have developed retinal implants, but Musk’s announcement suggested his team would use signals directly targeting the brain’s visual cortex, an approach that some academic groups are also pursuing, “with limited success.”
Neuralink did not immediately respond to an email to the press office. Dr. Jaimie Henderson, a neurosurgery professor at Stanford University who is an adviser for Neuralink, said one way Neuralink is different from some other devices is that it has the ability to reach into deeper layers of the brain. But he added: “There are lots of different systems that have lots of different advantages.”

Source: Voice of America

Ms. Cindy McCain, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Rome-based agencies mandated to work on food, agriculture, nutrition and rural development – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has visited Lao PDR on Nov 30.
The aiming of visiting Lao PDR to learn about the country’s coping mechanisms amidst the global food crisis, and to highlight U.S. support to Lao PDR and its people.
Ambassador McCain said the following about her visit, “The work of the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies is essential to address food insecurity in Lao PDR. Together with the Lao government, the three agencies work to reduce hunger, improve learning and nutrition outcomes for primary school students, strengthen livelihoods of small-holder farmers, and bolster resilience of the country’s food systems. Conflict, especially in Ukraine, climate change, and COVID-19 increased global hunger to unprecedented levels. The United States will continue to be a top contributor and supporter of the agencies work here on the ground and around the world.”
During her visit, in the oversight role of the U.S. government as an important donor to the UN food agencies, Ambassador McCain seeks to understand the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition in Laos, and see UN agencies’ hands-on solutions to these issues and their work on poverty reduction. Visiting Oudomsouk school in Bachieng Chaleunsouk district, she experienced WFP’s support to school-based nutrition in Champassak province. The main and long-term donor to the program is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with the current support of food commodities arriving through WFP’s supply chain to Lao PDR, contributing to daily nutritious lunches for 64,000 primary school children in 707 schools around the country. While in Champassak, the Ambassador also had a chance to tour WFP’s warehouse in Pakse and learn how the world’s largest humanitarian agency targets the most vulnerable through its nutrition, resilience and emergency response in Lao PDR.
“Our Country Strategic Plan for Lao PDR is greatly supported by the United States, with the U.S. Department for Agriculture financing WFP to support the Lao Government’s school feeding programs since 2008, and the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance more recently contributing to our work around resilience for food security. As our programs are gradually shifting to national ownership and community management, we continue to count on the U.S. as an important partner for Lao PDR,“ WFP Country Director and Representative Jan Delbaere said.
Continuing her journey to the capital Vientiane, Ambassador McCain spent time with FAO learning about its proactive role to sustainably transform the Agri-food Systems and its Early Warning and Response to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and the current food and fuel crisis on vulnerable communities in rural and urban areas.
Ambassador McCain learned how tailored and climate-resilient technology solutions applied to crop seeds are important to the agriculture sector in the Lao PDR and the vital role it plays in food systems worldwide. She visited the Rice and Cash Crop Research Center, which develops new varieties, hosts the traditional gene bank and provides quality seeds to farmers in the country and abroad to understand more about their research and development work in quality landrace and traditional seeds, and how this work directly impacts the future of world crop production.
The Ambassador continued her visit seeing the development and achievements of an exemplary woman-led – and primarily female membered – smallholder farmers’ cooperative of organic vegetable production. Thongmang Agricultural Cooperative is the main provider for high quality and safe food for Vientiane capital. With FAO support as a selected model farmer group, the cooperative has benefitted from increased opportunities to strengthen its capacities.
“I am proud to see how our work with the Government for seed quality improvement and for ensuring production of safe, diverse and nutritious produce with communities is continuously growing and contributing to transforming the food systems in the country. As FAO proactively monitors the impact of the current food and fuel crisis I am also very pleased that we continue to address the farmers’ challenges in food security and livelihoods exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Global efforts are needed to address these issues and we are pleased that the U.S. is supporting our efforts and recognizes the importance of this work for the food security and sustainable growth of the Lao PDR,” Nasar Hayat, FAO Representative to Lao PDR said.
The Ambassador was also updated on the development and achievements of IFAD investments in the Lao PDR, focusing on food security, nutrition, and value chain development with market linkages in the government convergence areas in partnership with Rome-based agencies and other development partners, namely to contribute to the elimination of poverty and hunger in rural areas, transforming agriculture, rural economies and food systems through investments, creating more inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable rural economies.
How the United Nations, as a system, is assisting the Government of Lao PDR in these trying times of global insecurity, where the country is facing budgetary constraints due to compounding economic effects of the pandemic, and the global food and fuel crisis associated with the war in Ukraine, was discussed at a meeting with UN agencies led by Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UN Resident Coordinator to Lao PDR. The main focus of the meeting was the joint efforts of UN country team members including its food agencies in support of solutions for food insecurity.
The Resident Coordinator highlighted that “the UN’s priority is to support the most vulnerable and marginalized in this crisis. Joint UN efforts such as the program on High Frequency Data are needed which together with the Lao Academy for Economic and Social Sciences generates indispensable data evidence to assess the impact of the current shocks on people in Lao PDR that can inform necessary course corrections for policies and program that aim to tackle the challenges at hand.”
Visiting the office of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an organization contributing to the national UXO program supported also by UNDP in addressing the legacy of war with explosive ordnance disposal, informed Ambassador McCain of the inherent challenges to food production in war-torn countries contaminated with explosive remnants of war. Courtesy visits were also paid to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meeting with Deputy Minister Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune and to the Champassak Provincial Governor’s office Dr. Vilayvong Bouddakham to hear from national and provincial authorities how U.S. investments and the work of the UN food agencies are received.
With a similar aim, Ambassador McCain continues her journey to Cambodia before returning to her duty station in Rome, Italy.

Source: Lao News Agency