Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign

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A Chinese student who called for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping to step down in a message posted to social media on Monday has gone missing. On Tuesday, reports suggested he was in police custody for his remarks.

Zhang Wenbin, a university student in eastern Shandong province, wrote on social media on March 30 that the police had already summoned him for the post, and that he would be detained for five days. Since then, he has not made any further posts. On March 31, he was no longer accessible via social media. . .

On Monday, Zhang posted a video of his message, which has been viewed 175,200 times so far.

In the video, Zhang says he was once a young supporter of the ruling CCP, referring to himself as a former “little pink,” a term to describe youths indoctrinated by the regime. However, after bypassing the government’s internet censorship, he discovered the truth about the CCP and its “sinister” history. In his statement, Zhang referred to his enlightenment as scaling the “Great Firewall” of CCP internet censorship:

Since I scaled the Great Firewall, I gradually came to the realization that the Chinese Communist Party has extended its dragon claws into every corner of the world, including the collective farming [1950s], the Cultural Revolution [1966-1976], the Great Famine [1958-1961], the One-Child Policy, the Tiananmen massacre [1989], as well as the persecution of the Falun Gong [spiritual movement], and the peoples of Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

(Read more from “Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign” HERE)

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Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies

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By Reuters. A team of Chinese scientists has isolated several antibodies that it says are “extremely effective” at blocking the ability of the new coronavirus to enter cells, which eventually could be helpful in treating or preventing COVID-19.

There is currently no proven effective treatment for the disease, which originated in China and is spreading across the world in a pandemic that has infected more than 850,000 and killed 42,000.

Zhang Linqi at Tsinghua University in Beijing said a drug made with antibodies like the ones his team have found could be used more effectively than the current approaches, including what he called “borderline” treatment such as plasma.

Plasma contains antibodies but is restricted by blood type.

In early January, Zhang’s team and a group at the 3rd People’s Hospital in Shenzhen began analysing antibodies from blood taken from recovered COVID-19 patients, isolating 206 monoclonal antibodies which showed what he described as a “strong” ability to bind with the virus’ proteins. (Read more from “Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies” HERE)

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Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising’

By Fox News. r. Beth Shaz, chief medical and scientific officer at the New York Blood Center, joined “The Story” Wednesday night to discuss “promising” efforts to treat coronavirus using the blood plasma of recovered patients.

“Right now we have a handful [of donors],” Shaz told host Martha MacCallum. “You have to be at least 14 days after [having] symptoms. With the first cases in the New York area [confirmed] on March 1, we are just beginning to get there.”

Prior to bringing Shaz on the show, MacCallum spotlighted a New York Post report about Long Island mother Diana Berrent, who became one of the first people in New York to donate her blood plasma for treatment efforts.

“Take my blood. Take my plasma,” Berrent said in the first-person story. “Swab my nasal passage over and over again. If it can potentially save a single life it would be nothing less than a miracle. (Read more from “Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising'” HERE)

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Chinese Government Finally Acknowledges Underreporting Coronavirus Cases; Coronavirus Is Latest in China’s History of Trying to Cover up Negative Info

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By Daily Caller. A top Chinese health official said Wednesday that the government will begin counting coronavirus patients without symptoms in its official tally of cases of the virus, in what is a tacit acknowledgement that Beijing has underreported data on the pandemic.

China’s National Health Commission disclosed that the government is monitoring 1,541 people who have tested positive for coronavirus but have no symptoms.

Chang Jile, the head of the health agency, said at a press conference in Wuhan that the government will start reporting asymptomatic patient numbers Wednesday.

“From April 1, we will publish reports, outcomes and management of asymptomatic people in daily epidemic notifications, and respond to social concerns in a timely manner,” Jile said, according to CCTV.

Jile’s statement is the first time that the government has officially acknowledged that it has undercounted patients. (Read more from “Chinese Government Finally Acknowledges Underreporting Coronavirus Cases” HERE)

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Coronavirus Is Latest in China’s History of Trying to Cover up Negative Info

By Fox News. Months after the coronavirus began to surface in China, the outbreak has spread across the world, killing thousands and prompting governments to enact unprecedented containment measures.

Beijing says it’s slowly beginning to emerge from the crisis that originated on its soil, while putting its propaganda machine to work to craft a favorable narrative. Weeks after announcing the outbreak, some governments — particularly the United States — are accusing China of purposely failing to inform the public, thereby exacerbating the crisis.

A Chinese doctor who has since died of the virus tried sounding alarms during its early stages. Li Wenliang — who worked in a Wuhan hospital and has since been hailed as a hero — was detained with eight other doctors for posting information about patients with respiratory problems on WeChat, a Chinese messaging platform.

Authorities claimed the doctors were spreading “unverified information” as reason for their detention. Other doctors were reprimanded and told to stop posting online about the virus. Li was released after signing a document admitting he committed “illegal acts.” (Read more from “Coronavirus Is Latest in China’s History of Trying to Cover up Negative Info” HERE)

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New Photos From Wuhan Reignite Doubts That Communist China Is Being Honest About Coronavirus

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By The Blaze. A new development in China is refueling theories that China’s communist government is not being honest with the world about the coronavirus.

This week, families in Wuhan — the Chinese city of about 11 million people where the COVID-19 pandemic originated — were allowed to begin picking up the cremated remains of loved ones who succumbed to COVID-19.

According to reports, some people had to wait in line for five hours to received their loved one’s ashes. But what is especially notable is that thousands of urns were shipped to the city, many thousands more than necessary for the 2,535 people that China claims died in Wuhan due to COVID-19. . .

(CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTOS)

Despite global suspicions, China lifted the lockdown in Wuhan that had been in place since January. China also claims the area is not seeing any new cases of COVID-19. (Read more from “New Photos From Wuhan Reignite Doubts That Communist China Is Being Honest About Coronavirus” HERE)

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Estimates Show Wuhan Death Toll Far Higher Than Official Figure

By Radio Free Asia. As authorities lifted a two-month coronavirus lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, residents said they were growing increasingly skeptical that the figure of some 2,500 deaths in the city to date was accurate.

Since the start of the week, seven large funeral homes in Wuhan have been handing out the cremated remains of around 500 people to their families every day, suggesting that far more people died than ever made the official statistics.

“It can’t be right … because the incinerators have been working round the clock, so how can so few people have died?” an Wuhan resident surnamed Zhang told RFA on Friday.

“They started distributing ashes and starting interment ceremonies on
Monday,” he said.

Seven funeral homes currently serve Wuhan — a huge conurbation of three cities: Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang. (Read more from “Estimates Show Wuhan Death Toll Far Higher Than Official Figure” HERE)

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Will They Ever Learn? Chinese Markets Are Still Selling Bats and Slaughtering Rabbits on Blood-Soaked Floors as Beijing Celebrates ‘Victory’ Over the Coronavirus

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Terrified dogs and cats crammed into rusty cages. Bats and scorpions offered for sale as traditional medicine. Rabbits and ducks slaughtered and skinned side by side on a stone floor covered with blood, filth, and animal remains.

Those were the deeply troubling scenes yesterday as China celebrated its ‘victory’ over the coronavirus by reopening squalid meat markets of the type that started the pandemic three months ago, with no apparent attempt to raise hygiene standards to prevent a future outbreak.

As the pandemic that began in Wuhan forced countries worldwide to go into lockdown, a Mail on Sunday correspondent yesterday watched as thousands of customers flocked to a sprawling indoor market in Guilin, south-west China.

Here cages of different species were piled on top of each other. In another meat market in Dongguan, southern China, another correspondent photographed a medicine seller returning to business on Thursday with a billboard advertising bats – thought to be the cause of the initial Wuhan outbreak – along with scorpions and other creatures.

The shocking scenes came as China finally lifted a weekslong nationwide lockdown and encouraged people to go back to normal daily life to boost the flagging economy. Official statistics indicated there were virtually no new infections. (Read more from “Will They Ever Learn? Chinese Markets Are Still Selling Bats and Slaughtering Rabbits on Blood-Soaked Floors as Beijing Celebrates ‘Victory’ Over the Coronavirus” HERE)

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Which World Leaders, U.S. Politicians Have Tested Positive or Been Exposed to the Coronavirus?

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By Fox News. As world leaders race to respond to the global coronavirus pandemic, government leaders and politicians — in the United States, Europe and elsewhere — have contracted the novel COVID-19 virus. . .

Prince Charles, the next in line for the British throne, tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, March 25, sending shockwaves through the Royal Family. . .

Earlier this month, there were fears President Trump had been exposed to the virus — after a Brazilian press secretary who attended an event at Mar-a-Lago tested positive for COVID-19 days later. And, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., both quarantined themselves after coming in contact with someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February who later tested positive. . .

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, tested positive for the coronavirus on March 13 after returning from London. She and her husband separately began 14-day quarantine periods, BBC reported. Trudeau was not tested for COVID-19 and was expected to fulfill all job duties while working remotely. . .

Franck Riester, French minister of culture, and Brune Poirson, the secretary of state to the minister of ecological and inclusive transition, both tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Foreign Policy. Several lawmakers in the French National Assembly have also contracted COVID-19. (Read more from “Which World Leaders, U.S. Politicians Have Tested Positive or Been Exposed to the Coronavirus?” HERE)

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Boris Johnson Tests Positive for Coronavirus

By Washington Examiner. The prime minister of the United Kingdom tested positive for the coronavirus.

Boris Johnson, 55, announced on Friday he was self-isolating after contracting the COVID-19 virus, which has spread across the world.

“Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus. I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus. Together we will beat this,” he wrote in a tweet.

Johnson said he has a temperature and “persistent cough” but stressed that he can continue working.

“Be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fight back against coronavirus,” he said. (Read more from “Boris Johnson Tests Positive for Coronavirus” HERE)

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Mexicans Demand Crackdown on Americans Crossing the Border

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By BBC News. Mexican protesters have shut a US southern border crossing amid fears that untested American travellers will spread coronavirus.

Residents in Sonora, south of the US state of Arizona, have promised to block traffic into Mexico for a second day after closing a checkpoint for hours on Wednesday.

They wore face masks and held signs telling Americans to “stay at home”.

Mexico has fewer than 500 confirmed Covid-19 cases and the US over 65,000.

The border is supposed to be closed to all except “essential” business, but protesters said there has been little enforcement and no testing by authorities. (Read more from “Mexicans Demand Crackdown on Americans Crossing the Border” HERE)

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Protesters in Mexico Block Lanes at Arizona Border Crossing to Demand Stricter Coronavirus Screenings

By USA Today. Protesters on the Mexican side of the border blocked the Mexico-bound lanes in the twin border cities of Ambos Nogales for several hours Wednesday to express their displeasure with the Mexican government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The protesters demanded greater controls and screenings on southbound traffic at the U.S.-Mexico border out of concern that travelers from the U.S. could import new cases of the coronavirus into Mexico.

Less than a dozen people wearing face masks and carrying signs used two of their vehicles for a blockade of the two southbound lanes at the DeConcini crossing, several hundred feet into the Mexican side of the border, video taken by Mexican media showed.

Some of the signs asked U.S. residents to “stay at home.” Others called on Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to step up controls and restrictions along the U.S.-Mexico border to contain the spread of COVID-19. (Read more from “Protesters in Mexico Block Lanes at Arizona Border Crossing to Demand Stricter Coronavirus Screenings” HERE)

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Eighty Percent of Coronavirus Tests ‘Donated’ by China to Czechs Don’t Work; Same Problem in Spain

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By Washington Examiner. Some 80% of coronavirus rapid tests China donated to the Czech Republic as part of the communist country’s global goodwill effort are faulty, according to news reports.

A medical official from the Moravian-Silesian region that borders Slovakia and Poland said the test “error rate was quite high.”

According to the Czech radio site iROZHLAS, regional hygienist Pavla Svrcinova said that the tests give false positive and false negative results. She suggested that the tests only be used on people who are ending their virus-related seclusion and who have never been tested.

A government official, however, dismissed the concerns and said the “wrong methodology” was being used for the tests. “I don’t think it’s a scandalous revelation that it’s not working,” he said. (Read more from “Eighty Percent of Coronavirus Tests ‘Donated’ by China to Czechs Are Faulty” HERE)

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Chinese Coronavirus Tests in Spain Faulty, Too

By Sinéad Baker and Ruqayyah Moynihan. Microbiology experts in Spain have said that rapid coronavirus tests that the country bought from China are not consistently detecting positive cases.

The error was discovered as Spain is in the grip of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world, second only to Italy in the number of reported deaths.

Studies on the tests done in Spain found that they had only 30% sensitivity, meaning they correctly identify people with the virus only 30% of the time, sources told the Spanish newspaper El País.

Those sources told the newspaper that the tests should have a sensitivity of more than 80%. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rapid tests for influenza are required to have 80% sensitivity. (Read more about the faulty Chinese coronavirus tests HERE)

Editor’s note: the Chinese communist government is claiming that the Spanish tests were not “donated” but were sold by an unauthorized Chinese company.

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U.S. Officials Report Death of Robert Levinson, Former FBI Agent Kidnapped by Iran; ‘Iran May Well Collapse’ Under Coronavirus Strain, Warns Top EU Diplomat

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By Breitbart. The family of Robert Levinson, the former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and has been held illegally by the regime since then despite numerous pleas for his release, said on Wednesday that U.S. officials believe he “died while in Iranian custody,” sometime prior to the deadly outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus in Iran.

“It is impossible to describe our pain,” the Levinson family said. They went on to condemn the “cruel, heartless actions of the Iranian regime” as well as “those in the U.S. government who for many years repeatedly left him behind.”

“It has been 13 years waiting for answers,” they wrote. “Thirteen years since we last saw him or had any contact with him. How those responsible in Iran could do this to a human being, while repeatedly lying to the world all this time, is incomprehensible to us. They kidnapped a foreign citizen and denied him any basic human rights, and his blood is on their hands.”

“His body has not yet been returned to us for a proper burial,” the family noted. “We don’t even know when, or even if, his body would be returned to us. This is the very definition of cruelty.”

The Levinson family vowed to seek justice against both the Iranian regime and American officials who spared any effort to bring him home. (Read more from “U.S. Officials Report Death of Robert Levinson, Former FBI Agent Kidnapped by Iran” HERE)

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‘Iran May Well Collapse’ Under Coronavirus Strain, Warns Top EU Diplomat

By Washington Examiner. Iran’s theocratic regime could crumble under the pressure of the coronavirus outbreak that has spread through elite ranks and the broader population alike, according to the European Union’s top diplomat.

“Elsewhere, countries like Venezuela or Iran may well collapse without our support,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell wrote in a recent bulletin to European colleagues. “This means we should ensure they have access to IMF assistance. And with Iran, we need to make sure that legitimate humanitarian trade can proceed despite US sanctions.”

Borrell’s message reflects the long-standing European frustration with President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and renew U.S. sanctions on the regime. Yet it also suggests that some Western leaders are bracing for potentially seismic geopolitical shifts at the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, including Tehran.

“We should also remember that none of the other problems that we focused on before the corona crisis [have] gone away,” Borrell wrote. “In fact, they may get worse. COVID-19 may well deepen some of the longer running conflicts in the neighborhood.” (Read more from “‘Iran May Well Collapse’ Under Coronavirus Strain, Warns Top EU Diplomat” HERE)

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Italian Nurse Commits Suicide After Getting Coronavirus and Fearing She Had Spread It to Others

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By The Blaze. A nurse in Italy committed suicide this week while under quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus, and a nursing federation said she was severely stressed at the thought that she had likely infected other people in the days leading to her death, according to the Daily Mail.

Daniela Trezzi was a 34-year-old nurse working in Lombardy, the area of Italy hardest-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. Hospitals in the region are overwhelmed, and the number of Italians dying daily from the virus has escalated to between 600 and 800 over the past week.

Trezzi had been working in the intensive care unit at San Gerardo hospital in Monza, just outside Milan. On March 10, she was diagnosed with the coronavirus and placed under quarantine. She was recovering at home alone, not under surveillance of any kind. Police are investigating the death.

The National Federation of Nurses told Daily Mail that a “similar episode” occurred in Italy last week for the “same underlying reason,” implying that Trezzi wasn’t the first nurse to take her own life due to the stress the coronavirus has caused medical professionals. (Read more from “Italian Nurse Commits Suicide After Getting Coronavirus and Fearing She Had Spread It to Others” HERE)

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Spain’s Coronavirus Death Toll Soars Past China’s, Trailing Only Italy

By NPR. Spain is now reporting more than 3,400 COVID-19 deaths, making it the second European country with a death toll higher than in China, where the new coronavirus was first detected in late 2019.

Italy is reporting 7,503 deaths from the viral respiratory disease — the most in the world, and more than double the 3,285 deaths reported in China.

The pandemic has severely disrupted life in Spain and Italy, countries that have much smaller populations than China (1.4 billion). Both European countries are more closely comparable to Hubei province, the area in China where the outbreak was first detected. Italy has around 62 million people, according to the most recent CIA World Factbook data, similar to Hubei’s nearly 60 million residents. By comparison, Spain has just 50 million people.

Spain now has at least 47,610 coronavirus cases, the country’s Ministry of Health says. Of that number, nearly 8,000 people were confirmed to have the virus in the past 24 hours. (Read more from “Spain’s Coronavirus Death Toll Soars Past China’s, Trailing Only Italy” HERE)

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