The anti-Chinese sentiment recently seen in many nations reflected not only health concerns, but also anger over long-term friction between China and other countries, a report by a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense said.
If the impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which originated in Wuhan, China, worsens, it could result in a new wave of anti-Chinese sentiment worldwide, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research said in the report released on Friday.
Since the start of the outbreak, the Chinese government has been slow to act, its policies have lacked transparency and it has tried to hide information about the virus’ spread, all of which had caused public panic and hastened the epidemic, the report said.
The result is that China has lost control of the situation, it said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) centralization of power and war on corruption had caused Chinese officials to act for their own protection and to avoid taking action during a crisis, rather than be blamed later for doing the wrong thing, the report said.
Despite a surge in the number of reported infections on Jan. 18 and 19, Xi did not bring up the outbreak in his talks with authorities in Myanmar during his state visit.
Xi responded to the outbreak on Jan. 20, but has yet to visit Wuhan, thereby failing to create an image of “the people’s leader,” the report said.
Anti-Chinese sentiment had already been seen by stores and hotels in many countries refusing Chinese customers, and petitions calling for Chinese visitors to be barred from entry to several countries, the report said.
Friction between China and other countries that had led to this sentiment has been caused by Chinese military expansionism, and Beijing’s economic influence, it said.
Recent statements from the WHO praising China’s handling of the outbreak has made many people aware of China’s influence over that organization, as well as many others, the report said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique