Wednesday, January 29, 2020

[MegaThread] Addressing Sinophobia and China’s Coronavirus Response


Comrades all over our communities, on Reddit and IRL, have most likely saw the direct and incognito attacks on Chinese culture, people, and communities. It is no surprise that when the United States has an enemy, racism, scapegoatism, and bigotry certainly follows.I want to make a megathread that not only beat backs those sinophobic attacks and understand the virus but also praises the very culture and government these Westerners attempt to discredit.1.) Where did the virus come from and scapegoating Chinese culinary diets."The origin of the new coronavirus is the wildlife sold illegally in a Wuhan seafood market," Gao Fu, director of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention.. However, there is some speculation that it may not have even came from food. Contrary to Westerners' portrayal of Chinese cuisine, these markets are, in fact, illegal in China, and are not “more popular” in this region. In fact, there is a huge problem of illegal exotic meat markets all over the world, especially the rise of it in the West:Here's an article about illegal exotic meat markets in the UK and the dangers of becoming a potential "global pandemic".Funny enough, Fox news reported on an couple of illegal exotic meat market in Illinois USA, and one of the butchers liking rattlesnake.Just a funny tid bit, here Binging with Babbish getting almost every kind of exotic meat he can find for his 2 million subscriber special.However, Westerners use Sinophobic stereotypes to target China's cuisine and blame them for spreading the virus, despite this potentially coming from other illegal exotic markets. Although mostly about MSG, this video explores the racist and sinophobia surrounding Chinese cuisine, where they even have a clip where Anthony Bourdain said "you know what causes Chinese Restaurant Syndrome? Racism". Also, there was a piece of fake news circulating of a Chinese women eating a bat, when, in fact, she was in Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific 3 years ago..It is obvious that the West is simply attempting to pile on more of its patented racism onto another country that is a target of its capitalistic government. From Muslim slayers to Muslim protectors, the West weaponizes its racism through individuals' behaviors and applies as it sees fit. Western culture is founded on bigotry and scapegoating, surrounding itself with individualistic economic systems that will ultimately be its own demise.Iraqis, Venezuelans, Chinese, Iranians, and now back to Chinese; the West's focused racism is like a flavor of the month. But China is becoming a bigger and bigger target because of its unstoppable economic power and influence that threatens Western hegemony.Sinophobia is only going to get worse from here. There needs to be a greater campaign to push against this bigotry, and challenge such disgusting cultural elements in the West.2.) The virus itselfThe Conoravirus is an mRNA virus that attacks the repertory systems in mammals, including humans. Although it is a fast spreading disease that has a 10-14 day incubation period (making it more difficult to detect), there is only a 3% fatality rate.. There are currently 7,259 confirmed cases and 169 deaths, most of which have been those between the ages of 35-90, with the average being around 75. More information about the virus can be found here. Along with this, people have been recovering and “being cured” by having their immune systems simply fight it off (with the help of hospitals and medical teams). See here and here. Additionally, the coronavirus outbreak may reach its peak in one week or around 10 days, renowned Chinese respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan said.To compare, “Flu-related illnesses the week of Jan. 18 spiked to nearly 15 million cases nationwide as health officials from the Centers for Disease Control reported an additional 1,400 deaths since last week — 15 of which were of children.”3.) The Government's response has been strong and effective in stopping and curing the CoronavirusWesterners have been complaining about the governments slow and oppressive response to stopping the Coronavirus, even going so far as to say they deserve it. Despite the the World Health Organization is praising the Chinese government’s quick response to the crisis, with director-general Tedo Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying the country was taking “very strong measures…with full commitment. We are in agreement with Chinese authorities who have been clear and transparent…”Here are a couple of highlights of what the government has done to halt the spread (most come from this article here):Only a week after the coronavirus outbreak, China State Construction Engineering has already begun speedbuilding a new, specialised 25,000m2 public hospital with 1,000 beds from the ground up: aiming to open it to patients in under 11 days.Another 1,300 bed hospital being builtChina is on the verge of obtaining a vaccine, being able to isolate the virus and fast-tracking manufacturing within 40 days to start clinical trialsCurtailing price gouging and hording vital products for outbreak, as profiteering from crisis is banned, and regulators set up a hotline for consumers to report violatorsSuccessfully quarantine major cities, to where, again World Health Organization said cutting off a city as large as Wuhan is "unprecedented in public health history" and praised China for its incredible commitment to isolate the virus and minimize the spread to other countries..450 medical staff from the People’s Liberation Army are now on the way to Wuhan to provide relief to doctors and nurses there along with hundreds more giving up their new years to help with the relief.But what has been Westerner’s response [TW: Racism, Sinophobia]?Government is not doing anything, so village builds a wallChina allocated $8 billion in emergency funds to Wuhan yet some medical supplies like N95 masks are in short supply b/c they're patented by US companies.To a “non-western” extent, Hong Kong protesters bombed a hospital and set fire to a building attempting to house the infected.And, of course, reddit’s sinophobia.Instead of sympathizing and helping those in need with this crisis, rampant bigotry against Chinese communities, and the hypocrisy with other emergencies is incredible..But this has all gotten to the point, where even foreign immigrants in Wuhan state “Seeing the reactions from outside world, especially in western media, racist, political comments and so on is so disgusting, people should stop this.”.ConclusionChina’s coronavirus response shows what’s possible when people come before profits. This is a title of an article that hits the nail on the head. I can only imagine what the US response may be when it comes to this. From the article:Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is also president of China, chaired the meeting. “Life is of paramount importance,” he said. “When an epidemic breaks out, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it.” He said that party members at all levels and across the country must “stand on the frontline” to safeguard public health…The paper called the crisis “a test for China’s governance system and capability,” saying it was especially urgent to guarantee the storage and supply of drugs and medical supplies. “China, as the world’s factory, does not lack a production force, and filling the current supply gaps is not a difficult matter. We call on the relevant parties to put the pedal to the floor to guarantee production, and urge every city in the country to offer mutual assistance to get through the challenge.”On Wall Street, meanwhile, profit rather than public health was the focus. In New York, the stocks of airlines, travel companies, casinos, and tourism-oriented companies were down in Friday trading as investors worried about how the China travel freeze could impact margins. This downward pressure was balanced, however, by eager financial advisers telling their clients to buy shares in companies that manufacture masks and medical supplies and biotech firms that make vaccines—especially as the United States reported its first case of the coronavirus.The contrasting responses of government and Communist Party officials in China and that of Wall Street investors puts the distinction between the socialist and capitalist systems in sharp relief and prompts the question: Which comes first—people or profits?If anyone has anything else they would like to add, please feel free to comment or PM me. via /r/communism https://ift.tt/38OWFLZ

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