Killing senior Hamas officials destroy tunnels, Israeli-Palestinian conflict heats up, Beijing anxious? Taiwan epidemic worsens, key for next 2 weeks; 17 medium risk areas, Anhui and Liaoning multiple officials were dealt with; Chernobyl neutron surge, or another nuclear explosion;.
The Chinese Communist Party announced on the 7th, the fourth exclusion of tariff-raising goods on the United States to extend the list. From May 19 to December 25, the exclusion period was extended for 79 items of goods, including gold ore, rare earth metal ores, etc.
On the morning of May 17, Yang Keqin, former party secretary and chief prosecutor of the Jilin Provincial Procuratorate, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for “accepting bribes,” accusing him of taking more than 46.35 million yuan in bribes. Yang was a longtime member of the Central Committee of Political and Legal Affairs, and was actively involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
The Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay was officially launched at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima City, Japan. Due to the epidemic, the torch relay was cancelled and spectators were not allowed to enter, and only the torchbearers passed the torch.
The Thai women’s volleyball team and staff were injected with the Kexing vaccine from China on April 29, and 22 people tested positive for the virus before the competition on May 12. The number rose to 26 while they were being taken to the hospital for treatment.
The Wall Street Journal quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that Bill Gates had resigned from Microsoft’s board of directors in March 2020 because of his inappropriate relationship with a female Microsoft employee.
As of 3:00 p.m. EST on May 17, there were 555,679 confirmed cases of the Chinese communist virus (Wuhan virus and New Coronavirus) worldwide, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 160,456,900 and the total number of deaths to 3,399,124.
As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues, the Chinese Communist Party has once again proposed the “two-state solution” in the hope of putting the conflict to rest as soon as possible. The Chinese Communist Party is showing its love for peace because of 2 major reasons, and the Chinese Communist Party is in a hurry.
The epidemic in Taiwan is heating up and the next 2 weeks are critical, while the epidemic in mainland China is also intensifying.
Top Hamas official killed, tunnel system destroyed
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict entered its eighth day on Sunday, with Hamas continuing to launch heavy rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities. But Gaza has also been hit hard by Israeli counterattacks, with 80 airstrikes in Gaza City alone this morning, destroying Hamas’ tunnel system and killing a senior commander.
The Israeli military said Hamas fired some 60 rockets at the Israeli cities of Bishba and Ashkelon throughout the night yesterday. Although the Hamas offensive was less intense than the previous two days, it was still met with heavy Israeli fire in return.
From late last night until dawn today, the Israeli air strikes attacked more widely and for a longer period of time. The main targets were coastal roads, security installations and open spaces on the Gaza side.
The dozens of air strikes damaged an electrical line, destroyed some 15 kilometers of tunnel systems and the homes of nine Hamas commanders, and killed a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
Israeli forces announced early this morning that the airstrike had killed Habid, a senior Hamas officer. Reuters said Habid was the commander in northern Gaza. Habid, who was relatively senior, had been in the position for about 15 years and was the mastermind of several terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. There was no immediate confirmation of the news from Hamas, however.
The Israeli military also stated that Hamas has fired 3,150 rockets at Israel since the conflict began and that Israel is facing the most intense rocket attacks in its history.
But the Israeli army said some 460 of the rockets fired by Hamas were “oopsies” and were fired within the Gaza Strip. About 90 percent of the rockets that entered Israeli range were successfully shot down by the Israeli “Iron Dome” defense system. Israel has destroyed more than 1,180 targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict casualties heavy, U.S. and China different tone
Palestinian officials said the 16th was the deadliest day since the Israeli air strikes. The Central News Agency reported that 42 Palestinians were killed in the air strikes in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, including at least eight children and two doctors.
But the Israeli military said it was trying to avoid civilian casualties. But Hamas “intentionally built its military infrastructure underneath civilian houses,” and the collapse of the underground military facilities caused the foundations of the civilian houses above to collapse as well, leading to accidental casualties, so Hamas should be held responsible for the civilian deaths.
So far, at least 208 people have died on both sides of the conflict. The New York Post quoted the Gaza Ministry of Health as saying that 198 people were killed, including 58 children and 35 women, and that 1,300 people were injured in the fighting. Gaza, however, did not specify how many of the dead belonged to Hamas or other terrorist organizations. There were also casualties on the Israeli side, with 10 people killed in the fighting, including a soldier and a 5-year-old boy.
On the 16th, the UN Security Council held another emergency meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But the U.S. and China continued to disagree on whether the Security Council should issue a statement.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who chaired the meeting, put forward four proposals on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party: a ceasefire to stop the violence, humanitarian assistance, international support, and a “two-state solution.
The so-called “two-state solution” is a proposal put forward by the United Nations in 1974. It advocates the establishment of two governments, one Israeli and one Palestinian, living side by side in peace on mutually agreed borders.
But the Palestinians demanded that the Palestinian state be delineated according to the map that existed before the 1967 war. But Israel opposes this proposal, and the United States and Canada, among other countries, have rejected it.
The U.S. does not agree with the Council’s statement now on the Communist Party’s proposal. Ambassador Greenfield said the U.S. has called for a cessation of violence and is ready to support a cease-fire between the parties. But a Security Council statement at this time could be counterproductive.
No ceasefire for Israel-Palestine, Beijing calls for talks in China
The BBC said that because the United States, like Israel and many other countries, considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization, Amr will not meet with Hamas. Instead, any news from Hamas can only be passed on through Egypt or Qatar.
According to local media, Hamas has offered “some form” of cease-fire for a few days, but Israel has refused. The Israeli side wants to hit Hamas as hard as possible before the fighting finally ends.
In a televised address on the 16th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would continue to attack Hamas with all his might and for a period of time to make the Hamas regime in Gaza pay a heavy price.
The BBC believes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is following a familiar pattern. Israel is hitting the Palestinians “with unquestionable military superiority. In particular, the Chinese Communist Party has proposed that direct talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators be welcomed in mainland China. Wang also criticized the United States for blocking a unified voice in the Security Council.
Everyone knows that the Chinese Communist Party is the source of turmoil in the world, and its shadow can be seen behind many things. The Chinese Communist Party likes to “win in the midst of chaos” and profit from it, but why is it now acting as if it “loves peace”?
Why is Beijing in a hurry?
There is a Chinese saying that “no profit is too small”, and the CCP has major interests in the Middle East for 2 main reasons.
The Chinese Communist Party has long supported Palestine, and was one of the first countries to recognize the Palestinian state in November 1988. The CCP has favored Palestine in numerous UN votes, including supporting Palestine’s observer status in 2012.
In its propaganda, the CCP portrays Israel as the aggressor and Palestine as resisting aggression. Not only does the Communist Party justify the Palestinian militants who perpetrated the terrorist attacks, but it also misrepresents all of this as “the result of Israeli aggression.
The reason for the Chinese Communist Party’s involvement in the Middle East is the Middle East’s rich oil resources. The Middle East has always been the world’s largest energy exporter, and the Chinese Communist Party is the world’s largest oil importer, with at least half of its oil coming from the Middle East.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will undoubtedly affect the Chinese Communist Party’s oil import business. For the sake of oil import concerns, the Chinese Communist Party certainly hopes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be settled as soon as possible. This is the first reason.
The second reason is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affects the Chinese Communist Party’s “Belt and Road” plan.
Beijing established diplomatic relations with Israel relatively late, in 1992. Despite this short period of time, the two sides have established extensive economic and military ties. Since 2000, China has grown to become Israel’s third largest trading partner and second largest export destination, after the United States and the European Union.
China’s influence in the Middle East has expanded even more since the Communist Party began implementing its “Belt and Road” program in 2013, with significant investments in both Palestine and Israel. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing seeks to connect Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Now that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is underway, both sides are unable to rest because of the fighting. The war will definitely affect the Communist Party’s “One Belt, One Road” plan, and may cause the Communist Party’s investment in the Middle East to go down the drain, so Beijing is anxious for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to settle down as soon as possible.
Taiwan’s outbreak worsens, key for next 2 weeks
Next, focus on the epidemic situation. The epidemic is worsening in Taiwan, which has always been seen by the international community as a benchmark for epidemic preparedness.
Figures from the Central Epidemic Command Center show that there were 335 new confirmed cases of the CCP virus today, a new all-time high. Of these, 333 were local cases and two were imported from outside the country.
Of the local cases detected today, Taipei City accounted for 158 cases, including 89 cases in Wanhua District. New Taipei City was next with 148 cases. The rest are distributed in Taoyuan, Keelung, Changhua and Taichung.
The Command Center announced that starting from 00:00 on the 19th, it will suspend the entry of non-nationals without ROC residence permits and the transfer of passengers to Taiwan until June 18. At that time, rolling adjustments will be implemented according to the epidemic situation.
In addition, on the 17th, both North and South further announced a complete suspension of classes in schools below the high school level until May 28th.
The Taipei government said that the announced suspension will affect 285 state elementary schools, 291 kindergartens, as well as 2,593 remedial classes and 199 anhui classes, involving 330,000 students. However, the Taipei government encourages distance learning by suspending classes without stopping school.
In fact, Executive President Su Zhenchang has already announced on the 15th that “Double North” has entered the third level of alert. Stop family gatherings and social gatherings for 5 people indoors and 10 people or more outdoors, and close the cabaret and other leisure and entertainment venues, etc.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said that the positive rate of Taipei screening is just 10%, indicating that the Chinese Communist virus is already “community infection”, and this time should “automatically and spontaneously close the city”. From now on, nothing to do at home, the market in addition to the necessities of life, other proposals are closed.
Ko expressed his hope that all the people of Taiwan “rely on their own civic self-management to solve the current crisis. The number of diagnoses is rising too fast because of people-to-people contact. Once the capacity of the medical system is exceeded, the whole will collapse”.
The 10 percent positive rate in Taipei’s Wanhua district, somewhat like some areas of New York City last year, “is already quite a serious community infection,” Zhan Changquan, a professor of public health at NTU, told Free Asia.
Wang Zhihong, director of the Center for Preventive Medical Research at Stanford University, who has long been concerned about Taiwan’s epidemic prevention strategy, said that the epidemic is heating up in Taiwan, and in addition to the government taking the lead in “putting out the fire,” people must also join the ranks of epidemic prevention, and the epidemic will be controlled.
Wang Zhihong told Deutsche Welle that because there were few local cases in Taiwan in the past year, Taiwan society was a bit relaxed about epidemic prevention. But when there was a surge of local cases, the society at large immediately complied with the instructions given by the command center and did not go out immediately. “If the Taiwanese people do not go out for 2 weeks, the transmission rate will naturally drop.”
The authorities control the purchase of drugs when one is found to be “sealed”
Then look at the outbreak in mainland China. As of 10 a.m. local time on the 17th, there are 17 medium risk areas in mainland China, involving two provinces, Liaoning and Anhui. Liaoning accounts for 10 provincial zones and Anhui has 6, including 4 new ones in Liu’an, Anhui. At the same time, a number of officials in both provinces and regions were dealt with for “ineffective epidemic prevention”.
The National Health Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) informed that there were 3 new local cases in Liaoning and 2 new cases in Anhui yesterday. From May 13 to yesterday, Anhui and Liaoning reported a total of 16 confirmed local cases.
A store owner in the Yu’an district of Lu’an, Anhui Province, said the district has been closed and is not sure of the specifics of the small area. The shopkeeper told the Epoch Times that now “as long as a little bit is found in a community, it is sealed. Found one, “the whole village asked to do nucleic acid testing, immediately.”
Another restaurant owner said that the restaurant has long been closed, but also not allowed to send take-out. “The government notified the implementation of closed management of the community, directly closed. When to open, you can only wait for the notice.”
The latest notice from Hefei city authorities requires all pharmacies in the city to sell antipyretic, antiviral, antibiotic, anti-cough and anti-diarrheal drugs online and offline, must be registered in real names and upload information about the drugs and purchasers.
A staff member at Hefei Pharmacy on Huaihe Road in Hefei City revealed that to buy antipyretic drugs now, you must first get a prescription from the hospital and then bring your ID card to buy them. The staff member said that because of the epidemic, cough medicine, cold medicine and diarrhea medicine of this kind “are controlled”, from the first few days.
The staff pointed out that “Liu’an (epidemic) is more serious than Hefei, because most of the people contacted by that patient are in Liu’an, Hefei side only in the hotel. Now there is a fear of hidden infections, those who carry the virus and don’t develop the disease, but rather trouble.”
According to the authorities, the Golden Childhood Photography Base in Yingkou, Liaoning Province, is the hardest hit by the epidemic. As of 12 noon yesterday (16), 29 people were infected, including 14 confirmed and 15 asymptomatic infections.
The outside world is generally skeptical of the epidemic figures reported by the Chinese Communist Party. This is not only because of the Communist Party’s consistent concealment of epidemic figures, but also because of the extreme measures taken by the authorities, and because both provinces and regions have dealt with officials who “failed to prevent the epidemic”.
On the 16th, two medical institutions in the Yu’an District of Lu’an City, Anhui Province, were suspended for treating patients with fever, and the head of the district health committee was suspended. According to mainland media reports, the district party secretary and district governor were adjusted simultaneously on the same day the epidemic broke out in Yu’an district.
By the evening, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, informed that a number of people were also dealt with in the Mackerel circle district. Meng Xin, deputy secretary of the district party committee and district governor of the district in wahoo circle, was talked to; Li Hongyang, deputy district governor, was disciplined and removed from his post; Xu Yingchao, secretary of the party group and director of the district health bureau and Sun Lixin, a member of the party group, were given serious warnings in the north and so on. Almost at the same time, the deputy secretary of the party group and deputy director of the Liaoning Provincial Health Care Commission Song Liangwei was talked to.
Chernobyl brewing nuclear explosion? Neutron Surge
In previous programs, we have talked about the Chernobyl incident. That nuclear power plant explosion, which occurred in 1986, caused severe radiation contamination that harmed many people.
Later, in order to prevent the radioactive contamination from spreading to the atmosphere, the authorities built a huge reinforced concrete “sarcophagus” to cover the No. 4 nuclear reactor. But now scientists have discovered that the residual nuclear fuel in the basement of the reactor building appears to have undergone a nuclear fission reaction and shows no signs of stopping, which could trigger another explosion.
Researchers monitoring the plant found a spike in the number of neutrons in an underground room that had been stable, according to Life Sciences. The rise in neutron levels indicates that new fission reactions are occurring in the nuclear fuel. That’s because the neutrons hit and split the nuclei of uranium atoms, which generates energy.
Neil Hyatt, a nuclear materials chemist at the University of Sherfield in England, told Science magazine that the radioactive waste is now “burning like embers in a barbecue. Hyatt believes that if left unchecked for a long time, these embers could ignite completely, leading to another explosion.
Savelyev, a senior researcher at the Institute for Nuclear Power Safety, believes the explosion may not be as devastating as the one in 1986, which may have been inside the “sarcophagus. But he noted that even though it was a “closed explosion,” it would make the long-term task of removing the “fuel-covered material” more difficult and could even damage the old “sarcophagus” structure. .
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