On the first anniversary of the Wuhan outbreak of epidemic Neonic Pneumonia, a serious health hazard, some scholars in the Chinese system claim that the huge GDP gains generated by China’s fight against the epidemic have brought confidence, happiness and security to the Chinese people. Pro-communists also compared the number of deaths from the epidemic in China and the United States, laughing that China equaled one person who did not die. Such statements have provoked a strong backlash among some of China’s epidemic victims and Chinese netizens, and have been questioned as a deliberate attempt to distort the facts, to help the authorities “set the pace” and mislead public opinion, and to “take the blame” for the government and officials responsible for the out-of-control epidemic that has endangered public health. “The speech highlights China’s achievements in fighting the epidemic.
Backlash against expert’s speech highlighting China’s achievements in fighting the epidemic
Not long ago, Li Ling, a professor at Peking University’s National Development Institute and director of the China Health Development Research Center, made a surprising statement at a forum in Shanghai: “By controlling the epidemic, reducing the loss of life and keeping society running, the reduction of losses reached at least 67 trillion, and the social benefits of these invisible GDP brought confidence, happiness and security to the Chinese people. “
On Nov. 21, the Peking University scholar had also delivered the gist of a report at a forum in Guangzhou, pointing out that China’s fight against the epidemic in 2020 produced gains worth about RMB 67 trillion to the country, or about two-thirds of the country’s total GDP that year, of which 56 trillion yuan was the health collection from avoiding death and disability, and 11 trillion yuan was the actual economic gain.
A month or so ago, an Internet commentator who identified himself as a “U.S. sociologist” mocked the consequences of the extremely serious epidemic in the United States and bragged about the advantages of the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian system in fighting the epidemic, laughing when comparing the number of deaths from the epidemic in the United States, saying that the Chinese epidemic “killed 4,000 people as if none had died. ” However, these remarks were refuted in an article published by the Xinjing News, which is sponsored by the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee, saying that “there is no respect for life at all.” This person is Li Yi, an Internet vlogger and U.S. green card holder who has been deported from Taiwan for his high-profile advocacy of “military unification.
Li Ling’s and Li Yi’s comments, which were posted on the Internet one after another, drew strong resentment and criticism from many Chinese people, especially those in Wuhan who had lost loved ones in the epidemic or were deeply affected by it.
Wuhan victims: remarks disrespectful to the deceased
Zhang Hai, a Wuhan native working in Shenzhen, lost his father in mid-January when the epidemic began to spread, and is trying to hold the local governments in Wuhan and Hubei legally accountable for “withholding” the truth about the epidemic.
In response to Li Yi’s statement that “China equals no one dead,” Zhang told Voice of America that Li Yi is inhumane and unworthy of permanent residency in the United States for making such derisive statements that hurt the people of both China and the United States.
“Whether it’s China or the United States,” Zhang Hai said, “the United States has always believed that every life is precious. But he (Li Yi) has this notion of how many people have died in the U.S., a very gloating attitude. He still has a U.S. green card. This kind of person should be stripped of his green card.”
Yao Qing, a Wuhan resident who suffered a secondary disaster as a result of authorities’ mismanagement of the epidemic, told Voice of America that she was offended by Li Yi’s claims and remained skeptical of the drastically revised Chinese official figures for the Wuhan epidemic deaths in April.
As an example, Yao pointed out that a colleague of hers who was suffering from uremia died five days later after not receiving proper dialysis treatment at the time, but was not counted in the epidemic’s death toll. “This is a disrespect for life. It makes no sense for him (Li Yi) to go and compare with other countries. How many people died in Wuhan is not clear to me myself. All the data are official.”
Scholar: The epidemic has propelled China to the center of the world stage
Professor Li Ling, who has newly sparked strong public criticism, has long been engaged in research on public health issues, and information on the official website of Peking University’s China Center for Economics shows that she received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Wuhan University in 1982, followed by a master’s degree and a doctorate in economics from the University of Pittsburgh in the 1990s, and is a returnee scholar.
In a speech touting the results of China’s response to the epidemic, delivered at the CITIC Lecture Hall-China Road Lecture Series on Aug. 14, Li Ling admitted: “At first we were actually very frazzled, even rushed to respond, and made many mistakes,” but She then noted, “We were able to adjust very quickly. So the epidemic really pushed China to the center of the world stage of history, and our four “self-confidence”: road confidence, theory confidence, system confidence and cultural confidence, have been greatly strengthened.”
According to Li Ling, “Life is above the sky, and China’s successful fight against the epidemic has indeed proved that China has taken a correct path.” She stressed that only in the pursuit of GDP per capita, while adhering to the “people first”, “so that everyone can live a healthy and happy life, so that life has value, this is the hard truth.”
More than three months later, Li Ling launched the aforementioned theories of invisible GDP gains and people’s confidence, happiness and sense of security in Guangzhou and Shanghai.
Independent commentators questioned
Beijing-based history scholar Zhang Lifan tweeted, asking, “According to Prof. Li Ling, because of this so-called 67 trillion yuan of revenue, is the overall global economic slowdown caused by the new crown epidemic, domestic export withdrawal orders, work stoppages, enterprise closures, employee job losses, and the losses in the restaurant, shipping and transportation, real estate, and other industries affected, all negligible? “
The history scholar and commentator referred to Li Ling’s earnings algorithm as “GDP on the bones.”
A Twitter user with the handle “Emotional Stability” followed up by saying, “Her (Li Ling) cold-blooded comments only reveal the message that this rigid society is no longer capable of any creativity, and that these stifled forces have no chance to do anything else but passively create bloody chicken farts in response to the epidemic. Bloodied chicken farts.”
Beijing is accused of missing a good opportunity to get out of the epidemic
According to Punch News, on January 18 this year, the second day of the Lunar New Year, the community committee of Wuhan City’s Baibuting held its 20th “Wanjia Banquet” as usual, with more than 40,000 families participating, despite suggestions from community staff to cancel the event.
The statement that “limited human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out” was first mentioned in a Q&A about the outbreak published by the Wuhan Health Commission on its website on Jan. 15. Previously, the rhetoric from Chinese authorities and the World Health Organization had been that no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission had been found. The important news report on New Year’s Day that eight Wuhan doctors were legally dealt with by public security for spreading “false information” about an unidentified pneumonia is now seen as evidence that the authorities are covering up the outbreak. Numerous countries and victims have seriously questioned and criticized China for missing a golden opportunity to control the outbreak.
Twitter user Pennsylvania said the government caused the spread of the virus and also locked up the people, said it was a quarantine, and then taught them badly and turned them into pink war wolves. Give the world the fate of the common disaster body, but also earned the money of the disaster to show off. When the time comes to fight a war, these are not enough to pay for it.
There are also netizens who believe that the Chinese authorities need to take responsibility for the out-of-control outbreak of the New Crown Pneumonia plague, “60 trillion should be put aside to compensate the families and individuals who have suffered in this plague!”
What people have a sense of well-being and security?
Yao Qing, a Wuhan resident who is claiming compensation from the authorities for injuries suffered in the epidemic, says her family’s house is uninhabitable due to cracks in it from the construction of the subway in Wuhan, she had her arm strained by local officials in the process of defending her rights, she suffers from depression which was exacerbated by the disruption of her medication during the severity of the epidemic earlier in the year, as well as being unable to work and losing her income, and despite her calls for help, local community workers have failed to provide assistance. She says she once thought life in China was good, but after dealing with government workers, especially after the outbreak, she saw how local officials acted without regard for the lives of people in order to protect themselves. She said that Wuhan residents have to use high-priced electricity most of the time to heat their homes, and that the sense of happiness and security that Professor Li Ling spoke of was not reflected in her, an ordinary Wuhan resident.
Yao Qing said: “Of course for them to seal Wuhan people in the city, maybe for Professor Li Ling is a good protection for her, she feels very happy, it is possible. Perhaps happiness, security is in not having dealt with the government, is living in state-owned enterprises or as civil servants in the institutions, they are protected. We live next door to a civil servant who has not gone out to buy food for more than 70 days after the city closure. He didn’t go out to buy food because someone brought him food and there were all kinds of fruits to eat. We all heard people bringing him things. And when I went to the community and called for help, no one paid any attention to me.”
From Professor Li Ling’s past publications, she has opposed economic construction that is all about GDP and advocated the development of a public health care system, even calling in May this year for seizing the opportunity presented by the epidemic to develop free health care for all. However, the news that people in some places in China are required to pay for the new crown vaccine shows that Professor Li Ling’s call and expectation for free medical care for all has not yet been realized.
Voice of America recently called Professor Li Ling’s office and heard a recorded message from her saying, “I am out of town and unable to answer the phone.” As of press time, Professor Li Ling has not yet responded to an email sent by the reporter with questions.
Defenders of rights: the shortcomings stem from the system
Zhang Hai’s lawsuit against Wuhan’s local government for underreporting has been repeatedly frustrated in local courts for several months, and has now been taken to the Supreme Court, but has yet to make any positive progress, and has recently been repeatedly harassed and pressured by the Wuhan police and the Shenzhen police where he works.
He said Li Ling’s remarks about invisible GDP gains bringing happiness and security are disrespectful to the families of the deceased and the victims, re-traumatizing them, and are misleading to public opinion, distorted perceptions and disregard for life. “Because a society needs fairness and justice, and normal humanity. But her words are particularly callous and indifferent to life. Life in the eyes of these people, often without a little reverence.”
Zhang Hai said the authenticity of China’s official death toll from the new epidemic is not certain, and he dismissed institutional scholar Li Ling and another expert, Li Yi, who caused public outrage, as “clowns” whose statements about the consequences of the epidemic and the so-called economic and social benefits are “foolish” and have gained traction in mainland China because they have been given the official green light to do so.
Yao Qing, a former senior executive, pointed out that the “disinformation” about Li Wenliang and others was clearly dominant, but no officials have been seen to take responsibility for it. She worries that China may repeat the same mistakes in the future, and that disasters like SARS and this one could happen again, because there has been no serious reflection on the lessons learned.
A Chinese rights activist attributed the appearance of Li Ling and Li Yi in Chinese public opinion on the first anniversary of the epidemic, who used the human disaster to glorify the centralized communist system and downplay the government’s malfeasance in being held accountable, to the authoritarian system that puts the party above humanity and the regime above human rights. The rights activist said that these so-called expert professors within the system have been reduced to accomplices of this evil system, devoid of conscience and humanity. She said, “If the cesspool is not removed and the flies dance around, the world will never have peace.”
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