While the world is suffering, the Chinese have found an easy way to penetrate countries with tumbled economies, targeting their industrial infrastructure alarming economists around the world. Here we understand the complete saga of how the current COVID-19 situation unfolded and various conspiracy theories behind it.
Let us first clarify ourselves about the issue itself.
· What exactly is the COVID-19?
Contrary to popular belief, the term 'Coronavirus' being used specifically for the 2019-2020 pandemic is slightly questionable. Coronavirus is a broad term used for a family of viruses that create respiratory diseases in mammals and birds, which were first discovered in the 1940s. Some Coronaviruses may have mild symptoms like common cold, while the more lethal ones have high fatality rates like MERS, SARS and 2019-nCoV. However, their symptoms and target organs differ among species, for example in humans they generally cause respiratory diseases while in pigs and cows they might cause diarrhoea. The 2019 outbreak is caused by a strain (subtype) of the Coronavirus group.
Thus, to refer specifically to the virus that caused the recent pandemic scientists refer to it as 'COVID-19', '2019-nCoV', 'nCoV-19 ' and most notably 'SARS-CoV-2'. In political sense, it is also being referred to as 'Chinese Virus' and 'Wuhan Virus'. Nevertheless, it is understandable what people refer to in the current pandemic crisis, with 'new Coronavirus', 'novel Coronavirus' or simple 'Coronavirus' being the most used. The politics associated is discussed in the sections below.
Several outbreaks of 'rare diseases' have been recorded in history which are originated in China, owing to its vast population living in close proximity to 'unconventional' animals and being the hub of illegal wildlife trade and animal slaughter. The outbreak of Asian Flu in 1956, SARS in 2002, H7N9 virus and now the COVID-19 have many theories of their surfacing, attracting the attention of people worldwide.
· How the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded
The unfolding of the events in China is the very reason why conspiracy theories arise. It also exposes the nature of the Chinese Government to the wider population and can help us understand its role in the spread of the virus.
The first COVID-19 case was recorded in China on 17 November 2019 in Hubei, after which the cases started piling up and the region became the epicentre of this pandemic. Until mid-December, the recorded cases soared to 27 and 180 till 27 December. The new Chinese reports indicate that this highly contagious disease had over 266 confirmed cases till the end of 2019.
But, the world was kept in dark about this new disease caused by a new virus until Dr. Li Wenliang, a doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital, alarmed the world about a new strain of SARS Coronavirus infection is getting spread and is resistant to conventional treatment methods. On 30 December 2019, Dr. Li saw a patient's medical report which showed a high probability of SARS Coronavirus written by Dr. Ai Fen, the Director of the emergency department of Wuhan Central Hospital and was alarmed after the test results of the patient.
As Dr. Li's warnings spread across social media like wildfire, he was summoned by Wuhan Police and was admonished for making false statements on the Internet. Li was given repeated warnings and was forced to sign a letter of admonition along with threats to be persecuted if he repeated his 'mistake'. He died due to the same COVID-19 on 7 February 2020, aged 33.
It becomes clarified that how the Chinese government tried to suppress the surfacing of the virus and its information to the world, which makes it a natural suspect in eyes of the whole world. Several doctors then took the nerve to speak about the virus and were similarly detained and silenced by the Chinese officials. But it was too late for the world. A study claims that the effect of the pandemic could have been reduced by 95% if the world governments and especially WHO took its decisions on time.
On 27 January 2020, the Mayor of Wuhan Zhou Xianwang admitted that the Chinese government should have disclosed the matter in a timely manner.
While the Chinese government is seen with extreme revulsion by the world leaders, the World Health Organisation too is being criticised for several reasons, the biggest reason of all stated keeping its eyes shut as the COVID-19 cases spiked in China. Experts also cite the WHO's relentless support to the decisions of the Chinese government.
On 14th February, the WHO declared that no signs of Human-to-Human transmission were found and the argument is baseless without sufficient research. This kept the world leaders panic-free which also led to misinformation being spread among the general public. It was only on 24th January when WHO declared the COVID-19 a Global Health Emergency, but still did not ask the governments to apply travel restrictions to China.
It was only on 11 March that the disease was declared a "Global Pandemic" asking for worldwide travel restrictions and social distancing, but by then the virus had already claimed more than 4,000 lives and spread in more than 100 countries. Recent contradictions have also surfaced about the use of masks prescribed by the WHO in which it implied for it to be worn only in specific conditions, whereas now countries around the world are instructing people to wear mask at all times while stepping out of their homes.
UK think tank The Henry Jackson Society has suggested suing China for compensation in a report, which claims that the Chinese government’s early handling of the disease and failure to adequately report information to the WHO breached Articles Six and Seven of the International Health Regulations [IHRs], a Treaty to which China is a signatory and legally obliged to uphold.", it said. The report accused China on four points, which are:
Ø Failed to disclose data that would have revealed evidence of human-to-human transmission for a period of up to three weeks from being aware of it, in breach of Articles six and seven of the IHRs.
Ø Provided the WHO with erroneous information about the number of infections between 2 January 2020 and 11 January 2020, in breach of Articles Six and Seven of the IHRs.
Ø Failed to proscribe avoidable vectors of lethal zoonotic (animal-originated) viral infection, instead actively promoting the massive proliferation of dangerous viral host species for human consumption in breach of Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
Ø Allowed 5 million people (roughly equivalent to the size of The San Francisco Metropolitan Area, CA or Greater Boston, MA in the USA, and roughly five times the size of a city the size of Birmingham, UK) to leave Wuhan before imposing the lockdown on 23 January 2020 despite knowledge of human-to-human transmission.
· Conspiracy Theories- Biological Weapon
Conspiracy theories have always attracted the interest of the human mind, which satisfies anxiety and gives a sense of adventure and pride while spreading the word. But often, conspiracy theories turn out to be true. To understand why such theories are rising, let us take a look at how China is benefiting from the pandemic.
The worsening world economy had never seen such a phase after the Great Economic Depression of 1930. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that the world economy might face similar situations like the ones faced in 1930s, with depression estimated to be approximately 15%, the worst in history.
While all the countries are suffering the loss, there is one country that might be actually benefitting from the situation. China has always had an offensive and opportunistic economic targeting policy, and after recovering from the virus it has already started production in its factories and making profits in international deals with European countries. While it is a closed sphere of media and the correct figures of the damage estimate by the virus are allegedly not being released by the government, it is clear that China is the only one that has unlocked itself while locking the whole world down with its mistakes in disclosing the virus.
Italy was reported being the worst affected by the virus, which is being attributed to Chinese tourists. In late 2019, Italy was the most preferred tourist destination in Europe for the Chinese.
Ø Offensive Economic Strategies:
While the world is suffering, Chinese have found an easy way to penetrate countries with tumbled economies, targeting their industrial infrastructure which might lead to overall dependence on China for important supplies. This situation has alarmed economists around the world.
Recently, it is being reported that bankers in Europe and Australia are getting evaluation requests of companies by various Chinese state owned and private firms. While the economy crumbles in these countries, Chinese are looking for big discount investment offers and allegedly doing an offensive takeover of these companies.
Chinese firms are getting ready for discount deals in Europe, where the Coronavirus pandemic has sent companies scrambling for cash to stay in business.
State-owned enterprises often hunt for acquisitions in industries seen as a national strategic priority for China, such as automobiles, energy, infrastructure, and technology. CNIC Corp., a state-backed investment fund, is considering buying about a 10% stake in Greenko Group, one of India’s largest renewable energy companies, Bloomberg News reported recently.
In wake of this, several countries are now caught up in a hurry to improvise their existing financial laws on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with various European countries restricting more than 10% FDI in domestic companies without government approval. (https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=96b5076c-5b5b-40c7-a7dc-18a8c28551c2)
With these facts, one can give substantial evidence claiming that the SARS-CoV-2 might be a biologically engineered weapon, helping China to rise as a global economic superpower. However, many scientists refute these allegations while many certainly support it too.
The cover up of the Chinese government about the virus helped spread the biological weapon theory when it was first mentioned by an American Senator Tom Cotton in a TV interview followed by a tweet.
In a nutshell, a theory states that the Chinese officials used the Virus engineered in Wuhan Institute of Virology on people to aid the spread via local seafood market. Aiding this, some theorists also believe that the Virus was leaked from Canada's National Microbiology Lab (NML), when two Chinese scientists were accused of spying and expelled from the lab last July.
Meanwhile, a $20 Trillion lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. against the Chinese Government, the Chinese Army, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Director of Wuhan Institute of Virology Shi Zhengli and Chinese army's Major General Chen Wei, accused of aiding and abetting death, provision of material support to terrorists, conspiracy to cause injury and death of US citizens, negligence, wrongful death, and assault and battery.
Amid other theories preferred by the scientists of being animal transferred via Bats or Pangolins or a highly probable leakage from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, there seems no conclusive evidence to hold firm on any of them. (https://thebulletin.org/2020/03/experts-know-the-new-coronavirus-is-not-a-bioweapon-they-disagree-on-whether-it-could-have-leaked-from-a-research-lab/)
Even when Trump decided to declare the Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a "Game-Changing" drug and Brazilian President Jair Bolsinaro declared it "100% effective" against COVID-19, there remains a substantial debate as Hydroxychloroquine is widely used to treat malaria patients, and has shown some results in stopping CoronaVirus growth in some lab tests. However clinical trials are still underway and till now no conclusive results can be drawn on the usage of HCQ against COVID-19 and the same was affirmed by the WHO. According to an early French study, it is totally ineffective against COVID-19 patients: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0399077X20300858?via%3Dihub
An era when everyone is asked not to spread rumors without confirmation, two people who are literally the Presidents of their countries have started an unnecessary hype for the HCQ medicine, leaving Twitter and Facebook to remove their speeches to help stop the hype, but in vain.
An article in Lancet Medical Journal also testified that high doses of HCQ and Azithromycin can have dangerous side effects if not used in a controlled manner, and self-medication without any doctor's prescription of these drugs is highly non-advisable. Reports also came that two people in Nigeria were poisoned and admitted to hospital due to high dosage of HCQ after President Trump made the announcement of its effectiveness.
After Trump's speech, the world market of medicines has seen an intriguing change of flow, with restrictions being put on the exports of HCQ and Azithromycin diseases. India, being one of the world's largest manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and lifting export bans, can supply the global demands with sufficiently catering to internal ones. It was interesting how Brazilian President Bolsonaro mentioned the story of Shri Hanuman got Sanjeevani for saving Shri Laxman (referring to the Hindu epic Ramayana), asking India to do the same for Brazil. India became the largest exporter of Hydroxychloroquine after the surge in its popularity, also stating it's a "moral duty" to help her friends in need.
"Almost nobody in this saga fits the stereotype of a misinformation purveyor: someone who’s uninformed, undereducated, hopelessly internet-addled, a pill-hawking scammer, a Macedonian teenager, or a Russian troll. They’re successful businessmen, non-internet media, and the literal presidents of two countries. These are the metaphorical adults in the room — the categories of respectable gatekeepers who are supposed to be holding our consensus reality together. Instead, social media companies are taking the rare step of policing world leaders and other political figures."
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