11 January 2021 - China Special Weapons News

China Says WHO COVID-19 Origins Probe Team to Arrive on January 14 SPA 11 Jan 2021 -- A World Health Organization (WHO) team of international experts tasked with investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic will arrive in China on January 14, China's national health authority said on Monday.
WHO expert team to come to China for joint research on novel coronavirus origin-tracing People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- After consultation with the National Health Commission, an international expert team of the World Health Organization (WHO) will arrive in China on Thursday to conduct joint research with Chinese scientists on the origin-tracing of the novel coronavirus, the commission said Monday.
COVID-19 test demand surges before Spring Festival travel rush Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- There has been a surge in demand for COVID-19 nucleic acid tests in many Chinese cities, especially major centers such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as the annual Spring Festival travel rush approaches, said several testing institutions reached by the Global Times on Monday.
Xiongan New Area to test all residents amid COVID-19 outbreaks in Hebei Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- Xiongan New Area in North China's Hebei Province, which is roughly 100 kilometers south of Beijing, will carry out a massive coronavirus testing for all residents amid the latest outbreaks in the province that has infected more than 500 people.
COVID-19 cases in multiple Chinese cities traced to overseas sources Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- Sporadic COVID-19 cases that recently erupted in Chinese cities were traced to imported sources and showed a longer incubation period, faster transmission and more complex pattern, epidemiological investigations and virus gene sequencing analyses show.
China has likely administered over 10 mln doses, long way to go to 50 mln before Spring Festival: expert Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- China has likely vaccinated more than 10 million doses in mass inoculation efforts for first high-risk groups so far, experts estimated, as health departments ramped up the national immunization plan, racing against infection resurgences in a number of provinces including Hebei.
All rural villages in Beijing's Shunyi district in lockdown Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- Beijing has imposed closed-off management on all rural villages in its Shunyi district, where a cluster of COVID-19 infections was found in the past two days. The Shunyi outbreak is not connected with a recent flare-up of infections in neighboring Hebei Province, said a Beijing government official.
Wuhan traces contacts of COVID-19 cases reported in Shijiazhuang Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- Wuhan, the capital city of Central China's Hubei Province, is aggressively tracing local people who may have had close contact with two confirmed COVID-19 cases in Shijiazhuang, the latest city hit hard by the coronavirus in North China's Hebei Province, said Wuhan's health authority.
WHO experts to arrive in China for COVID-19 origin tracing probe Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- As agreed by the two sides, the World Health Organization (WHO) will send experts to China on Thursday and work with Chinese experts to investigate the origin of COVID-19, said China's National Health Commission (NHC).
Clustered outbreak emerges in Beijing village, officials warn of vulnerability in epidemic control Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- A clustered outbreak of COVID-19 infections has emerged in a village in Beijing, amid warnings that China's villages could be a potential weak spot in the country's epidemic control efforts.
China sees three-digit COVID-19 cases for first time in five months; medical teams rush to aid Hebei Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- The number of COVID-19 cases in North China's Hebei Province continued to surge Monday, as the province reported 82 new confirmed cases, and medical teams from other provinces including Central China's Hubei Province rushed to help.
County in NE China's Heilongjiang in lockdown after identifying 26 asymptomatic cases and over 1,000 close contacts Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- Wangkui county in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has entered lockdown with restrictions on transportation and residential communities after detecting 26 COVID-19 asymptomatic patients on Monday. The outbreak has also spread to the neighboring Jilin Province.
Asymptomatic infections likely trigger fresh outbreaks in China, new challenge to virus control work Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- The Chinese mainland is facing a rising virus outbreak in multiple cities ahead of its biggest annual festival following the lockdown of a county in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Monday, after the de facto lockdown in Shijiazhuang, capital city of North China's Hebei Province and the number of daily new cases reaching triple-digits in one day for the first time in five months.
Chinese mainland reports 85 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 103 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 85 were locally transmitted and the rest arrived from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Monday.
COVID-19 "patient zero" in China's Hebei infected in December: authorities People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- The "patient zero" of this round of COVID-19 outbreak in north China's Hebei Province may have been infected before Dec. 15, 2020, local health authorities said Sunday.
China's Hebei adds 4 more COVID-19 medium-risk areas People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- North China's Hebei Province added four COVID-19 medium-risk areas on Sunday, bringing the province's number of medium-risk areas to 21, the provincial health commission said Sunday.
HKSAR gov't to step up tracing of COVID-19 cases: HKSAR chief secretary People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Matthew Cheung said on Sunday that the HKSAR government will step up its efforts to trace close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Beijing tightens taxi, ride-hailing rules for COVID-19 control People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- Beijing has tightened rules for the city's taxi and ride-hailing services after a new asymptomatic COVID-19 case was reported Saturday involving a driver on a ride-hailing platform.
China's Hebei reports 82 locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- North China's Hebei Province reported 82 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 49 asymptomatic cases on Sunday, the provincial health commission said Monday.
China's Liaoning reports 2 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- China's Liaoning Province on Sunday reported two locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases in the provincial capital Shenyang, the provincial health commission said on Monday.
China's Changchun reports 4 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, reported four asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 between midnight Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday, local authorities said.
China's Heilongjiang reports 8 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- Northeast China's Heilongjiang reported eight new asymptomatic novel coronavirus infections on Sunday, local health authorities said on Monday.

Foreign Workers, Mostly Chinese, Flee Post-Election Violence in CAR VOA 11 Jan 2021 -- Cameroon authorities say more than 250 foreign workers, most of them Chinese, have fled post-election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) to the border town of Garoua Boulay. The foreign workers say they are being targeted by rebel groups disgruntled with the C.A.R.'s December 27 presidential election that saw Faustin-Archange Touadera reelected.

China Threatens US With 'Counterstrike' After Pompeo Removes Taiwan Curbs Radio Free Asia 11 Jan 2021 -- China on Monday threatened it would "counterstrike" after the outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump removed restrictions on official and diplomatic contact with the democratic island of Taiwan.
US Lifts Ban on Official Contacts with Taiwan. So, Who's Coming? VOA 11 Jan 2021 -- Taiwan should expect one or two senior visitors this month and an open door in the years ahead following the U.S. government's decision Saturday to lift its ban on high-level contacts, a rule it had observed to get along with the Asian island's political rival China, scholars believe.
China Denounces End of US Restrictions on Contacts with Taiwan Officials VOA 11 Jan 2021 -- China is vowing to counter a decision by the United States to lift self-imposed restrictions on contacts between U.S. diplomatic officials and their Taiwanese counterparts, while maintaining the unofficial relationship between the two democracies.
Pompeo's easing of restrictions on US dealings with Taiwan will be punished by history: Chinese FM Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- China expressed firm opposition to and strongly condemned the decision by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to ease restrictions governing US diplomats and other officials' dealings with officials from the island of Taiwan, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.
China threatens 'counterstrike' against US move over Taiwan Press TV 11 Jan 2021 -- China has threatened a "counterstrike" against a provocative move by the United States to remove decades-old restrictions on official contacts with Taiwan in a last-ditch effort to further challenge China's sovereignty over the self-ruled island.
'More identifiable' passport to be recognized by other countries: FM CNA 11 Jan 2021 -- Taiwanese nationals can now travel abroad using a newly designed and "more identifiable" Taiwan passport without impediment, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said Monday during a press event for the launch.
Taiwan Introduces New Passport to End Confusion With China as US Drops 'Self-Imposed' Relations Ban Sputnik 11 Jan 2021 -- Taipei recently spurned proposed talks with China until the "one country, two systems" proposal that characterizes Beijing's relationship with Macau and Hong Kong is dropped from negotiations. Beijing called the move a further slide toward independence for what it considers a rebellious province.
Taiwan unveils new passport in latest provocation aimed at China Press TV 11 Jan 2021 -- Taiwan's secessionist government has introduced a newly redesigned passport, with the purported aim of helping differentiate its citizens from those of mainland China, in a move that will likely further infuriate Beijing amid the recent spike in tensions.

Taiwan Reports Boom in Enrollment of Students From Hong Kong Radio Free Asia 11 Jan 2021 -- Recent statistics from colleges and universities on the democratic island of Taiwan show a sharp rise in the number of students from Hong Kong, RFA has learned.
Hong Kong Protesters Outraged by Beijing's Comparison of US Capitol Siege to Storming of Legislature VOA 11 Jan 2021 -- As the shocking scenes at the U.S. Capitol building unfolded last week, residents of Hong Kong, nearly 13,000 kilometers away, were reminded of the chaos at their own Legislative Council on July 1, 2019.
HKSAR gov't refutes joint statement by Western countries' FMs on arrests in Hong Kong People's Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- In response to a joint statement made by the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Britain, and the U.S. secretary of state on arrests in Hong Kong, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said it was slandering the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR and clearly adopting double standards.

High-resolution space reference system for panoramic images of China's western borders put into use PLA Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- Recently, China's first high-resolution space reference system for border panoramic images along its western areas has been set up, which will provide forward-looking information about the geographic conditions and will contribute to the development of China's western regions and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on January 11, 2021 PRC MofA 11 Jan 2021
Pompeo's attacks on CPC are an evil legacy: FM Global Times 11 Jan 2021 -- After US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's new round of social media attacks on the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday slammed him as leaving an evil legacy from his tenure, but adding that his final frenzy is doomed to fail.

US Slams Chinese Embassy Tweet Lauding Family Planning's 'Emancipation' of Uyghur Women Radio Free Asia 11 Jan 2021 -- Washington has condemned Beijing for a since-removed tweet that sought to justify repressive family planning policies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) by suggesting they make Uyghur women more independent, prompting calls to shutter China's embassy and ban its Twitter account.

Xi stresses good start for fully building modern socialist China PLA Daily 11 Jan 2021 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for ensuring a good start for fully building a modern socialist country.

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11 January 2021 - China Special Weapons News