Emergence of a Deadly Coronavirus

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THE TALE OF TWO CHINAs

There are actually two China's - one is massive and one is invisible. It seems like the invisible China is actually stepping up to the plate and trying to do its part at combating the coronavirus.

When coronavirus emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, Taiwan was ahead of the curve.

It started inspecting airline passengers coming from Wuhan on Dec. 31. It banned Wuhan residents altogether on Jan. 23, suspended tours to China on Jan. 25 and banned all Chinese visitors on Feb. 6, Foreign Policy reported. Taiwan's government stopped exporting surgical masks on Jan. 24.

It was around then that Taiwan asked local companies to step up the production of masks and started to produce millions a day.

The masks were then split between the public, medical and industrial sectors. The government took over the distribution of masks, which curbed hoarding and price hikes. It also allowed its residents to purchase a certain number of adult and children's masks per week from pharmacies and health clinics for about 17 cents. In order to cut down on long lines, Taiwan tapped into its tech sector to allow people to order masks online and pick them up at their convenience.

U.S. intelligence officials have accused China of misleading the world and purposely underreporting the numbers of patients and deaths related to COVID-19. A report sent to the White House purportedly claimed that China's public record of coronavirus infections was deliberately deceptive and incomplete.

When it came to transparency, Taiwan did the exact opposite of China.

The country set up a unified command center and held daily briefings to keep the public up to date. It also educated its residents about the risks of COVID-19 and the precautions they should take to avoid the virus as much as possible.

When Taiwan was busy responding to COVID-19, China was knee-deep in spreading rumors, falsely claiming a United States military member brought the coronavirus to Wuhan and unleashed it. More recently, China has shifted focus and started to blame Italy for the pandemic.

Last week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked Taiwan on Twitter for donating millions of masks.

"The European Union thanks Taiwan for its donation of 5.6 million masks to help fight the coronavirus," she tweeted. "We really appreciate this gesture of solidarity. This global virus outbreak requires international solidarity & cooperation." she tweeted after Taiwan announced it would help with the supply shortage as part of its "Taiwan can help" campaign.

Last week, Taiwan announced it would send 10 million face masks to countries around the world and pledged future donations as it ramps up production.

Two million masks will go to the United States and eight million others will be sent to Europe, including some of the hardest-hit countries like Spain, Italy and France, Taiwan's foreign ministry said. Another million will be sent to Taiwan's 15 diplomatic allies in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands.

"Over the past months, we have seen countless acts of bravery and sacrifice from medical workers around the world," Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen recently said. "We need to step up cooperation and that means sharing experiences and materials, and working together to develop treatments and vaccines."

Source: Taiwan shows up China, sending hard-hit countries lifesaving coronavirus supplies

It almost seems to me that this other China, the invisible one is singing a song:

Last edited by jimmy m on 07 Apr 2020, 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

On what level?
Individual? Minimalism is one of possible examples of alternative to consumerism.
Social? Solidarity vs NIMB.
Cultural? Inclusiveness/equality vs strong social stratification by income.
Political? All political systems suck, power corrupts.
Economical? I see three options and all real states do some mix of them:
1. Leaving goods to those who already have them (capitalism);
2. Gathering goods for common needs - infrastructure, state, environment, etc. - I don't know any name for this but there's no state without it;
3. Gathering and redistributing goods for individual needs (socialism).
So, well, I don't know the name for option 2.

^ option two is capitalism as practised.

Option one is theoretical capitalism as argued over, but has never existed.

Actually it wasnt a slogan and as far as I took it I knew what it meant as stated earlier. Hoarding etc is common and the effects are noticeable in this situation.
You are often quite insulting you know that?

Option two is absolutely present in socialism, too. It's just... statehood.

Minimalism is an individual choice, not a governmental one.I think you mean "NIMBY" -- "Not In My Back Yard". As for Solidarity, when everyone is thinking alike, then no one is really thinking at all.Inclusiveness is a dream. Stratification, if not by income, will then be by race, sex, gender, color, religion, political affiliation, et cetera.And there you have the crux of the matter -- give someone a whistle, and soon we're all marching to their one-note tune.It's called "Taxation", with or without representation.  Sometimes it includes "Eminent Domain" -- The power of a state or a national government to take private property for public use.

A scenario like that is what I fear most, it would be most damaging. Let’s say the government starts lifting restrictions next month and by August with only a few cases most restrictions are lifted. You are still going to have a lot of people restricting themselves more then necessary and longer than necessary. Why? Overcorrection. Having misjudged how bad it was going to be people are going to be over vigilant. Then the second wave hits in October as the ‘18 and ‘57 pandemics did. By that time with better testing and treatments only targeted lockdowns and tightening of social distancing would be necessary but people remembering how bad it was back in the spring, some governments and people will voluntarily will go back into full lockdown mode. Having relaxed at started enjoying life least to some degree going back to lockdown will be more devastating mentally then the current lockdown is. If you have ever had a serious illness or injury where your recovery involved setbacks you will understand what I mean. After a second wave there will be more fearful expectations of a reoccurrence then after this wave. After a third wave even more. If coronavirus does become seasonal as predicted over time people will adjust to the “new normal” of contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and social distancing etc. But not before a lot of psychological and economic damage and in some cases permanent damage. If the stop-start is the new normal, mental recovery will be longer then after 9/11 where there was not any major followup attacks.

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 07 Apr 2020, 10:42 am, edited 5 times in total.

Next time someone suggests I visit a sick relative or shares some eggplants from their garden, explains how things work to make life easier for me, offers to help with groceries or breaks up an argument between me and my brother, I'm going to denounce them as communist vultures. The quote referred to confusion hate etc.

Maybe that is the central point of this whole thread. There are two decision makers in this world. They are the government and the individual. We tend to put too much emphasis on the government and ignore the individual. When the tornadoes ripped through my property 11 years ago, the government did not come to my rescue. I relied upon myself to repair the damage and recover. In general when there are great disasters, it is the individual and their decisions and actions that count the most. Everyone is in charge of making decisions, even important decisions, such as surviving a pandemic. And these decisions count, they are important. Your life is in the balance.

So make wise decisions. Your life is in your hands.

^ your wife ought to be reported anti-capitalist tendencies. I recall she sewed a bunch of masks to give for free when she could have hoarded them or charged upwards of 10 bucks per mask.

I can’t copy the photo from my local paper’s digital issue ,so I’ll just describe it.
In the town square of Kingston there are numerous signs posted.

“If you don’t live here ,we don’t want you.”
“Tourist go home.”
Etc
The natives are restless.Not like anyone has to worry about squealing like a pig,that’s how viruses spread.You have to be closer than six feet for that.

Yup.
Necessary for all existing socio-economic orders.
Just pointing out that the free market under capitalism does have a visible hand as well as an invisible one: it’s the state, as per volume two of Wealth Of Nations.

I think jimmy has a point, it is possible to develop state-obsession in two different modes: anti and pro, neither are really workable.

Similarily to Blooie, I didn't read the quote she posted as political but as ethical, thus, valid on individual level.
Supporting each other does not mean thinking alike.
While forms of social grouping are probably unavoidable, strict stratification is not the only option in existence (coming from a country of non-capitalist history, I know it from experience).

I don't think anyone who believes greed and endless consumption are wrong should be labelled socialist/communist. Do you?

She has seized the means of production.

I think that anyone who believes in robbing the "doers" to give to the "do-nothings" is either a Socialist, a Communist, or some measure of both.

Greed is an inherently human characteristic, and consumption cannot be stopped.

I see it very much here. We have an awful government and resourceful people capable of solidarity. Tiny things we do for ourselves and for each other make all the difference. Our history shows, they always do.