China virus crisis deepens as whistleblower doctor dies

Yahoo – AFP, Laurent THOMET, Jing Xuan TENG, February 7, 2020

Medical staff walks past a makeshift memorial to the late ophthalmologist Li Wenliang
at the Houhu Branch of Wuhan Central Hospital on February 7 (AFP Photo/STR, STR)

Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese doctor punished after raising the alarm about the new coronavirus died Friday after being infected by the pathogen, sparking an outpouring of grief and anger over a worsening crisis that has now killed more than 630 people.

At least 31,000 have been infected by the virus that ophthalmologist Li Wenliang brought to light in late December -- before becoming its latest victim.

The virus is believed to have emerged from a market selling exotic animals in Wuhan before jumping to humans and spreading across China and abroad as millions travelled for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Researchers at the South China Agricultural University have identified the endangered pangolin as a "potential intermediate host" for the disease, as the genome sequences of viruses found on the scaly mammal are 99 percent identical to those on coronavirus patients.

The virus has since spread across China, prompting the government to lock down cities of tens of millions of people, and panic has spiralled around the globe as more than 240 cases have emerged in two dozen countries.

The media keep watch on the Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000 

people on board as it sits in quarantine at Yokohama port (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro NOGI)

Hong Kong, meanwhile, announced it would forcibly quarantine arrivals from mainland China beginning Saturday, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months in prison.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, whose countries have tussled over trade and human rights, spoke on the phone about the health emergency.

"We talked about, mostly about the coronavirus. They're working really hard and I think they're doing a very professional job," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday the United States would offer up to $100 million to China and other impacted countries to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Beijing has been angered by bans on arrivals from China instituted by the United States and other countries.

A laboratory technician works on coronavirus samples at "Fire Eye" laboratory 

in Wuhan (AFP Photo/STR, STR)

Li, 34, died early Friday, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, an announcement that triggered deep sadness on social media over a doctor hailed as a hero.

"He is a hero who warned others with his life," a fellow Wuhan doctor wrote on Weibo.

There was also a rare collective bout of anger at the authorities and bold demands, including the hashtag "we demand freedom of speech", which was censored.

"Those fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a snowstorm," wrote another Weibo user in a comment that was later scrubbed.

In a sign that the criticism has shaken the Communist government, its anti-graft agency announced that it was sending a team to Wuhan to "conduct a comprehensive investigation into issues involving Dr. Li Wenliang reported by the masses".

A deserted street in Shanghai, as fear of the spread of the virus impacts 

cities across China, even those not in lockdown (AFP Photo/NOEL CELIS)

The foreign ministry and the National Health Commission expressed condolences for his death.

Death censored

Li's death has also highlighted the enormous risks that frontline doctors have taken to treat patients in overwhelmed and under-equipped hospitals in Wuhan, the quarantined city of 11 million people where the virus emerged in December.

Medical staff are overstretched and lack sufficient protective gear, the deputy governor of Hubei province admitted Thursday.

Li sent out a message about the new coronavirus to colleagues on December 30 in Wuhan but was later among a group of people summoned by police for "rumour-mongering".

He later contracted the disease while treating a patient.

Censors appeared to struggle with how to deal with his death.

Striking medical workers demand Hong Kong close the border with China 

to contain the virus (AFP Photo/Philip FONG)

State-run newspaper Global Times and state broadcaster CCTV first reported on Weibo that Li had died late Thursday, only to delete their posts after the death rapidly surged to be among the top topics on the popular platform.

Analysts have said local authorities played down the extent of the outbreak in early January because they were holding political meetings at the time and wanted to project an aura of stability.

The first fatality was reported on January 11. The death toll has since soared to 636, with 73 more reported on Friday and an additional 3,000 new infections.

Global spread

To control the spread, authorities have placed some 56 million people in Wuhan and surrounding cities under virtual lockdown.

Posters warn residents in Beijing to take protective measures against the
coronavirus (AFP Photo/GREG BAKER)

Authorities in Wuhan are "combing" communities to find people suspected or confirmed to have the virus and place them in quarantine, state media said.

Major airlines have suspended flights to and from the country, while several countries have advised their citizens to leave China.

But cases keep emerging.

Two cruise ships carrying thousands of holidaymakers in Hong Kong and Japan have been placed under quarantine as authorities test people for infections.

On Friday another 41 people tested positive aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan, bringing the total number of infected cases on the ship to 61.

Timeline of events leading to the death of coronavirus whistleblower 

Chinese doctor Li Wenliang. (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

Another cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with coronavirus will not be allowed to dock in southern Japan, the government said Friday.

In Hong Kong, 3,600 people are facing a third night confined aboard the World Dream, where eight former passengers have tested positive for the virus.

While global concerns mount, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that that world was facing a "chronic shortage" of masks and other protective equipment.

Apple contractor Foxconn said Friday it would start making face masks alongside iPhones at its Shenzhen factory, aiming for 20 million by the end of February.

At least 31,000 have been infected by the virus that ophthalmologist Li Wenliang 

brought to light in late December -- before becoming its latest victim

The death of a whistleblowing doctor who was reprimanded for warning about the new coronavirus has sparked rare calls for political reform and free speech in China https://t.co/sSQVtqwdDy

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 9, 2020

Experts quit Hong Kong police probe, in blow to government

Yahoo – AFP, December 11, 2019

The Hong Kong government has repeatedly rejected demands from protesters
for a fully independent inquiry into police behaviour during the protests (AFP
Photo/DALE DE LA REY)

An international panel of experts hired to advise Hong Kong on the police response to huge pro-democracy protests announced Wednesday they were quitting, saying the watchdog was not fit for purpose "in a society that values freedoms and rights".

The group's damning conclusion is a blow to Hong Kong's government, which has insisted its Independent Police Complaints Commission is capable of holding the force to account over snowballing claims of brutality.

"We ultimately concluded that a crucial shortfall was evident in the powers, capacity and independent investigative capability of IPCC," the experts said.

Critics have long charged the body lacks adequate powers, is stacked with pro-establishment figures and has been toothless when it comes to keeping the police in line.

The watchdog can only handle complaints forwarded by the police themselves and it cannot subpoena documents or compel witnesses to testify.

Such limitations, the expert panel said, do not "begin to meet the standards citizens of Hong Kong would likely require of a police watchdog operating in a society that values freedoms and rights".

Police detain protesters after they attempted to escape the campus of the
Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November (AFP Photo/ANTHONY WALLACE)

Protests have rocked Hong Kong for more than six months, with up to two million people taking to the streets, initially against a now-shelved extradition bill.

Latterly, one of the core demands of protesters -- alongside fully free elections -- has been an inquiry into the police, who have been left to battle increasingly violent black-clad activists and are now loathed by significant chunks of the deeply polarised population.

But both chief executive Carrie Lam and the police have repeatedly rejected those calls.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan described the resignation of the expert group as a "vote of no confidence" in the IPCC and the interim report it is expected to produce next year.

Political scientist Ma Ngok said the panel's decision confirmed Hong Kong people's doubts on the IPCC's ability to find the truth.

"The government's strategy of making the report independent by having a panel of overseas experts has failed," Ngok told AFP.

Police officers point their guns at protesters in Tseun Wan in Hong Kong 

in August (AFP Photo/Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

Public row

The panel was announced in September and was chaired by Sir Dennis O'Connor, who was tasked by the British government to write a report on the police after the 2011 London riots.

It included current or former police watchdog chiefs from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and a British specialist on crowd behaviour.

A month ago, a leaked statement from the group revealed they felt the police watchdog was not equipped to carry out a proper investigation, and suggested a fully independent inquiry would be better suited.

But their frank assessment was not welcomed by Anthony Neoh, the IPCC's head.

He gave an interview to a mainland Chinese media outlet rebuking the panel, saying they "do not understand Hong Kong's situation".

On Sunday, an estimated 800,000 people marched peacefully through the city's streets in a movement that has become a popular revolt against Beijing's authoritarian rule.

Police arrest a protester at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University 

in November (AFP Photo/DALE DE LA REY)

The last three weeks have seen a rare lull in the violence and vandalism after pro-democracy parties won a landslide in local council elections.

"Do not waste time, and please grab this golden opportunity to persuade Beijing... to support an independent commission of inquiry," lawmaker Chan added.

An end to violence is something Lam has insisted must be a precursor to meaningful dialogue.

But she has shown no sign she is willing to budge, leading to fears clashes could resume.

In her weekly press conference on Tuesday she dismissed protesters' demands once more as she announced plans to go to Beijing this weekend where she is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

China has publicly thrown its support behind both Lam and the city's police, even as their approval ratings take a hammering.

Hong Kong leader offers mea culpa, but no concessions

Yahoo – AFP, Yan ZHAO, Xinqi SU, November 26, 2019

The result -- the first vote held since protests engulfed the city -- was a humiliating
rebuke to Beijing and Lam (AFP Photo/NICOLAS ASFOURI)

Hong Kong's unpopular leader Carrie Lam acknowledged Tuesday that public dissatisfaction with her government fuelled a landslide win by pro-democracy candidates in local elections, but she drew fresh criticism by offering no new concessions to resolve months of violent protests.

In China, state media sought to downplay and discredit the weekend ballot that delivered a stinging rebuke to the financial hub's pro-Beijing establishment.

Lam admitted that the district council election result revealed public concern over "deficiencies in the government, including unhappiness with the time taken to deal with" the unrest.

In a rout that stunned the semi-autonomous territory, candidates opposing control by China seized an overwhelming majority of 452 elected seats in the city's 18 district councils, bodies historically dominated by a Beijing-aligned establishment.

It was a humiliating rebuke to Beijing and Lam, who has dismissed calls for political reform and repeatedly suggested that a silent majority supported her administration.

Since the polls, pro-democracy politicians have stepped up calls for Lam to meet key demands such as direct popular elections for the city's leadership and legislature, and a probe into alleged police brutality against demonstrators.

But in her weekly press briefing, Lam sidestepped those calls, instead denouncing street violence and repeating earlier pledges to step up a cross-party dialogue on the root causes of the turmoil, proposals previously dismissed by her opponents as inadequate.

The result -- the first vote held since protests engulfed the city -- was a 

humiliating rebuke to Beijing and Lam (AFP Photo/NICOLAS ASFOURI)

'In a coma'

Millions of Hong Kongers marched in protest rallies earlier this year after Lam's government introduced a bill allowing extraditions to China.

It was eventually withdrawn under public pressure, but fuelled growing fears that Beijing was tightening its grip, leading to broader reform demands and violent clashes between police and protesters.

Lam's latest comments indicated "no reflection, no response and no resolution" for Hong Kong's ongoing crisis, said Lam Cheuk-ting, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party, the city's largest anti-establishment party.

"While the pro-establishment camp was finally awakened by votes, Lam still chooses to remain asleep, as deeply as in a coma," he said.

China's state media, however, cast doubt on the vote's legitimacy, focusing on violence that marred campaigning.

The People's Daily said "social unrest... has seriously disrupted the electoral process," while an editorial in the English-language China Daily said the vote was "skewed by intimidation" and "dirty tricks" that hurt pro-establishment candidates.

The electoral drubbing has revived speculation that Lam might be dumped by Beijing, but a Chinese government spokesman on Monday reiterated support for her.

Millions of Hong Kongers took to the streets earlier this year to protest a bill 

allowing extraditions to China (AFP Photo/Philip FONG)

Asked whether China wanted her to take responsibility for the rout, Lam said she had received no such communications from Beijing.

Officials at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where police and protesters clashed violently more than a week ago, said they searched the entire campus Tuesday to find just one remaining holdout, raising hopes that a police siege of the campus could be nearing an end.

However, campus officials added that they could not rule out the possibility that some protesters remained hidden.

The government announced separately that the busiest road tunnel linking Hong Kong island and the city's mainland would reopen on Wednesday for the first time since November 13, when it was closed for safety reasons as unrest at the university began to escalate.

The closure added to the strain on transport in the territory, where subway lines also have repeatedly been shut down due to violent protests.

Huge Hong Kong rally after student dies and lawmakers arrested

RTL – AFP,  9 November 2019

Tensions have soared since the death on Friday of Alex Chow, 22, who
succumbed to head injuries sustained during a fall (AFP)

Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers packed into a park Saturday night to mourn a student who died during recent clashes as police arrested a group of pro-democracy lawmakers, deepening the city's political crisis.

The international finance hub has been upended by five months of huge and increasingly violent pro-democracy protests, but Beijing has refused to give in to most of the movement's demands.

Tensions have soared since the death on Friday of Alex Chow, 22, who succumbed to head injuries sustained during a fall as police skirmished with demonstrators inside a car park last weekend.

The huge rally -- one of the few in recent months to obtain police approval -- means Hong Kong has witnessed 24 weekends of protest in what has become the most profound challenge to Beijing's rule since the 1997 handover.

Mourners pay their respects at the site where a student fell to his death
during a recent protest in Hong Kong (AFP)

Many at the peaceful and sombre rally wore black.

"I want an independent inquiry because that proves Hong Kong is still a place with rule of law," a 35-year-old woman, who gave her surname Wong, told AFP, echoing the movement's core demand for an investigation into police tactics.

Wong, who said she moved to Hong Kong from the mainland three years ago, said she also wanted to see less confrontational tactics from hardcore protesters.

"I think non-violent ways can also win," she said.

Lawmaker arrests

The rally came after police brought charges against at least seven lawmakers who now face up to a year in jail if convicted.

Three were arrested overnight, three attended appointments on Saturday evening to be booked, and one refused to appear.

With the city bracing for a 24th consecutive weekend of rallies, police brought
charges against three key pro-democracy lawmakers (AFP)

The charges relate to chaotic scenes that broke out within a legislative committee in May as pro-democracy lawmakers tried to stop a controversial bill being discussed that would allow extraditions to authoritarian mainland China.

At the time, city leader Carrie Lam was fast-tracking the bill through the legislature, a move that ignited record-breaking street protests in which millions marched.

"The protests that have been going on for five months are yet to finish but the government is already launching massive arrests of pro-democracy legislators in collaboration with the police," the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

Hong Kong's legislature is quasi-democratic, with half the seats popularly elected and the rest chosen by largely pro-Beijing committees, ensuring the chamber remains stacked with government loyalists.

Opposition to the government comes in the form of a small band of pro-democracy lawmakers who win their seats in local elections.

The lack of fully free elections -- and especially the fact that the city's leader is appointed by a pro-Beijing committee -- has fuelled years of protests that have culminated in the latest unrest.

Chow's death has only intensified the tinderbox atmosphere in what has become a deeply polarised city, with violence escalating on both sides of the ideological divide.

Although the precise chain of events leading to his fall is unclear and disputed, protesters have made alleged police brutality one of their movement's rallying cries and have seized on the death.

The tinderbox atmosphere in Hong Kong intensified after 22-year-old
student Alex Chow died from a fall during recent clashes with police (AFP)

Police have repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to Chow's death.

Vigils on Friday night saw large crowds and frequent clashes with police in multiple neighbourhoods, including one officer firing a live warning shot.

Upcoming local elections

The city is holding district council elections on 24 November with the pro-Beijing camp bracing for heavy defeats.

Since this summer's pro-democracy protests kicked off, voter registration has soared and the pro-democracy camp is fielding candidates in every constituency for the first time.

But there are also concerns the elections could be called off given the spiralling violence.

Hong Kong's protest movement is largely organised online (AFP)

On Wednesday, one of the city's most stridently pro-Beijing politicians was wounded in a knife attack by a man who pretended to be a supporter.

That assault came three days after a Mandarin-speaking man shouting pro-Beijing slogans knifed at least three pro-democracy protesters and bit off the ear of a local district councillor.

Pro-democracy lawmakers called for demonstrators not to give the government an excuse to cancel the elections because of the violence.

"The district council election is a de facto referendum, in which all Hong Kong people can respond to the social problems, the unjust governance and the police brutality triggered by the extradition bill," lawmaker Tanya Chan said on Saturday.

But further unrest seems likely given that the protest movement is largely organised online by activists who favour confrontations with the police who are themselves responding with increasingly hardcore tactics as each month passes.

Activists have vowed to hit the streets again on Sunday and hold a general strike on Monday.

Hong Kong mask ban challenged in court ahead of Halloween rally

Yahoo – AFP, October 31, 2019

Hong Kong's protesters have worn masks to make it harder for police
to identify them (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)

Hong Kong democracy activists went to court on Thursday to challenge an emergency law that bans protesters from wearing masks, as demonstrators vowed to use Halloween parties to defy the restrictions once more.

The international finance hub has been upended by nearly five months of huge, often violent, pro-democracy protests in which participants routinely use masks to hide their identities.

Earlier this month the city's unelected pro-Beijing leader invoked colonial-era legislation for the first time in more than fifty years to outlaw face coverings at rallies.

The move was seen as a watershed legal moment for the city since its 1997 return by Britain to China -- but the ban has done little to stop the protests or dissuade people from wearing masks.

The High Court is hearing two challenges in the same sitting. The first, from a student leader, question's the constitutionality of the ban.

But the second challenge, lodged by some of the city's best known pro-democracy opposition lawmakers, is much broader. It aims to challenge the entire emergency law used by chief executive Carrie Lam.

"This is a duel between the rule of law and totalitarianism," lawmaker Dennis Kwok told reporters outside court on Thursday.

The sweeping 1922 emergency law was passed in a single day by then colonial master Britain to deal with striking workers and allows the city's leader to make "any regulations whatsoever" in a time of emergency or public danger.

It was last used by the British in 1967 to help suppress Maoist-backed leftist riots that raged for nearly a year and killed some 50 people.

Lam's use of the law was controversial because it bypassed the Legislative Council, the partially-elected chamber that approves Hong Kong's laws.

Critics said the move also undermined the city's reputation for being a dependable business and legal hub at a time of growing concern over Beijing's control of the city.

The legal challengers also argue it contradicts the city's more recently passed Bill of Rights which states that restrictions on core freedoms can only be justified if there is an emergency or the "life of the nation" is at stake.

When Lam announced the mask ban in early October she publicly declared that the city was not in a state of emergency.

The timing of the legal challenge coincides with the latest plan by the largely leaderless movement to defy the law.

Online forums used to organise rallies have been calling on supporters to hit the streets in masks on Thursday evening as the city celebrates Halloween.

Police told the South China Morning Post they were putting some 3,000 officers on standby as well as three water cannon trucks.

A theme park cancelled its annual Halloween party while a subway station near the city's main nightclub street was set to close at 9pm (1300 GMT).

A police source told SCMP that officers would order revellers to "remove masks if they were chanting slogans instead of celebrating Halloween."

Hong Kong democracy activists challenge mask ban in court ahead of Halloween rallyhttps://t.co/P0PfoopZ1H pic.twitter.com/ivrrQo79ph

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 31 oktober 2019

Clashes in Hong Kong as face masks banned under rare emergency powers

Yahoo – AFP, Jerome TAYLOR, Jasmine LEUNG, October 4, 2019

Hong Kong protesters burn items at the Causeway Bay metro station entrance
after the government invoked emergency powers to ban demonstrators from
wearing face masks (AFP Photo/Nicolas ASFOURI)

Hong Kong (AFP) - Hong Kong's leader invoked colonial-era emergency powers Friday to ban protesters wearing face masks, but the move aimed at quelling months of unrest sparked immediate rallies, widespread clashes and vows to defy the new law.

Chief executive Carrie Lam said she made the order under the Emergency Regulations Ordinances, a sweeping provision that grants her the ability to bypass the legislature and make any law during a time of emergency or public danger.

It is the first time the law has been used in 52 years.

"We believe that the new law will create a deterrent effect against masked violent protesters and rioters, and will assist the police" in law enforcement, Lam said.

As soon as the ban was announced, widespread protests broke out across Hong Kong. Large crowds of mostly office workers blocked roads in the heart of the commercial district.

Some protesters tore down pro-China banners, before clashes erupted throughout the evening. Police used tear gas in multiple locations to disperse protesters who had taken over roads, vandalised subway stations, set street fires and trashed pro-China businesses.
.

High school students gathered in the heart of Hong Kong's commercial district, 

chanting slogans and wearing posters reading "all people masked" on their uniforms 

(AFP Photo/Philip FONG)

In the northern district of Yuen Long, a police officer opened fire when he was surrounded in his car and attacked by protesters, a petrol bomb exploding at his feet.

"A large crowd of rioters attacked a plainclothes officer. He fell into the ground, then got beaten by a lot of people. Under this life-threatening situation, the police officer fired a live round for his safety," police said in a statement.

The entire subway network was also suspended, leaving protesters, locals and Friday night revellers stranded.

Online forums used by protesters filled with angry comments and vows to hit the streets over the three-day weekend.

"Youngsters are risking their lives, they don't mind being jailed for 10 years, so wearing masks is not a problem," a 34-year-old office worker wearing a surgical mask, who gave her first name as Mary, told AFP.

As soon as the ban was announced, widespread protests 

broke out across Hong Kong -- here, people march in the 

Admiralty area (AFP Photo/Nicolas ASFOURI)

'Watershed'

Beijing threw its backing behind the ban, which it described as "extremely necessary".

"The current chaos in Hong Kong cannot continue indefinitely," Yang Guang, spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's central government, said in a statement.

"An important moment has come for stopping the violence with a clearer attitude and more effective measures," he added.

Critics said Lam's move was a major step towards authoritarianism for Hong Kong, which has been governed by China under a "one country, two systems" framework since British colonial rule ended in 1997.

"This is a watershed. This is a Rubicon," pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo told AFP.

"And I'm worried this could be just a starter. More draconian bans in the name of law could be lurking around the corner."

Prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong said the law "marks the beginning of the end of Hong Kong".

Hong Kong riot police march towards protesters in the Wan Chai tourist and 

bar district (AFP Photo/Nicolas ASFOURI)

"It is ironic that a colonial-era weapon is being used by the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist Party," he told AFP.

Pro-Beijing lawmakers and police associations welcomed the ban.

The last time the law was invoked was during riots in 1967 -- a period where more than 50 people were killed in a year-long leftist bombing and murder spree.

Tough penalties

Hong Kong's protests were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland, which fuelled fears of an erosion of liberties promised under "one country, two systems".

After Beijing and local leaders took a hard line, the demonstrations snowballed into a wider movement calling for more democratic freedoms and police accountability.

Protesters have used face masks to avoid identification and respirators to protect themselves from tear gas.

A Hong Kong protester defies the ban with an "Iron Man" mask -- the city's 

pro-democracy demonstrators have long used masks to avoid being identified 

(AFP Photo/Mohd RASFAN)

The ban came after the worst violence of the year on Tuesday, when China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule. During clashes, an officer shot and wounded a teenager -- the first such shooting since the demonstrations began.

The new law, which Lam said would take effect at midnight, threatens anyone wearing masks at legal and unsanctioned protests with up to one year in prison.

People can still wear masks in the street, but must remove them if asked to by police.

Exemptions are available for religious and medical reasons and for those who need masks to do their jobs -- such as reporters.

Lam said she did not rule out further laws under the emergency provisions if the violence worsened. Even moderate protesters have already shown a willingness to break the law in large numbers, appearing at unsanctioned rallies in their tens of thousands.