International

The Chinese city of Wuhan marked one year since the start of its traumatic 76-day coronavirus lockdown yesterday, while the pandemic raged elsewhere and governments scrambled to put in place new measures. Europe faced a worsening struggle with production woes hitting supply of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine as well as the Pfizer/BioNTech shot. Around the world, more than 2.1mn people have died of Covid-19 since it emerged in China in December 2019, with over 98mn infected. In the world’s worst-hit country, US President Joe Biden warned America’s death toll could pass 600,000, the highest estimate yet that would mark a devastating rise on the 400,000 fatalities so far. But the picture was vastly different in Wuhan, where humming traffic, bustling sidewalks, and citizens packing parks and public transport underscored the scale of the recovery in the metropolis of 11mn where the pathogen first emerged before going global. “I think Wuhan is quite safe now, safer than my hometown and most places in China,” 21-year-old resident Wang Yizhe said. Elsewhere in China, new outbreaks have prompted harsh responses. Thousands of Hong Kongers in Jordan, one of the city’s poorest and most densely-packed districts, were ordered to stay home yesterday unless they can show a negative test, in the city’s first lockdown. AstraZeneca said late Friday that “lower yield” at one of its vaccine-making sites would affect deliveries across Europe. Lithuania estimated it would receive 80% fewer AstraZeneca doses than hoped in the first quarter, although German and French ministers tried to reassure the public of a steady supply. Deliveries of Pfizer-made shots to the continent’s countries are already behind schedule as the US firm upgrades capacity at a Belgian plant.  At a meeting with AstraZeneca representatives, the EU Commission “insisted on a precise delivery schedule on the basis of which member states should be planning their vaccination programmes”, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides tweeted. Already cleared for use in Britain, EU authorities are expected to give the vaccine the green light at the end of January. The World Health Organisation reassured that fabric masks should still work in hindering the spread of new variants from Britain, South Africa and Brazil. In Wuhan, a team of World Health Organisation experts was still in hotel quarantine ahead of a mission to investigate the source of the virus. “All hypotheses are on the table,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference in Geneva. “And it is definitely too early to come to a conclusion of exactly where this virus started, either within or without China.” But there was good news Friday for poorer nations, as the WHO and pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer announced a deal for up to 40mn initial doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be made available to them through the Covax global pool. A separate deal, brokered by international agencies working with the WHO, will supply developing nations with tens of millions of rapid antigen tests at half the usual $5 price.

Thousands of Hong Kongers were ordered to stay in their homes on Saturday for the city's first coronavirus lockdown as authorities battle an outbreak in one of its poorest and most densely packed districts. The order bans about 10,000 people living inside multiple housing blocks within the neighbourhood of Jordan from leaving their apartments until all those in the area had been tested. Officials said they planned to screen everyone inside the designated zone within 48 hours "in order to achieve the goal of zero cases in the district". "Residents will have to stay at their premises to avoid cross-infection until they get their test results," health minister Sophia Chan told reporters on Saturday. The government had deployed over 3,000 staff to enforce the lockdown, which covers about 150 housing blocks. Residents were seen lining up for testing at more than 50 mobile specimen collection vehicles parked in the area and for basic daily supplies provided by the government. By lunchtime on Saturday, around 3,000 people in the area had been tested. Hong Kong was one of the first places to be struck by the coronavirus after it spilled out of central China. It has recorded just over 10,000 infections with some 170 deaths by imposing effective but economically punishing social distancing measures for much of the last year. Over the last two months the city has been hit by a fourth wave of infections, with authorities struggling to bring the daily numbers down. Stubborn clusters have emerged in low-income neighbourhoods notorious for some of the world's most cramped housing. The district of Jordan recorded 162 confirmed cases from the beginning of this year to January 20. On Saturday, the city recorded 81 infections, of which 21 were from Yau Tsim Mong area where the restricted district is located. -- Inequality and housing shortages --On paper Hong Kong is one of the richest cities in the world. But it suffers from pervasive inequality, an acute housing shortage and eye-watering rents that successive governments have failed to solve. The average flat in Hong Kong is about 500 square feet (46 square metres). But many squeeze themselves into even smaller subdivided flats -- cubicles that can be as tiny as 50 square feet or even less, with shared bathrooms and showers inside ageing walk-up buildings. It is in these kinds of buildings where clusters have been located in recent weeks, prompting the first lockdown order. In recent days health officials began carrying out mandatory testing in about 70 buildings in the area, but the government has now decided to test everyone so as to "break the transmission chain". The lockdown has created considerable confusion for residents. The looming restrictions were leaked to the city's local media on Friday but there was no official statement from the government until Saturday morning once the lockdown had come in overnight. Some media reported seeing residents leave the area ahead of the midnight deadline while others said locals were frustrated by the lack of clear information. Authorities said people who were not in the restricted area at the time but had stayed in it for more than two hours in the past 14 days must undergo compulsory testing before midnight today. The area is also home to many ethnic minorities, mainly South Asian Hong Kongers, a community that often faces discrimination and poverty. Earlier in the week a senior health official sparked anger when he suggested ethnic minority residents might be spreading the virus more readily because "they like to share food, smoke, drink alcohol and chat together". Critics countered that poverty and a lack of affordable housing forcing people to live in cramped conditions were to blame for the virus spreading more easily in those districts -- not race or culture. The health official's remarks also came as a video of predominantly white migrants dancing at a packed brunch on the more affluent Hong Kong Island sparked anger but no admonition from officials. jta-yz/je                      

China reported its first cluster of Covid-19 cases among workers in a meat processing plant, raising fears among local consumers who have until now mainly worried about the safety of imported foods. Ten confirmed cases were found in a factory which slaughters 50 million chickens a year in the northeastern city of Harbin and is owned by Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand, one of the world's top poultry producers. Another 28 workers at the plant and three family members were asymptomatic, officials told a news briefing on Thursday. While China repeatedly pointed to imported frozen meat and fish as the source of coronavirus cases last year, it has not reported significant clusters in its own food processing sector. Meatpacking workers in the United States, Brazil and across Europe were among the groups hit hardest by Covid-19 last year, with thousands of slaughterhouse staff infected. The cluster in the C.P. plant was detected as part of routine screening of people in the region, which has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks. Samples taken from inside the slaughterhouse, its cold storage area and the outside of product packaging during inspections earlier this week had also been found positive for the virus, city officials said. The factory could not be reached for comment on the outbreak. Officials at the company headquarters in Bangkok made no immediate comment. News of the outbreak was trending on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo, with some users urging others not to eat CP products. Staff who answered phones at three supermarkets in Harbin city all said CP chicken had been removed from shelves. CP is one of China's top chicken processors and also a well-known brand of eggs and other processed foods. The World Health Organization has said people should not fear food or food packaging during the pandemic. 

Beijing launched mass Covid-19 testing in some areas on Friday, while Shanghai was testing all hospital staff as China battles its worst outbreak of the disease since March and families fret over reunion plans for the Lunar New Year amid new curbs. Mainland China reported a slight decline in new daily Covid-19 cases on Friday - 103 from 144 cases a day earlier. Of these new cases, 94 were local transmissions: northeastern Heilongjiang reported 47 new cases, while Jilin province reported 19 new cases. Shanghai reported six new cases, while the capital Beijing reported three new cases. Some districts in Beijing launched mass Covid-19 tests following several consecutive days of new cases in the Chinese capital, with long queues forming in certain parts of the town. Shanghai began testing all hospital staff for the disease on Thursday after two such workers tested positive. Almost all of the local transmissions and asymptomatic cases in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, were linked to a meat processing plant owned by a joint venture between Thailand's top agro-industrial conglomerate, CP Group, and a local development zone, according to a statement by local officials. It is thought to be the first cluster of cases in a meat plant in China, although such facilities have been hotspots for pandemic outbreaks elsewhere in the world. The joint venture could not be immediately reached for comment. Tens of millions of people have been under some kind of lockdown in northern cities amid worries that undetected infections could spread quickly during the Lunar New Year holiday, which is just weeks away. Hundreds of millions of people usually travel during the holiday, in mid-February this year, as migrant workers return to their home provinces to see family. Officials expect large numbers of travellers, although much fewer than in normal years. Hebei province, next to Beijing, reported 18 new locally transmitted cases. At the high speed railway station in its largest city Shijiazhuang, passengers were allowed to get off a train on Friday but none were seen getting on. "I've never been separated from my daughter over New Year before," said a woman surnamed Hao, who is in Shijiazhuang taking care of her mother and has been told by her neighbourhood she is now not allowed to return to Beijing, where the rest of her family are. Hao is hoping that restrictions will lift in time for them to reunite over the festival. "When (my daughter) was studying abroad in London, I flew there on New Year's eve. She is my motivation to go back," she said. Hao's father is in a nursing home in Beijing which is no longer allowing visitors. The capital's west train station, which normally sees vast numbers of passengers passing through in the run up to the Lunar New Year, was virtually empty on Friday morning. A queue more than 200 meters long was seen outside Dengshikou Elementary School, a testing spot near the centre of the city. A man surnamed Lin said the supermarket he works at had told him to take a test that morning. "People here should all be organised by their companies," he said. "I'm not that worried, though this round of the outbreak is a bit unexpected. I came as my work unit told me to." The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 119 from 113 cases a day earlier. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 88,804, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,635.

Rescuers believe it could take at least another two weeks to free miners trapped underground in eastern China, dashing hopes of an imminent retrieval for a group that has already spent 12 days entombed by an explosion. The increasingly desperate attempt to save 21 workers has been further complicated by a massive blockage that has delayed drilling efforts, according to state media. "The obstacles are just too huge, which means we need a least another 15 days or even more to reach the miners," said Gong Haitao, deputy head of the local publicity department, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The debris standing in the way weighs about 70 tons, Gong said. The blast at the Hushan mine in Shandong province sealed 22 workers hundreds of metres underground on January 10. On Sunday, contact was made with 11 miners stuck at one location around 580 metres (1,900 feet) below the surface, and much-needed food and medical supplies were lowered down to them. One of the group of eleven was seriously injured in the initial explosion and has been confirmed dead after suffering head injuries and falling into a coma. A twelfth miner is believed to be trapped on his own, 100 metres further down in rising waters. For the other 10 miners, hopes are dwindling as they have not been heard from since the explosion. To extract the group, rescuers are trying to widen one of the shafts to eventually allow the workers to be brought up to the surface. But progress has been slow because they are drilling through granite, according to officials. State TV footage Friday showed large piles of unearthed debris at the rescue site, and a drill boring down through a deep shaft. Official news agency Xinhua reported that the miners have been trying to help search for the missing group using laser pointers and loudspeakers, but have received no reply. Rescuers have lowered life detectors and nutrient solutions into other sections of the mine as well, without response. Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced. In December, 23 workers died after becoming stuck underground in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Chinese internet behemoth Alibaba, made his first public appearance in over two months in an online video Wednesday, ending weeks of speculation about his whereabouts. Ma -- one of China's richest people with a fortune estimated at around $58 billion -- disappeared from the public eye in early November, when he was hauled in front of regulators for an October speech critical of China's outdated financial system. Shortly afterwards, the record-breaking $37 billion IPO of his financial group Ant was spiked at the last minute by Chinese regulators in a shock move which some saw as retaliation for Ma's outspokenness. But a video clip of Ma giving a congratulatory speech to rural teachers as part of an annual awards ceremony organised by his charity was published on social media by Chinese financial news outlets Wednesday morning. In the speech, Ma praised China's poverty alleviation efforts, a central target of the Communist leadership, and vowed to dedicate more efforts towards helping rural teachers. "My colleagues and I... are even more determined to devote ourselves to education and public welfare," he said, according to a transcript of his speech published by Chinese news site Tianmu News. "China has... entered a new stage of development, and is moving towards common prosperity." A spokesperson for the Jack Ma Foundation, his charitable arm, confirmed that Ma "participated in the online ceremony of the annual Rural Teacher Initiative event". Shares in Alibaba were up 7 percent in Hong Kong by early afternoon Wednesday. Since the Ant IPO was quashed, Chinese regulators have launched an anti-monopoly probe into Alibaba. Both Alibaba and Ant said they will cooperate with regulatory requests. Ma, a charismatic former teacher turned internet entrepreneur, retired as chairman of Alibaba in 2019 but has long attracted attention for his outspokenness and flamboyant antics, performing as a rockstar at company conferences. The continued squeeze on one of China's most influential companies is the latest sign that the leadership is ready to deflate the ambitions of big tech firms in a runaway internet sector. Beijing has a history of disappearing, investigating and imprisoning financial tycoons who do not toe the party line. Last year, outspoken real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang was jailed for 18 years on alleged corruption charges, months after penning an essay critical of the Communist Party.

Chinese rescuers drilled several fresh holes Tuesday to reach at least 12 gold miners trapped underground for nine days, as dwindling food supplies and rising waters threatened their survival. Twenty-two workers have been stuck 540 metres underground at the Hushan mine near Yantai in east China's Shandong province after an explosion damaged the entrance. After days without any signs of life, some of the trapped miners managed to send up a note attached to a metal wire which rescuers had dropped into the mine on Sunday. Pleading for help, the handwritten message said a dozen of them were alive but surrounded by water and in need of urgent medical supplies. Several of the miners were injured, the note said. A subsequent phone call with the miners revealed 11 were in one location 540 metres below the surface with another -- apparently alone -- trapped a further 100 metres down. The whereabouts and condition of the other 10 miners is still unknown. Rescuers have already dug three channels and sent food, medicine, paper and pencils down thin shafts -- lifelines to the miners cut into the earth. But progress was slow, according to Chen Fei, a top city official. "The surrounding rock near the ore body is mostly granite... that is very hard, resulting in slow progress of rescue," Chen told reporters on Monday evening. "There is a lot of water in the shaft that may flow into the manway and pose a danger to the trapped workers." Chen said the current food supply was only enough for two days. Rescuers drilled three more channels on Tuesday, according to a rescue map published on the Yantai government's official twitter-like Weibo account. A telephone connection has also been set up. Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed dozens of rescuers clearing the main return shaft, while cranes and a massive bore-hole drill was used to dig new rescue channels to reach the trapped miners. Rescue teams lost precious time since it took more than a day for the accident to be reported, China Youth daily reported citing provincial authorities. Both the local Communist Party secretary and mayor have been sacked over the 30-hour delay and an official investigation is under way to determine the cause of the explosion. Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced. In December, 23 workers died after being stuck underground in the southwestern city of Chongqing, just months after 16 others died from carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped underground at another coal mine in the city.

At least 12 gold miners trapped hundreds of metres underground in China for more than a week have sent up a note warning some are injured, water surrounds them and they urgently need medicine. Twenty-two workers became trapped more than 600 metres from the mine's entrance after a blast eight days ago at the mine near Qixia city in eastern Shandong province. After days without any signs of life, rescuers heard knocking sounds on Sunday afternoon as they drilled through the mine's shaft. A note was sent up on a line from the depths below saying that at least a dozen of the miners were still alive, but pleading for help as their health and conditions deteriorate. "We are in urgent need of medicine, painkillers, medical tape, external anti-inflammatory drugs, and three people have high blood pressure," the note read. The condition of the other ten workers is unknown. Four people were injured, according to the note which was crumpled, water-stained and scrawled in pencil on pages ripped out of a notebook. "We wish the rescuers won't stop so that we can still have hope. Thank you," the note read. The writer of the note asked rescuers to send down some medication from his car, and warned that there was a large amount of underground water where the miners are trapped. Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed rescue workers cheering as the knocking sound was detected and later hurrying to read the note which was taped to a line sunk below via a pneumatic drill. Footage showed rescuers sending a wire taped with food and drinks down a small opening to the miners. Hopes of a miracle rescue after a days-long ordeal triggered an outpouring of sympathy and encouragement on Chinese social media. The hashtag "Qixia gold mine incident" was viewed 130 million times on popular social media site Weibo. "I saw the note while I was watching the morning news and burst into tears," one Weibo user wrote. "I hope they will rescue the trapped workers as soon as possible." Some rescue workers wore fur hats to keep off the cold while others appeared covered in dust and grime from the rescue operation. Rescuers intend to drill multiple tunnels into the mine, to vent air as well as deliver supplies while work continues on bringing the miners back up to safety, CCTV said. The explosion badly damaged the communications system and exit ladder from the mine, which is owned by the Shandong Wucailong Investment Co. Ltd. Two officials have already been sacked over the accident. Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced. In December, 23 miners died after being trapped in a mine in the southwestern city of Chongqing -- just months after 16 others died from carbon monoxide poisoning after being trapped underground at another coal mine in the city.            

Five Hong Kong democracy protesters who reportedly fled to Taiwan have arrived in the United States intending to seek asylum, an activist group said on Saturday. Their escape follows the mass arrest of democracy figures in Hong Kong under a new national security law that is part of a mounting crackdown by China on the financial hub. The Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), a US-based group, said it had welcomed a group of young activists to America this week and their journey had been ‘arduous and perilous’. ‘The activists, all under the age of 30, took part in the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, faced protest-related arrests and charges, and fled the city by boat last July,’ Samuel Chu, founder of HKDC, told AFP. ‘I am relieved and overjoyed to welcome them to the United States and to assist them as they seek asylum and a new life,’ Chu added. Through a statement issued by the HKDC, the five activists now in exile said their hearts have been ‘filled with anxiety and all kinds of emotions’ from the moment they left Hong Kong. Taiwanese media in August reported that the five tried to flee to the self-ruled island in late July and were intercepted by its authorities. Officials in Taiwan have since kept a low profile regarding the case, declining to comment. After massive democracy protests across Hong Kong in 2019 in which more than 11,000 people were arrested, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law late last June to silence dissent. In August, another group of 12 Hong Kong activists, including one arrested under the national security law, made an attempt to flee by speedboat to Taiwan but were arrested by Chinese coastguards. Last month a Chinese court jailed 10 of these 12 fugitives for up to three years for ‘organising and participating in an illegal border crossing’. Chu said that the five Hong Kongers could have easily perished at sea or met the same fate as the ‘Hong Kong 12’ without the help from ardent supporters who provided shelter and protection along the way. ‘Their desperate effort exemplifies the rapidly deteriorating human rights condition and growing humanitarian crisis Hong Kong is in right now,’ Chu said, adding that the options for safe passage are limited. At least 50 former Hong Kong protesters applied for asylum in various jurisdictions before the coronavirus pandemic ended most international travel last year. Hundreds more have relocated to democratic Taiwan.

Indian airlines started delivering batches of Covid-19 vaccines across the country on Tuesday, getting ready for the launch of a campaign to offer shots to 1.3 billion people in what officials call the world's biggest vaccination drive. Authorities hope to inoculate 300 million high-risk people over the next six to eight months. Vaccinations are scheduled to begin on Saturday. First to get the vaccine will be 30 million health and other front-line workers, followed by about 270 million people aged over 50 or deemed high-risk. Airlines were due to deliver 5.65 million vaccine doses on Tuesday to various cities, aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, officials said vaccine distribution was their top priority. ‘These vaccines will be taken to the cold storage from the airport and swiftly delivered to vaccination booths,’ said Nitin Patel, Gujarat's deputy chief minister. Modi's government on Monday signed purchase agreements with Pune-based vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, to buy its Covishield shot - over a week after approving the vaccine developed by Britain's AstraZeneca and Oxford University. Serum is supplying some 11 million doses of the shot to the government at 200 rupees ($2.72) a dose, a source said. Health authorities in eastern and western states said they would use the experience from regular child immunisation programmes for polio to ensure everyone gets covered in what they called the world's biggest vaccination drive. But shoddy transport networks and a crumbling healthcare system add an enormous layer of complexity, they said. At close to 10.5 million, India has the second highest number of Covid-19 infections globally behind the United States, although the rate of increase in cases has been slowing. On Tuesday, the number of infections in India climbed by 12,584, the lowest daily increase in several months. More than 151,000 people have died of the virus in India.

* 55 new Covid-19 cases reported vs 103 a day earlier * Hebei province accounts for 40 of 42 new local infections * Langfang city in Hebei orders home quarantine for all Authorities in China introduced new Covid-19 curbs in areas surrounding Beijing on Tuesday, putting 4.9 million residents under lockdown as new infections raised worries about a second wave in a nation that has mostly contained the disease. The number of new cases in mainland China reported on Tuesday almost halved from a day earlier and remain a small fraction of what it saw at the height of the outbreak in early 2020. However, local authorities are implementing strict curbs whenever new cases emerge to prevent the kind of economic paralysis seen a year ago. The National Health Commission reported 55 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, down from 103 a day earlier. Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, accounted for 40 of the 42 locally transmitted infections, with the capital and northeastern Heilongjiang province reporting one local case each. The city of Langfang in Hebei on Tuesday said its 4.9 million residents will be put under home quarantine for seven days and be subject to mass COVID-19 testing in the latest attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Two counties under Langfang's jurisdiction that border Beijing, Guan and Sanhe, had already announced home quarantine measures. Guan reported one new Covid-19 case but Sanhe did not say whether any of its residents were diagnosed with the disease. Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital, has been hardest hit in the latest surge in infections and has already placed its 11 million people under lockdown. The province has shut off certain sections of highways and is ordering vehicles registered to Shijiazhuang to turn back. Gaocheng district in Shijiazhuang is gathering more than 20,000 people living in 12 remote villages into centralised quarantine as part of the city's Covid-19 control, state media China News Service reported late Monday. Authorities in Beijing's Xicheng district said on Tuesday that the confirmed Covid-19 patient from Guan county works at a building in the district. A new guideline issued by the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control recommended that taxi and ride-hailing operators suspend car-pooling services, the Communist Party-backed Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday. The guideline also said that drivers should get a nucleic acid test for coronavirus every week and be vaccinated in order to work. NEW CASES Other provinces in China are reporting new confirmed or asymptomatic cases. Heilongjiang province reported 36 new asymptomatic cases in Wangkui county, which also went into lockdown on Monday. Authorities do not classify asymptomatic cases as confirmed Covid-19 infections. Yichun city in Heilongjiang province on Tuesday reported one new asymptomatic case linked to Wangkui, as well. Underscoring the risk of the spread, the city of Changchun - the capital of northeastern Jilin province - reported seven new asymptomatic patients on Jan. 11, four of whom had travelled from Wangkui recently. Residential compounds that these patients lived in were put into lockdown, preventing people and vehicles from leaving the premises. Authorities in Wuhan, where Covid-19 first emerged in late 2019, on Monday launched contact tracing work after two infected people from Hebei visited the city. Across China, the number of new asymptomatic cases rose to 81 from 76 a day earlier. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases reported in mainland China now stands at 87,591, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

* China reports 103 new cases vs 69 a day earlier * Most new local infections reported in Hebei province * County in Heilongjiang province enters lockdown Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases in more than five months, the country's national health authority said on Monday, as new infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing continued to rise. A county in the northeastern Heilongjiang province on Monday moved into lockdown after reporting new novel coronavirus infections, state television also reported separately. Hebei accounted for 82 of the 85 new local infections reported on Jan. 10, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement, with Liaoning Province also reporting two new cases and Beijing reporting one new case. The country also saw 18 new imported infections from overseas. The total number of new Covid-19 cases stood at 103, the highest since 127 cases were reported on July 30. Though the recent case tallies remain a small fraction of what the country saw at the height of the outbreak in early 2020, authorities are moving aggressively to curb its spread to avoid another national wave of infections. The surge comes as the World Health Organization's team of investigators probing the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic are set to arrive in China on Thursday. The NHC, which announced their arrival date on Monday, declined to provide the team's itinerary. China has been accused of initially covering up the outbreak that first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, which critics say delayed China's initial response and allowed Covid-19 to spread globally. NEW LOCAL INFECTIONS Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital and the epicentre of the new outbreak in the province, is in lockdown. People and vehicles are being barred from leaving Shijiazhuang, while public transport in the city is also been halted. The curbs are in line with local authorities' usual response when they see a cluster emerge. Shijiazhuang accounted for 77 of the 82 new Covid-19 cases and all of the 49 new asymptomatic cases reported in Hebei province on Jan. 10. Wangkui county, under the jurisdiction of Suihua city in Heilongjiang province, reported eight new asymptomatic cases and moved on Monday to close all non-essential businesses, banned people from leaving the city and blocked all non-essential traffic, state television also reported. Each family in the county can have one person leave their home once every three days to buy necessities, the report said. Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province, reported four new asymptomatic cases on Monday -- the province's first local infections since July 26. The infected persons had all travelled from Wangkui county recently via train, Jilin health authorities said. The residential compounds of the infected people were under lockdown, with people and vehicles not allowed to leave the premises, head of Changchun health authority told a press conference. Hebei's highway authority said on Monday that multiple sections of highways in the province have been closed for Covid-19 prevention and that vehicles registered to Shijiazhuang and Xingtai will be asked to go back. The latter city has also reported Covid-19 cases in recent days. The NHC reported 76 new asymptomatic cases for all of mainland China, up from 27 a day earlier. China does not count individuals who have tested positive for the coronavirus but are not showing symptoms as confirmed Covid-19 cases. The new asymptomatic cases in Jilin are not part of the NHC's daily case tally published on Monday and will be reflected on Tuesday. Mainland China's total number of infections to date now stands at 87,536, while the death toll is unchanged at 4,634.

Chinese jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone last year, a defence official said Tuesday, as a military-linked think-tank warned tensions were now at their highest since the mid-1990s. Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its own territory and has vowed to seize it one day, by force if necessary. Beijing's animosity has increased dramatically since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen won election in 2016, as she rejects the idea that the island is part of "one China". But the sabre-rattling reached new peaks last year as Beijing sent jets, bombers and surveillance planes into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) at an unprecedented rate. "The 380 incursions into our southwest ADIZ in 2020 are a lot more frequent than the past," said defence ministry spokesman Shih Shun-wen. "This... poses a threat to regional and our national security." Chinese aircraft targeted the area "to test our military's response, to exert pressure on our aerial defence and to squeeze the aerial space for our activities", he added. The figures came as the military-affiliated Institute for National Defence and Security Research warned in an annual report on the People's Liberation Army that "the Chinese military threat was the highest since the 1996 missile crisis in Taiwan Strait". That year Beijing fired missiles into the strait in a bid to deter voters in the island's first democratic presidential election, prompting Washington to send warships to the area. Jeremy Hung, a co-author of the report, said Chinese jets flew closer to Taiwan and frequently into its defence zone on at least 110 days last year. This compared with just six long-distance training missions around Taiwan in 2016, and 20 in 2017. Beijing's increased military actions were meant as "a warning to Taiwan not to cross the red line" amid warming relations with the United States, Hung said. Chinese jets also crossed over the so-called "median line" of the Taiwan Strait during two high-level visits by US officials. The median line is an unofficial but, until now, largely adhered to border running down the narrow strait separating Taiwan from the mainland. Last year a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman declared the line did not exist. Beijing has also been angered by the increasingly warm ties Taiwan built with Washington during outgoing President Donald Trump's tenure. On top of the high-level visits, his administration approved some $18 billion worth of arms sales to Taipei, while US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait 13 times last year, according to local media.

China's relationship with the United States has reached a ‘new crossroads’ and could get back on the right track following a period of ‘unprecedented difficulty’, senior diplomat Wang Yi said in official comments published on Saturday. Relations between the world's two biggest economies have come under increasing strain amid a series of disputes over trade, human rights and the origins of Covid-19. In its latest move, the United States blacklisted dozens of Chinese companies it said had ties to the military. Wang, China's state councillor and foreign minister, said in a joint interview with Xinhua news agency and other state media outlets that recent US policies towards China had harmed the interests of both countries and brought huge dangers to the world. But there was now an opportunity for the two sides to ‘open a new window of hope’ and begin a new round of dialogue, he said. The election of Joe Biden as US President has been widely expected to improve relations between Washington and Beijing after four years of escalating tensions under the administration of Donald Trump. Last month, Wang said he hoped the election of Biden would allow US China policy to ‘return to objectivity and rationality’. However, President-elect Biden, who will take office on Jan. 20, has continued to criticise China for its ‘abuses’ on trade and other issues. Wang did not mention Trump or Biden by name, but he urged the United States to ‘respect the social system and development path’ chosen by China, adding that if Washington ‘learns lessons’, the conflicts between the two sides could be resolved. ‘We know some people in the United States are apprehensive about China's rapid development, but the most sustainable leadership is to constantly move forward yourself, rather than block the development of other countries,’ he said. Politicians in the United States have accused China of covering up the outbreak of Covid-19 during its early stages, delaying its response and allowing the disease to spread much further and faster. But Wang said China had done its utmost to combat the virus's spread, ‘sounding the alarm’ for the rest of the world. ‘We raced against time, and were the earliest to report the epidemic to the world,’ he said. ‘More and more studies show that the epidemic very probably emerged in many places throughout the world.’

A Chinese court on Wednesday jailed 10 Hong Kong democracy activists for up to three years over a bid to flee the city by speedboat to Taiwan, as a crackdown on dissent in the territory intensifies. The group were arrested by the Chinese coastguard on August 23 en route to the self-ruled island, which has opened its doors to Hongkongers seeking sanctuary. The court in the southern city of Shenzhen sentenced Tang Kai-yin to three years in jail and Quinn Moon to two years for organising an illegal border crossing. The eight others were sentenced to seven months behind bars for illegally crossing the border. The sentencing follows the imposition of a sweeping new security law in Hong Kong this year that has given the government broad powers to prosecute political dissidents. A number of activists have fled the city for overseas and political organisations have shuttered their doors as Beijing seeks to keep a lid on unrest that rocked the financial hub for months last year. Officials earlier said that two minors from the so-called ‘Hong Kong 12’, aged 17 and 18, would be returned to Hong Kong after they admitted wrongdoing. The pair arrived back in the city around noon on Wednesday. The 10 adults in the group first appeared before the Shenzhen court on Monday, but the trial -- like many in China's opaque legal system -- was not open to foreign reporters or diplomats. These 10 were also fined up to 20,000 yuan (US$3,060) in addition to their jail terms. But the Yantian District People's Procuratorate said it would not pursue its case against the two teenagers, surnamed Hoang and Liu. - 'Fleeing tyranny' - Families of the accused were only notified of the trial date three days before the hearing and were unable to attend due to the short notice and Covid-19 restrictions. Their lawyers were barred from meeting the detainees, with authorities instead appointing state-approved legal representation. The lawyers on Wednesday said the sentences were too heavy and the allegation of organising a border crossing was not substantiated. The United States on Monday called for the immediate release of the group who it said was ‘fleeing tyranny’. ‘Communist China will stop at nothing to prevent its people from seeking freedom elsewhere,’ a US embassy spokesperson told AFP. Some of the group were already facing prosecution in Hong Kong. The two minors face charges of conspiracy to commit arson and possession of an offensive weapon. Amnesty International said in a statement that the group were at risk of torture serving sentences in mainland Chinese jails. ‘These sentences meted out after an unfair trial lay bare the dangers faced by anybody who finds themselves tried under the Chinese criminal system,’ said Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra. ‘The Chinese authorities have shown the world once again that political activists will not receive a fair trial.’ China's foreign ministry on Monday pushed back against comments by foreign countries on the case. Washington must ‘immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs through the Hong Kong issue and immediately stop interfering in China's judicial sovereignty’, spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters. - 'De facto secret' - In a joint letter over the weekend, the families said they ‘strongly condemn’ the authorities' decision to hold the trial in ‘de facto secret’. The security law that now blankets Hong Kong gives authorities sweeping powers of prosecution for acts deemed terrorism, secession, subversion or collusion with foreign entities. The city had enjoyed unique freedoms since its handover from former colonial power Britain in 1997, with a deal promising a ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement for 50 years. Beijing says the new security law was needed to restore peace and stability but critics have condemned it as a fatal attack on Hong Kong's freedoms.

The European Union on Tuesday criticised the jailing of a citizen-journalist in China who reported on the early outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic from Wuhan. A Chinese court handed down a four-year jail term on Monday to Zhang Zhan, who reported at the peak of the crisis in the city where the coronavirus first emerged. Her lawyer said Zhang was jailed on the grounds of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble". The EU called for Zhang's immediate release, as well as for freedom for jailed human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, and several other detained and convicted human rights defenders and individuals who engaged in reporting in the public interest. "According to credible sources, Ms Zhang has been subject to torture and ill-treatment during her detention and her health condition has seriously deteriorated," an external affairs spokesman for the 27-nation EU said in a statement. Separately, the EU called on China to "guarantee procedural fairness and due process of law" for 10 Hong Kong activists on trial in China after being caught at sea and accused of trying to flee to Taiwan. In a statement it called for the immediate release of the group and their swift return to Hong Kong from Shenzhen, where they went on trial on Dec. 28 in a closed court and without appointed lawyers of their choice. The EU criticism over the cases comes a day before EU and Chinese leaders are expected to clinch a deal to give European companies better access to the Chinese market. Citizen-journalist Zhang was among a handful of people whose firsthand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets painted a more dire picture of the pandemic epicentre than the official narrative. Critics say that China deliberately arranged for Zhang's trial to take place during the holiday season in the West, to minimize scrutiny. "The restrictions on freedom of expression, on access to information, and intimidation and surveillance of journalists, as well as detentions, trials and sentencing of human rights defenders, lawyers, and intellectuals in China, are growing and continue to be a source of great concern," the EU spokesman said.

Taiwan reported its first local coronavirus transmission Tuesday, blaming a foreign pilot for ending 253 days of being virus-free. Health authorities said a woman in her thirties had tested positive after contact with the pilot, a New Zealander working for a Taiwan airline. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the pilot had failed to "truthfully declare" his contacts and activities to authorities once he had been confirmed as a carrier. Authorities said the pilot -- who faces a fine of up to NT$300,000 ($10,600) -- visited several establishments including a department store. The infection is a blow for an island that has been lauded for its pandemic response, having recorded just 770 coronavirus cases and seven deaths after it shut its borders early and implemented strict quarantine rules. Since April 12 all positive cases have been from a small number of locals returning to the island and also among the few foreigners and migrant workers allowed in for business reasons. The vast majority of arrivals have to quarantine for two weeks and must test negative, a measure which -- until Tuesday -- had successfully kept any carriers from introducing the virus to the local community. Pilots, however, currently undergo a less strict three days of self-quarantine after each overseas trip and the new case has already sparked debate about whether those measures should be tightened. Soon after the virus first emerged in central China, Taiwan shuttered its borders, ramped up mask production and rolled out a well-oiled track and trace programme. Within two months of its first outbreak, local infections had ceased. Throughout the year the island of 24 million has managed to avoid the widespread lockdown and closures that have blighted the rest of the world. It is on track to grow its economy by some 2.5 percent this year.

The Hong Kong government's decision to use a colonial-era emergency law to ban face masks at protests last year was both proportionate and legal, the city's top court ruled Monday. The ruling is a blow for democracy supporters who had been hoping the Court of Final Appeal would side with a lower court and overturn the order. It also confirms that Hong Kong's chief executive -- a pro-Beijing appointee -- has the power to enact any law in a time of public emergency without needing the approval of the city's partially elected legislature. But its practical consequences were unclear, given that the government has made masks compulsory in public areas to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Hong Kong was convulsed by seven straight months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests last year. They were eventually quashed by mass arrests, a virus-related ban on public gatherings and Beijing imposing a new national security law on the city in June. Face masks became ubiquitous to reduce the risk of identification and prosecution for those taking part in peaceful marches, or violent clashes with police. In October last year Chief Executive Carrie Lam banned anyone covering their face at public rallies, using the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, a British colonial law from 1922. Opposition lawmakers challenged both the use of that emergency law and the ban on wearing masks at permitted rallies. They argued the move breached Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law. A lower court had agreed with those bringing the challenge and expressed concerns about the emergency law and the proportionality of the mask ban. But on Monday, a panel of top judges unanimously backed the government. "The ambit of the power to make subsidiary legislation under the ERO in a situation of emergency or in circumstances of public danger, although wide and flexible, was not unconstitutional," the judges ruled. Banning face masks at both illegal and legal rallies was proportionate because it was aimed at "the prevention and deterrence of violence before a peaceful public gathering had deteriorated into violence". Antony Dapiran, a Hong Kong lawyer who has written books about the city's protest movement, said the judges' conclusions could prove controversial. "Most striking is the extent to which the Court of Final Appeal judgment privileges one narrative -- of 'violence and lawlessness' -- over any other, and without the broader context in which those incidents occurred, in reaching their conclusion," he told AFP. Hong Kong's judiciary has come under significant pressure in the politically polarised atmosphere that has blanketed the city. Pro-democracy supporters have criticised some judgments that go against their camp. But judges have also come under intense criticism from powerful pro-Beijing politicians and newspapers -- especially when suspected protesters have been acquitted.

Taiwan's navy and air force were deployed on Sunday as a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the country's newest carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, the day after a US warship transited the same waterway. While it is not the first time China's carriers have passed close to Taiwan, it comes at a time of heightened tension between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratically-ruled island as its territory. Taiwan has complained of repeated Chinese military activity, including China's regular flying of air force aircraft near the island. China says such drills are aimed at protecting the country's sovereignty. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the Shandong, which was formally commissioned almost exactly one year ago, accompanied by four warships had set out from the northern Chinese port of Dalian on Thursday. After passing through the narrow Taiwan Strait on Sunday, the carrier group was continuing in a southerly direction, it added. China's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has previously said that such trips by its carriers through the strait are routine missions, often on their way to exercises in the disputed South China Sea. Taiwan's ministry said that six warships and eight air force aircraft were sent to "stand guard" and monitor the Chinese ships' movements. "With the support of the people, the national armed forces have the confidence and ability to guard the homeland, and ensure national security and safeguard regional peace and stability," it added. On Saturday, a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the 12th such mission by the US Navy this year. China's military said it tailed the ship. Beijing has been angered by increased US support for Taiwan, including new arms sales and visits to Taipei by senior US officials, further straining already poor Sino-US ties. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is overseeing a revamp of the island's military, rolling out new equipment such as "carrier killer" stealth corvettes.

The European Union has urged China to release all journalists and citizens held in connection with their reporting, following the detention of a Bloomberg News employee. Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen, was taken from her home by plain-clothes security officials last Monday, Bloomberg said, and Beijing said she had been detained on suspicion of endangering national security. "All those arrested and detained in connection with their reporting activity should be immediately released," an EU spokesperson said in a statement Saturday. The statement mentioned that "other Chinese journalists or citizens have disappeared this year, or been detained or harassed after engaging in reporting". "We expect the Chinese authorities to grant her (Fan) medical assistance if needed, prompt access to a lawyer of her choice, and contacts with her family," it added. The Chinese foreign ministry said earlier that Fan's case was under investigation. Bloomberg said it was "very concerned for her" and was continuing to seek more information. Chinese citizens are forbidden by the government from working as reporters for foreign news organisations in China, but are allowed to work as news assistants. Fan, who joined Bloomberg in 2017, has been credited as a contributor on numerous business stories. Her detention comes months after China held a high-profile Chinese-born Australian journalist, citing similar suspicions. Cheng Lei, a TV anchor at Chinese state-owned outlet CGTN, has not been seen in public since being held. Two other Australian reporters -- Bill Birtles and Michael Smith -- fled China shortly after being interrogated about Cheng.