Since the Covid lockdown in Shanghai began, Hu Bojun has received numerous inquiries about her and her hospital’s counselling services. This month, the US-educated clinical psychologist began facilitating lockdown support groups – in English and Chinese – to clients from “all walks of life”. “Even people from different socio-economic sectors are now attending [counselling] together … My old clients have been coming back, and there are a lot more new clients as well,” she says, adding that a lot more Chinese people have begun talking to her about their mental…
Day: April 20, 2022
China Eastern Crash Report Doesn’t Explain Why the Jet Plummeted
BEIJING — The pilots had met China’s standards for flying a commercial jet. No problems were found with the aircraft before it took off. No dangerous cargo had been loaded aboard. Communications with the plane appeared normal until its deadly plunge. A preliminary report released on Wednesday by China’s aviation safety regulator failed to dispel much of the mystery about why a China Eastern jet suddenly went into a nosedive in clear weather last month and crashed into a muddy hillside, killing all 132 people aboard. The report mainly cataloged…
Shanghai’s Low Covid Death Toll Revives Questions About China’s Numbers
This month, a prominent Shanghai physician, Miao Xiaohui, estimated that the number of excess diabetes deaths could reach nearly 1,000 by the end of his city’s lockdown. His estimate was based on the Wuhan excess mortality study, which, in addition to tracking Covid deaths, also showed that deaths from noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, were 21 percent higher than expected during that city’s lockdown. “Why can’t we consider a middle road” between zero Covid and living with the virus, Dr. Miao wrote in a blog post. The post…
Scientists Find No Benefit to Time-Restricted Eating
The weight-loss idea is quite appealing: Limit your eating to a period of six to eight hours each day, during which you can have whatever you want. Studies in mice seemed to support so-called time-restricted eating, a form of the popular intermittent fasting diet. Small studies of people with obesity suggested it might help shed pounds. But now, a rigorous one-year study in which people followed a low-calorie diet between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or consumed the same number of calories anytime during the day has…
One Month Later, Cause of China Eastern Crash Still a Mystery
Advertisement One month after a China Eastern passenger jet crashed mid-flight, killing all 132 people on board, investigators say they have not determined a cause. A report issued Wednesday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China said no abnormalities had been found in the plane, its crew, or external elements such as bad weather. The report said investigators are still attempting to extract data from the heavily damaged black box flight data and voice recorders that might offer insight into the plane’s condition and the crew’s actions in the final…
China’s ‘Whole Nation’ Effort to Advance the Tech Industry
Advertisement 2021 was a watershed year for the Chinese tech sector. Beijing took historically aggressive steps to rein in some of the world’s largest tech firms including Alibaba and Tencent. Major legislative and administrative moves were introduced to push for anti-monopoly and privacy. Estimates suggest that more than $1 trillion was wiped off the collective market capitalization of China’s tech giants. Broad discussions have focused on the underlying motivations of the crackdowns, attributing them to Xi’s consolidation of power and high-profile agenda of “common prosperity” which is supposed to address…
Why China’s Security Pact With the Solomon Islands is a Threat
SYDNEY, Australia — When the Solomon Islands’ prime minister stood before Parliament on Wednesday to announce that his government had signed a sweeping security agreement with China, he insisted that it would “not adversely impact or undermine the peace and harmony of our region.” The prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, did not explain why he delivered the news just a few days before a delegation of senior American diplomats was set to arrive in the country’s capital, and while neighboring Australia is in the midst of an election campaign. Nor did…
How the Supply Chain Crunch is Hurting California Farmers.
During a normal spring, the sight of orchards bursting with clusters of almonds is a boon throughout California’s Central Valley. Here is money growing on trees. Not this year. As Scott Phippen looks out on his orchard on a recent afternoon, he feels a sense of foreboding tinged with rage. His warehouse is stuffed with the leftovers of last year’s harvest — 30 million pounds of almonds stored in wooden and plastic bins stacked to the rafters, and overflowing into his yard. Orders assembled for customers sit in giant white…
China internet censors scramble as lockdown frustration sparks ‘creative’ wave of dissent
China’s strict system of censorship is struggling against the onslaught of complaints from Shanghai, as residents find creative ways to get around bans on words, hashtags and even lyrics from the national anthem. As the weeks-long lockdown in the city of 25 million prompted widespread food shortages, delivery failures and fatal healthcare disruptions, the government has urged residents to harness “positive energy”. Dystopian banners warn people to “watch your own mouth or face punishment” and drones admonish apartment dwellers. But far from inspiring residents to fall in line, the methods…