China first reported cases of an “unknown pneumonia” to the World Health Organization on December 31, 2019. In the two years since, the coronavirus has completely changed how people live, work and travel. In this series, the South China Morning Post looks at the outlook for 2022, whether China will ever accept a “live with the virus” strategy, and how vaccine inequity is undermining efforts to end the pandemic. South China Morning Post
境外社交平台注册 Register accounts on foreign social media platforms 按月报单价 Charge monthly 5000.00 元/月 RMB/Month 境外社交平台账号伪装及维护 Disguise and maintain overseas social media accounts 按月报单价 Charge monthly 5000.00 元/月 RMB/Month 制作原创视频 Create original videos 按月报单价 Charge monthly 40000.00 元/月 RMB/Month A list of services and costs itemized in Chinese renminbi from a private contractor that won a bid to work for a branch of the Shanghai police department. • Note: English translation by The New York Times from original Chinese document text. Flood global social media with fake accounts used to advance…
A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson…
A growing body of preliminary research suggests the Covid vaccines used in most of the world offer almost no defense against becoming infected by the highly contagious Omicron variant. All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson…
The “three red lines” are a set of debt thresholds that severely limit the ability of certain property developers to borrow. For decades the sector had seen uncontrolled borrowing, something the China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), described as “reckless”. BBC
Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star whose account of sexual coercion by a former Communist Party leader ignited weeks of tensions and galvanized calls for boycotts of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, has reversed her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted by the official. Ms. Peng made the comments in an interview that was published on Sunday by a Singaporean newspaper. But the retraction appeared unlikely to extinguish concerns about her well-being and suspicions that she had been the target of well-honed pressure techniques and a propaganda campaign by…
Good morning. We’re covering the latest Omicron news, the Hong Kong elections and a Times investigation into civilian casualties from U.S. airstrikes. Omicron outstrips many vaccines A growing body of preliminary research suggests most Covid vaccines offer almost no defense against infection from the highly contagious Omicron variant. The only vaccines that appear to be effective against infections are those made by Pfizer and Moderna, reinforced by a booster, which are not widely available around the world. Other vaccines — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured…
The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied that she had accused a former senior official of having sexually assaulted her, in what is believed to be the first foreign press interview since her November essay caused a media storm. “I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,” Peng said. “With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy … There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation.” The claim apparently contradicted a 2…
Hong Kong’s first “patriots-only” legislative elections have seen sluggish early turnout across the city, as thousands of police officers were deployed to monitor the polling stations. Sunday’s polls, which saw 153 candidates compete for 90 seats, are the first to be held after Beijing overhauled the city’s electoral processes earlier this year, reducing the ratio of directly-elected seats and introducing a two-tiered candidate vetting process by national security police and officials to ensure only “patriots” can administer the city. The voter turnout averaged about 6% for all 10 geographical constituencies,…
The signs and messages are everywhere: “Cast a vote for Hong Kong and yourself.” Candidates’ faces cover the pavement and walls from the city center to stalls in the wet markets on its outskirts. Government-sponsored billboards calling to “improve electoral system, ensure patriots administering Hong Kong” abound. Hong Kong and Chinese government officials have for weeks been urging the public to vote in this weekend’s legislative election. But this is not a typical free and fair election: It’s a selection process, thanks to an electoral overhaul with no meaningful participation…