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Saturday, April 10, 2021

What you need to know before you get that pup, Run, Rover, run

Puppies need their mothers until they are at least eight weeks old - dpa

10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting a Puppy

A PUPPY is a big commitment, but if you’re ready to take the leap, congratulations! For a whole host of reasons, you should make sure that it doesn’t come from illegal breeders. Animal rights experts have put together a list to help you make sure you’re responsibly adding a new four-legged family member to your household.

> See the mother::

When meeting the breeder, ask to see the puppy’s mother. Does she look healthy? Does she have a teat? Sometimes online sellers will put up a picture of a dog from the same breed, while the actual mother is suffering at a puppy mill elsewhere.

> Look at the offers:

If the person selling the puppy has a large selection of puppies from different breeds and different ages, then you can safely assume that they’re acting only as a middleman.

> Assess the age:

Puppies need their mothers until they are at least eight weeks old. Only then are they old enough to be separated from their mother and their litter. Otherwise, you risk health issues.

> Beware of disinterest:

A responsible breeder wants to make sure that his or her puppies are going to a good home. If they seem uninterested in learning about you as a buyer, it’s a bad sign.

> No pity purchases:

If something seems strange to you, and you have doubts about a seller’s seriousness, don’t buy the dog. Instead, inform the police or a veterinarian authority to get them involved.

> Get it in writing:

Ask for a sales contract when buying the dog. That way, you have important details about the dog and personal data. – dpa

Run, Rover, run

Tips and tricks for training a dog for cross-country running, aka canicross.

The beauty of canicross is that any dog can take part as long as it is fit and enjoys running - 123rf.com

RUNNING with your dog is a fantastic way to get back to nature, solidify the bond with your dog and to get fit. The canine sport, known as canicross is a sport rapidly growing in popularity.

When you first look to start running with a dog, it can be a lot of information to take in all at once. This beginner’s guide is a one-and-done read to introduce you to the wild world of canicross and give you all the information you need to get started.

Harnesses for running are designed differently to daily walking harnesses. Tthe pull point is much further back on the harness, meaning the dog can learn into the harness and pull you along

What breeds are good for canicross?

The beauty of canicross is that any dog can take part. Provided they have good physical fitness and enjoy running, any dog can take part – even small dog breeds.

There are some prerequisites to this: the dog in question must be over a year of age and ideally fully grown. This is to prevent any additional unnecessary stress being placed on the joints while the growth plates are still forming.

Equally, your dog must not have any ongoing health issues that may make running uncomfortable for them. Making sure you take your dog for regular health checks with your veterinarian is the best way to ensure the health of your pup.

Generally speaking, gundog breeds such as Labradors, spaniels and beagles are most commonly seen at canicross events. You also very commonly see sled dogs at these events, known for their stamina and pulling ability.

Equipment

Like humans, dogs need their own sports kit for running with their owners. Harnesses for running are designed differently to daily walking harnesses.

The pull point is much further back on the harness, meaning the dog can lean into the harness and pull you along. The dog has a full range of movement in all four of their limbs and this is essential for them to be able to run properly. It is important to properly train your dog to wear their harness, as they need to be completely comfortable in it.

It is not advisable to allow your dog to run in a collar or headcollar, as this can result in unnecessary pressure on their head and neck.

To connect to the harness, many recommend a bungee lead or rope. You want something with some stretch as your dog will be regularly pulling, and any lead with a brittle fabric may snap after a few runs! You may also wish to invest in a belt to carry both you and your dog’s equipment, but also to provide a connection point for the lead so that you can focus on running.

If you are running in areas that do not have smooth, muddy tracks, such as pebbled beaches, hillsides, or even asphalt, you may wish to invest in boots for your dog. This is also important if you live in a colder area; your dog can injure their paws from repeated exposure to the cold ground. It is important to do some work around getting your dog completely comfortable in these as they will need to run in them!

Regardless of where you live, it is important to invest in a paw balm for your dog to sooth their paws after a run. There are many brands available online but we recommend one with shea butter in, as this will help to sooth and moisturise your dogs paws.

A very commonly asked question is: Will running with my dog in a harness encourage my dog to pull? Dogs are very intelligent creatures, and can tell the difference between a harness they wear on their walks and a harness they wear to run in. Using the cues suggested below and the different contexts of the two instances, your dog can learn to pull in one harness but not in the other.

Important cues

When you are looking to teach your dog to run with you, there are several important cues to teach. Although it is not advisable to start running with your dog before they are at least one year old, you can start teaching them their cues as early as you like.

> Forward: Teaching your dog to move forward is an essential part of running with you. Teaching this is easiest if you have a toy that your dog is particularly motivated by. Have your dog in their running kit just in front of you and throw their toy just out of their reach. As they adjust into their harness to chase it, say your chosen cue words (e.g., let’s go!) and allow them to chase after their toy. If they are not toy-motivated, you can have another person call them or throw them a few treats.

> Stop: Equally, getting your dog to stop is an essential part of running. To teach a stop cue, place a broom on the floor and throw a treat over it. As your dog runs back towards you, give them a treat just as they reach the handle. Repeat this several times before adding your chosen word (e.g. Whoa!) just as they reach the broom. You can then start to remove the broom and use your cue word and rewarding for stopping. Once your pup understands the exercise, you can start to practise while in your canicross equipment.

> Directional cues: Being able to teach your dog which way you would like them to go is essential as your dog will be leading the route. If you can, running with an already experienced dog is a great way to teach this, as a green dog will naturally follow an already experienced dog. If you do not have another dog on hand to help, one way to teach is to say the direction (e.g. left! or right!) and then throw a treat in that direction for your dog to go and get. As you play the game more and more, your dog will start to preempt you, learning what these words mean.

> Run past: As with sheepdogs, it is important to have a cue that signals to your dog to ignore distractions, such as other dogs, some smelly poo or a squirrel! Many owners do not teach a separate cue for this behaviour, but instead use their previously taught “leave it!” cue in this context.

Safety tips

When you first start out, it is inadvisable to go very far. You want to work at both your own and your dog’s level of fitness and slowly build this over time.

It is important to never run in extreme weather. When out running with your dog, you often will run in remote locations. Therefore, it is important to never run in extreme weather such as intense winds or thunderstorms. This is even more important in extreme heat, as dogs cannot sweat in the same way we do and will very quickly overheat while running.

We do not advise running with your dog in temperatures much above 80°F (27°C). Beyond that temperature, the asphalt becomes too hot for a dog’s paws and they will need to run on grass. It is best to run with your dog early in the morning as temperatures are between 75°F (24°C) and 80°F (27°C) and the asphalt hasn’t had a chance to heat up yet.

As dogs can overheat easily, it is important to bring water for both you and your dog and offer them water regularly. This is especially true on warmer days, but it is important regardless of weather conditions.

Summary

Running with your dog is a great way to get fit and spend time together. It can be a great way to spend time with your dog exploring the wilder places near you. Canicross can also be a great way to network and to make friends, as there are many wider social events to attend. Do you run with your dog? Are you just starting? Share with us your thoughts on canicross, at lifestyle@thestar.com.my.

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Sunday, April 4, 2021

Winners, losers in Xinjiang cotton row

Not many will gain in the current furore over Xinjiang cotton, but the West may end up losing more.

As the soil and climate is ideal for cotton farming, Xinjiang produces one of the best quality cotton crops in the world.

XINJIANG has never left the radar of the United States and its allies in their relentless efforts in recent years to vilify Beijing. They have hurled accusations ranging from human rights violations to baseless claim of “genocide” against the Muslim minority groups.

The most recent blow, which has kicked up a huge international firestorm since March 24, centered on the alleged use of “forced labour” in the huge and vibrant cotton industry in Xinjiang.

Calling these accusations “malicious lies and fabrications”, Beijing has imposed tit-for-tat sanctions on politicians and groups in the US, Britain and the European Union (EU), in retaliation for Western sanctions on Chinese officials over their role in alleged human right violations in Xinjiang.

In its attempt to show the brain and culprits behind these allegations, Beijing has also said there are geopolitical and economic reasons in the conspiracy to “blacken” Xinjiang cotton.

Accusing the US of aiming to destabilise China, Beijing’s foreign ministry on March 26 showed the media a 2018 video that recorded a speech by career US army officer Lawrence Wilkerson, who told the US Central Intelligence Agency to use Uyghurs in Xinjiang to hit China from within.

Beijing has also highlighted the subtle link between US government and Geneva-based NGO Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), which has sanctioned Xinjiang cotton despite being informed by its Shanghai branch there are no signs of forced labour in Xinjiang in the latter’s own investigation.

The BCI, hitherto thought to be an independent trade group to promote better standards, is accused by China to have allegedly taken funding from US Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to USAID’s website, the work of the agency “advances the government’s national security and economic interest”.

The Chinese social media has taken this further. It points out that BCI council chairman Marc Lewkowitz is the president of Supima – the promotion and marketing organisation for American Pima cotton growers.

“The US has no right to accuse China over human rights. It’s time for some US politicians to end the drama they made up, directed and performed themselves, and it’s time for them to wake up from their own Truman Show, ” said Hua Chunying, China’s key foreign ministry spokesperson, at a regular press briefing last Wednesday.

As the history of Xinjiang is marred with bloody terrorism and separatism, which was only put to an end by the central government in 2016, the province populated with 12 million Muslim Uyghurs has become an easy target for anti-China groups to fan up religious and anti-China sentiment.

However, amid allegations against China, leaders from the Muslim world who have visited Xinjiang have not uttered disapproval. In fact, some Middle East nations even voiced support for Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghurs.

A 25-year strategic cooperation agreement signed on March 27 between China and Iran is seen as a stamp of confidence on China by a major Muslim country. The pact, signed at the height of the cotton conflict, covers military, trade, energy and economic cooperation. It has attracted Western media and eyes.

In countering the claim that Xinjiang cotton is tarnished by forced labour, China has questioned why its accusers have persistently refused to visit Xinjiang and do their own fact-finding.

In the past, Beijing has adopted a relatively passive response towards western accusations. Its rebuttals often came in the form of press statements and media interviews to show the good work they have done in Xinjiang, which include eradicating extreme poverty in this arid mountainous north-western province, setting up schools for the young, and creating employment for the jobless.

But this time around, China has dropped its soft approach. It has hit back mercilessly.

For politicians with wide-ranging commercial interest in China, it really hurts. One named person facing China’s sanctions saw his family fortune dwindle by US$1bil as businesses linked to him are hit, according to social media posts.

It is understandable that Beijing has to respond fast as these claims are hurting Xinjiang and undermining China’s economy. It has triggered boycott of Xinjiang cotton by Western brands led by H&M, Nike and Adidas – all members of the BCI.

According to China Daily, the boycott has had an instant impact on Xinjiang’s cotton/textile industry. Textile factories are planning to lay off workers and cutting purchase from local farmers due to cancelled orders.

The cotton/textile industry in Xinjiang has created jobs for 600,000 local people. More than 50% of farmers in Xinjiang grow cotton, with over 70% of these farmers coming from ethnic minority groups – the Uyghurs, Kazaks and Uzbeks, says the daily.

The boycott has had an instant impact on Xinjiang’s cotton/textile industry.

The boycott has had an instant impact on Xinjiang’s cotton/textile industry.

According to commentators on China’s official CCTV television (Channel 4) last Sunday, cotton farming was introduced to help eradicate abject poverty. As the soil and climate is ideal for cotton farming, Xinjiang produces one of the best cotton crops (in terms of quality) in the world.

With an annual output of 5.2 million tonnes, Xinjiang’s cottonco accounts for 87% of China’s output and 23% of world supplies. By end-2019, there were 808 cotton processing plants in Xinjiang, accounting for 84% of China’s total, says a report in Global Times.

These statistics show that cotton farming and textile manufacturing has become a mainstay of Xinjiang’s economy, apart from tourism.

If Xinjiang’s cotton is tarnished, this segment of Chinese economy will be affected. More so will be China’s efforts in poverty eradication, hailed by the World Bank as a great achievement.

Hence, it is no surprise China has had to roar back to stop further damage.

Arguing against the “forced labour” claim, the Global Times noted that over 90% of cotton fields in the northern part of Xinjiang is mechanised.

And interestingly, the cotton-picking machines of Xinjiang are imported from the US. John Deere of the US has sold US$500mil worth of cotton-harvesting equipment to Xinjiang since 2017, according to the South China Morning Post.

But the loss in this row is not just confined to China. Western brands that have dropped Xinjiang cotton are feeling backlash from the mainland’s consumers, who have called for a nationwide boycott by China’s 1.4 billion people.

Sweden’s garment company H&M, reported to have 505 sales outlets in China, saw its stores empty on March 25, shunned by local customers. It was reported that six stores have closed after landlords cancelled their leasing contracts.

As China is a major market for H&M in terms of revenue, H&M last Wednesday posted a statement on its website to defuse tension. It said without mentioning Xinjing: “We are dedicated to regaining the trust and confidence of our customers, colleagues, and business partners in China.”

Shuttered shops: Sweden's garment company H&M, reported to have 505 sales outlets in China, saw its stores empty recently due to backlash from irate locals - Reuters

But Chinese netizens are not happy with this statement.

The Chinese sentiment is largely reflected by a post by China’s Communist Youth League: “Spreading rumours to boycott Xinjiang cotton, while trying to make a profit in China? Wishful thinking!”

The foreign ministry’s Hua Chunying stated similar stance: “Chinese people will not allow foreigners to eat our rice and break Chinese bowl”.

More than 40 celebrities in the entertainment world have responded to call for boycott by quitting as brand ambassadors for foreign companies.

It was not a surprise when share price of some multinational companies plunged after the public outcry in China.

According to media reports, Germany’s Adidas saw its share price plunge by over 6% on March 25. Adidas and US-based Nike saw their combined market value dissipate by more than 70 billion yuan or US$10.7bil. The market value of H&M slumped by about 4.8bil yuan.

But if these multi-national corporations (MNC) want to continue to operate in China and earn billions from 400 million middle-class consumers, they may have to do soul-searching and research.

Zhang Yi, CEO of Shenzhen-based iiMedia Research, told Global Times these MNCs may find prospects and growth potential in the rapidly-expanding Chinese market dimmed, and their brand value could be reduced by half.

Before this cotton episode, many MNCs had rosy growth projections for 2021 in the Chinese market. For instance, Adidas was expecting 20%-30% growth in China in 2021, Zhang noted.

Apart from growth, MNCs could also face an irreversible loss in the world’s largest market. When an MNC loses its market share in China, another will promptly scramble in to fill the vaccum, according to Zhang.

According to media reports, Germany’s Adidas saw its share price plunge by over 6% on March 25.

According to media reports, Germany’s Adidas saw its share price plunge by over 6% on March 25.

However, not all MNCs are losers. Companies that have aired support for Xinjiang, such as Fila China and Muji China, are enjoying consumer support.

And California-based Skechers has won generous praise for having done its own fact-checking. The footwear firm has said its audits found no evidence its Chinese supplier had used “forced labour”.

Some Chinese brands have also emerged winners in this conflict as consumers turn nationalistic. These include Li Ning and Anta.

Globally, the losers are consumers.

Yang Shu, associate professor of China Agricultural University, said this cotton row would disrupt supply chain and push up costs.

Hence, consumers in EU, the US and Southeast Asia will have to pay more for products with Xinjiang cotton.

For China, this cotton row may be a wake-up call to review its international strategies.

Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told Global Times Beijing might have to exert “a far greater say in the global cotton/textile industry and in the formulation of standards and pricing”.

And rightly so, as China is the world’s second biggest cotton producer and largest textile/apparel exporter. Last year, it sold US$291.22bil worth of cotton-linked products to the world.

As US President Joe Biden has declared he will not allow China to overtake the US during his term of office, China can expect to see more blows from the US to contain China and counter President Xi Jinping’s successful Belt and Road Initiative.

But as the Alaska talk last month shows, Beijing is prepared to stand up to the US and the West. It has declared it will not allow China to be bullied and humiliated by the West like 120 years ago.

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Beautiful diversity: Today, there are 25 million Muslims living in China. Here, Muslim devotees are praying at the Nanxiapo Mosque in Beijing to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri. — The Star

THE legend of Admiral Zheng He (more commonly known as Cheng Ho to most Malaysians) has always fascinated me, being a history student with Peranakan roots in Penang.

In fact, I took the opportunity to travel to Nanjing, China, to pay respects to the great man at his tombstone.

The only snag was, Zheng He’s resting place remains a mystery, he who led historic voyages to South-East Asia and eastern Africa.

His remains have never been found, leading many to believe he received his final rites at sea during his last voyage, sometime in 1433.

But Zheng He is not a Uighur (pronounced as wee ger). He was from the Hui ethnic group, which comprises Muslims.

The history of Islam in China goes back more than a staggering 1,300 years.

While Zheng He is probably one of the most famous Muslims, there were others during the Ming rule, Muslim military generals including Mu Ying, Hu Dahai, Lan Yu, Feng Sheng and Ding Dexing.

There was also the famous Confucian Muslim scholar, Ma Zhu, who served during the Ming dynasty. The name Ma is the Chinese counterpart to Muhammad.

Today, there are 25 million Muslims living in China. The Hui is the largest group (48%), followed by the Uighur (41%), and together, they make up about 90% of the total Muslim population. The other Muslims include Kazakh (6,1%) and Dongxiang (2.5%), followed by the Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Salar, Tajik, Bonan and Tatar groups. They live mostly in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan, and even in Beijing and Xian.

My trips to China have taken me to Xinjiang by air, road and train, where I spent weeks meeting these beautiful ethnic minorities.

I travelled on the Silk Road and tried imagining how ancient traders treaded the same path. Famed Italian merchant, Marco Polo, probably used the same route in the 13th Century to look for spices, silk and carpets.

My journey took me across the Taklamakan desert on long overnight trains to Turpan (or the Flaming Mountains), the setting of the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, of the Monkey God fame.

The trip concluded in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of China.

Urumqi was a major hub on the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty’s golden age, and today, it has one of the world’s largest bazaars.

Walking through the markets reminded me of the souq in the Middle East, being surrounded by the blue-eyed Uighur and their distinct Turkish looks, while blonde Russians, all speaking Mandarin, were among the other Chinese. It was an exotic place, indeed.

As a “banana” (a term describing a Western-educated Chinese with Western world views, and can’t speak Mandarin), I was lucky to have scholars from Universiti Malaya explain the historical and academic aspects of China.

I have also travelled to Xian, where China’s ancient capital, Chang’an, is located. It was home to more than 10 dynasties.

It was a delight for me to step into the mosques and immerse in local Muslim culture. Islam has long been part of Xian history, where the terracotta soldiers stand guard.

But today, Xinjiang is in the international news for all the wrong reasons. Damaging words, including genocide, have been hurled at it. The grim and gruesome word means killing many people from an ethnic group with the aim of wiping it out.

There is little evidence, if none at all, to prove genocide, but it’s such a strong emotive word that it recalls the Holocaust and Khmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia.

The Xinjiang cotton fields are alleged to have practised forced labour, even though it’s common knowledge that machines are required for large scale productions. There have also been accusations of rape.

Nothing is spared in the mind games between the two superpowers (US and China) to discredit each other.

Reports on the issue have come thick and fast from CNN and BBC, almost on a daily basis, in fact.

It’s hard to ignore that since the protests in Hong Kong began, they have become more involved in instigative journalism than investigative journalism.

Since the racist campaign by Donald Trump, where China was blamed for the spread of the coronavirus, Americans and many ill-informed Westerners have looked at ethnic Asians – especially those with Chinese features – negatively.

They have lumped all Orientals together as Chinese, just like how some think turbaned Sikhs with beards must be Taliban.

Now, under the Biden Administration, there is little difference, except perhaps Joe is less antagonistic, though the anti-China sentiments remain.

From the coronavirus to Huawei, and Tik Tok through to purported spy scholars and the South China Sea, and now Xinjiang cotton, it has become a concerted campaign.

We all know the US has little love for Muslims anywhere in the world.

The US has dropped enough bombs in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, as well as imposed sanctions against Iran, to substantiate that claim. The US has also turned a blind eye to the plight of the Palestinians.

These assaults were launched on the pretext of destroying weapons of mass destruction owned by the Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi regimes, though we now know fact from fiction.

While the two weren’t angels (but more dictators), the fanatical Islamic State took over after the two were deposed and worsened the situation.

Now, the attention is China. It’s the perfect villain – communist rule, no elections and a campaign against Muslims in Xinjiang.

Most Americans can neither pronounce Xinjiang nor point it out on a map, although that seems a moot point to them.

The truth is, the US is jittery because its dominance is over. The world order has changed.

While the US was busy executing its campaign in the name of upholding human rights and western values, and burning trillions of dollars on arsenal, the Chinese spent the last decades building their nation and eradicating poverty.

No one should be surprised when China overtakes the US in the world economy. It didn’t happen overnight, though.

Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou may not be representative of the whole of China, especially compared to third-tier cities and rural areas, but credit where it’s due for the absence of homeless colonies in the cities.

As a Malaysian who has regularly visited China, I feel poor whenever I’m there. The glitzy skyscrapers, efficient transport system, low crime rate, affluence and orderly city administration has shown that China has certainly arrived.

The Chinese have become visibly wealthier and sophisticated, and while their tendency to flaunt their wealth rubs many the wrong way, they have simply become what the early rich Americans used to be. The rich Chinese are loud and brash, but along the way, they – just like the Americans did then – will change.

Rather than demonise China and its people, the US could do well with promoting its values, many of which are universal in nature, such as the rule of law, protecting individual rights, improving living standards and driving the engine of innovation.

The US remains the preferred destination for most people seeking migration.

The immigrants, including Muslims who refused to integrate, could have chosen Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait or Senegal, but they picked the US.

We embrace American culture and its lifestyle, especially Hollywood movies, Disneyland, burgers, Coca- Cola and music. That speaks volumes of how most of us admire the US.

While the Chinese are now at a stage where they are content with growth and material wealth, they will eventually question issues like environment, inequality and self-suffrage, when they find themselves without a safety net.

The expansion of the middle class has always been similar all over the world. When the stomach and pockets are full, people have time to talk about democratic ideals.

But for now, the chaos and destruction in Hong Kong and racism in the US have given reason for China, and Chinese all over the world, to push back, or even detest the aggressive campaign by the US. This is nothing more than blatant bullying.

It isn’t fair play, unlike what the US claims, because there’s clearly a lack of respect for competition.

We all believe “democracy is the worst system of government, except for everything else, ” as Winston Churchill said. It’s loud and messy, as we know, but power is more diffused in democracy, where it’s equally shared through the population, as James Stavridis, a retired US Navy admiral put it.

The Xinjiang campaign will come back to haunt the US. Unlike other Muslims in China, the Uighur have indulged in ISIS activities, including being actively involved in Syria, where many combatants are members of an Al Qaeda offshoot.

Reuters and Associated Press have reported of at least 5,000 Uighur in ISIS operating in Syria and Iraq.

Many of them from the outlawed Turkistan Islamic Party, are pushing for an Islamic state in Xinjiang, which China surely won’t tolerate.

That perhaps explains why China takes a different approach to the Uighur compared to other Muslims, though these actions remain open to debate.

But here’s the irony – while the US and its western allies are busy drumming up the issue, the powerful Muslim countries led by Saudi Arabia, along with 36 other countries, have defended China’s policies in Xinjiang in a letter released in 2019.

The world is not keen on getting entangled in an escalating trade war between the US and China.

We want both countries to work together, if they really believe and practise what they preach to the rest of us, the minion nations. And if they do, the world stands to benefit immeasurably.

Wong Chun Wai

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 35 years in various capacities and roles. He is now group editorial and corporate affairs adviser to the group, after having served as group managing director/chief executive officer. On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.

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Friday, April 2, 2021

US loses focus by inserting anti-China in infrastructure plan

Only a US domestic revitalization plan that can forget about China will have any promise

-When developing infrastructure, the internal driving force of society should be far greater than the resistance from interests. But this is not the case in today's US: Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin-

A woman walks at a platform of a subway station in Chicago, the United States, Jan. 17, 2020.(Photo: Xinhua)

A woman walks at a platform of a subway station in Chicago, the United States, January 17, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

US President Joe Biden unveiled a roughly $2 trillion American Jobs Plan focused on infrastructure and the climate crisis in a speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. To win support, he said that the "once-in-a-generation" investment would "put [the US] in a position to win the global competition with China in the upcoming years."
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Much of infrastructure in the US has been old. Both Democrats and Republicans are on the same page on this matter. US former president Barack Obama in September 2010 proposed his ambitious plan to renew the US' transportation infrastructure, but failed to achieve it in both of his terms. Neither did Donald Trump. Biden launched the third round of such attempt. His plan contains the greatest details and seems to be the most serious one.
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However, the Biden administration's infrastructure plan was met with opposition from Republicans when it was announced. Trump slammed the infrastructure plan as a "giveaway to China" in a statement on Wednesday, and said that the proposed tax increases designed to fund the $2 trillion proposal would end up backfiring by sending American jobs overseas. Biden may once again have mired himself down in a situation where everyone agrees that it was the right thing to do, but no one can agree on how to do it or where the money will come from.
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US society has been gravely divided. The more interests involved in carrying out a big plan, the more opportunities for political struggles to be created, which will hinder the goal to be achieved. This is the root of the US' problem. To engage in infrastructure construction, the internal driving force of society should have been far greater than the resistance from disputes by different interest groups, but this is not the case in the US. Exploiting "defeating China" as a thrust to push the plan sharply deviates from the appropriate track. This makes the plan hard to achieve.
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Has China ever thought of competing with the US as it builds high-speed trains, widen the highway network and build network base stations? They are entirely China's own national agenda. The incentive to invest is strong, and the general public is very supportive. We can say that China's infrastructure advances with ease. Our concern is often that we should not work lavishly on these projects in case they lead to interim waste or debt.
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The US now has China everywhere in its mind with regard to its domestic policy, attaching labels of national security randomly, and blaming China for any industrial imbalance in the US. Apart from instigating nationalism, this would do little to solve the problem. Over time, the US will not only be down with an anti-China syndrome and strike at anything Chinese, but will also only be able to make its policy with anti-China elements. This will lead to the misdirection of its goal time and again and cause it lose its way in development.
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The US should force itself to forget about China more often. What the US needs to do is struggling with itself. It has been more than a decade since it has called for the construction of the high-speed railway. Why hasn't a single kilometer been built? What does this inefficiency have to do with China? Trump overturned many of Obama's policies and now Biden overturned Trump's policies. Is this what China seduced the US to do?
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It is quite impressive that Washington is beginning to value some important lessons from China. Conflict is also a way to learn from each other. China's key experience is to mind its own work well. Biden's determination to improve infrastructure and increase investment in technology seems to have taken something from China's direction. We hope that the US could adhere to this idea. It is the right way forward.
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If the US really initiated a new investment in infrastructure, it is believed that Chinese society in general will be optimistic about its success. More of this kind of engagement by the US will increase its market demand, which is a positive factor in the expansion of China's economic growth. After all, the contest between China and the US should have been focused on the competition of domestic development, rather than playing chess on the diplomatic front.
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If Washington had refocused its attention, it might not have exaggerated the "China threat" theory as much as it does now. They will find that the benefits of China-US cooperation may outweigh the zero-sum competition with China "from a position of strength." China could be a partner, not a rival, in Biden's plan to revitalize US infrastructure, if Washington so desires.
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Obsessive focus on making enemies or confrontation is narrow-minded and an exhausted strategy. It is an unwise one. This is true of a person, and it is also true of a country
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WHO-China joint report on virus origins:Wuhan Lab-leak is "extremely unlikely", ‘more states should be probed’...

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

WHO-China joint report on virus origins:Wuhan Lab-leak is "extremely unlikely", ‘more states should be probed’...

The headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland

Highlights from WHO-China joint report on coronavirus origins: -A lab leak was "extremely unlikely" -Huanan seafood market was NOT the original source of the outbreak -It’s important to investigate “potential early events” of COVID-19 cases in different countries

Peter Ben Embarek (center) talks with Liang Wannian (left) and Marion Koopmans (right) after a press conference to wrap up a visit by an international team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the city of Wuhan, in Central China's Hubei

If WHO scientists cannot find the answer in China regarding coronavirus origins, maybe it's time for scientists to dig somewhere else and test more hypotheses to solve the mystery, Chinese scientists from the WHO-China virus tracing team suggested, after a joint WHO-China report on tracing the origins of coronavirus was released on Tuesday, which still leaves the virus origins question unanswered.
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The report, generated after WHO experts visited Wuhan, the Chinese city first reporting a COVID-19 case, dismissed the "lab-leak" conspiracy theory, and recommended transmissions between animals and humans, and transmissions through frozen food, which is consistent with what WHO experts said in a February conference in Wuhan. It also suggested the 7th Military World Games, which was held in Wuhan in October 2019, two months before the first case in this city was reported, is worth digging into.
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Before official release on Tuesday, Western politicians and media once again cast the report, pre-leaked to media earlier, in doubt, questioning the investigation's transparency , impartiality and the involvement of Chinese government in the writing of the report. Chinese experts in this joint team refuted such baseless claims, saying the Chinese side has provided what it could, and it is willing to assist any further origins investigation in other places since it has mature technology on virus detecting and tracing.
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The report pointed to a possible path of transmission between animals and humans and transmission through frozen food. It also said that the lab-leak theory is "extremely unlikely", which is consistent with what Peter Ben Embarek, a Danish food safety scientist leading the WHO team, said in Wuhan in early February, when wrapping up the WHO visit.
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The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday night it appreciates the scientific, diligent and professional spirit of the WHO-China expert team and calls for further investigation in other countries and places to trace the virus origins as it is a global task after WHO released the joint report.
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Politicizing the tracing work will only seriously hamper global cooperation on virus tracing, undermine global anti-epidemic efforts and lead to more loss of life. This runs counter to the desire of the international community to unite and fight the epidemic, FM said in a statement released on Tuesday night.
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The WHO report also touched upon the hypothesis of the 7th Military World Games regarding virus origins, a possibility previously raised by a Chinese epidemiologist. The WHO report said that "no appreciable signals of clusters of fever or severe respiratory disease requiring hospitalization were identified during a review of these events," but recommended a further joint review of the data on respiratory illness from on-site clinics during the games.
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"The hypothesis was raised by foreign experts during our communication," a Chinese expert from the joint team's animals and environment group told the Global Times. He said that large international events need to be considered as an option during origins tracing work of an epidemic.
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The Chinese expert, who asked for anonymity, said that they obtained records from the Wuhan government, which show many countries had transported food to Wuhan during the event, many via cold chain route. "But now we only have records, no samples, so it will be difficult for us to find the evidence," he admitted.
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The scientist also said it is highly probable that the virus was transmitted via cold chain, given the fact that cold chains triggered most of the later outbreaks in China after the one in Wuhan. "But at the early stage, all eyes were fixed on animals, so not enough samples were connected in the cold chain environment," said the expert, suggesting further research in this area.
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The WHO report further suggests that animals in livestock farms in Southeast Asia could be "linked to early human cases" and that further study on these farms is needed.
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The anonymous expert said that given the geographic adjacency and frequent exchanges between China and Southeast Asia countries, such a proposal is reasonable.
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"Yunnan borders Southeast Asia, and bats travel frequently, which gives rise to the possibility of passing the virus to other animals and between each other," he said, noting that a batch of pangolins, which tested positive for coronavirus, were smuggled from other countries.
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At a Friday conference, Feng Zijian, Deputy Director-General of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China's CDC), who is also the expert of the WHO joint team, said that there is a virus highly similar to COVID-19 in bats and pangolins in terms of virus sequencing. However, it's proven not to be a direct ancestor, while more animal species, including minks and cats, are worthy of inquiry as likely potential natural hosts of the virus.
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According to the report, data suggests that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, where large clusters of infections were found, was not the original source of the outbreak.
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"The place which saw the first outbreak does not necessarily make it the origins of the virus," another member of the joint expert team, who preferred anonymity, told the Global Times.
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The expert said there's nothing strange about the fact that a scientific conclusion about the virus has yet to be found. On the other hand, it implies the difficulty in tracing virus origins. "Virus origins tracing work of previous large-scale epidemics was conducted by scientists in different countries and regions," said the scientist, urging global virus tracing, especially since mounting evidence suggesting that there were positive coronavirus samples found in other countries before the Wuhan outbreak.
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He suggested further study of positive coronavirus samples found in human and environment before January 2020.
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China has done what it can do in helping find the origins of the virus. If the answer could not be found here, maybe it's time to find it in other places, and test more hypotheses, according to the expert from joint team's animals and environment group. China is willing to assist virus origins tracing work in other places, as it has already grasped such technologies and methodologies, the expert said.
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Doubt from West
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Western media and politicians could not wait to fire torrents of criticism toward the report, which was leaked to some media before its publication.
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Among the most vocal critics were US media outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post, which questioned the report's impartiality as they hyped that WHO experts weren't given full access in Wuhan and the Chinese government exerted pressure on the UN body.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN last week that he had concerns about "the methodology and the process," including "the fact that the government in Beijing apparently helped write it."
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Such accusation was slammed by Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
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"The US kept showing its 'concerns' over the report. Is it attempting to exert pressure on WHO experts?" Zhao asked. "Please ask the experts which parts of the report the Chinese government helped them to write. Does China's facilitation on traceability research also behind-the-scenes manipulation?"
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"What they needed, we gave them, including files," said the expert, explaining certain documents were restricted because it involved patients' sensitive personal information.
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In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Liang Wannian, team leader of the Chinese side of the WHO-China joint expert team, said that the Chinese side showed the WHO experts raw data one by one, such as the early case database and epidemiological survey forms of field use.
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Foreign experts, including Peter Daszak, a British-born zoologist, who is president of the NGO EcoHealth Alliance in New York City, and Peter Ben Embarek from the WHO team, have repeatedly denied accusation of limited access in Wuhan.
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Those Western countries only want WHO to pinpoint Wuhan as the origins of the virus, and better prove the virus was leaked from lab; if not, they just launched a smear campaign at China, said experts.

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