XI: CHINA TO SHARE VACCINE WITH WORLD

China announced on Monday it will provide $2 billion over two years to help with COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in affected countries, especially developing countries.

President Xi Jinping made the announcement during a speech at a virtual event opening the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization. The pandemic has affected more than 7 billion people and taken more than 310,000 lives globally.

Given that developing countries, particularly African countries, have weaker public health systems, Xi said that helping them build capacity must be the top priority in COVID-19 response. He called on the world to provide more material, technological and personnel support for African countries.

Xi said China will establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair with 30 African hospitals and accelerate the building of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity.

Since the outbreak, China has sent a tremendous amount of medical supplies and assistance to over 50 African countries and the African Union, and five Chinese medical expert teams have also been sent to the continent.

Xi also said China is ready to work with the international community to bolster support for the hardest-hit countries under the greatest strain from debt service so that they could be given some help with current difficulties.

The country will work with other Group of 20 members to implement the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries, he said.

With the virus still raging, the president stressed that the most urgent task is to make all-out efforts in COVID-19 control and treatment.

"We must always put the people first, for nothing in the world is more precious than people's lives," he said, calling for strong steps to be taken in curbing the global spread of the virus and stemming cross-border transmission.

According to Xi, it is also necessary to step up information sharing and exchanges of experience and best practices, and to pursue international cooperation on testing methods, clinical treatment, and vaccine and medicine research and development.

He said that COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good, as China's contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries.

"We also need to continue supporting global research by scientists on the source and transmission routes of the virus," Xi said.

The president said that China supports the idea of a comprehensive review of the global response to COVID-19 after it is brought under control to sum up the experience and address deficiencies.

"This work should be based on science and professionalism, led by the WHO and conducted in an objective and impartial manner," he added.

As it may not be the last time there is a major health emergency, Xi announced that China will work with the United Nations to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China, ensure the operation of anti-epidemic supply chains and foster "green corridors" for fast-track transportation and customs clearance.

Xi said solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons for defeating the virus as that is the key lesson the world has learned from fighting previous major epidemics such as Ebola and H1N1 influenza.

TECH BRINGS POLITICAL ADVISERS CLOSER TO PUBLIC

Technology is playing a greater role this year in bringing the nation's top political advisory body closer to the people, as members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference prepare to meet in Beijing for their annual session starting on Thursday.

The website of the CPPCC National Committee started to seek opinions and suggestions from netizens on May 8, which will help the 2,100 national political advisers learn more about the opinions of the public before they gather in Beijing.

The new platform will help the public share their insights with CPPCC members on China's major political, economic and social issues at the upcoming annual meeting.

Each proposal will be seriously considered and may be forwarded to CPPCC members or sent directly to the related department of the CPPCC National Committee, according to the committee.

The CPPCC is an important means of promoting socialist democracy in China. Its members serve as advisers for government, legislative and judicial bodies and put forward proposals on major political and social issues.

Members include government officials, entrepreneurs, military officers, workers, farmers, members of non-Communist parties, individuals without party affiliation, experts and scholars, people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and representatives of religions and all of China's 56 ethnic groups.

Their suggestions are sent to State leaders and government departments as a reference in making decisions. The topics are closely related to the central tasks of the Party and the State, including poverty alleviation, reducing taxation and protecting the environment.

The agenda of this year's plenary session of the CPPCC National Committee includes a review of the work reports of its Standing Committee and the proposals it has received over the past year. The political advisers will also attend the Third Plenary Meeting of the 13th National People's Congress, which opens on Friday, where they will discuss the annual Government Work Report and deliberate on the country's draft civil code.

INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION BACK IN FULL SWING AS WORK RESUMES: MINISTER

Transport authorities are speeding up work resumption and channeling investment to boost infrastructure construction in the transport sector, the top transport official said on Tuesday.

Li Xiaopeng, minister of transport, told a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office that 99.7 percent of existing construction projects in the transport sector have resumed work and the ministry is making efforts to streamline procedures for approving new projects.

The ministry will guide local departments to kick off a number of new key projects in line with national strategies, as well as the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans, he said.

A pool of new projects with total investment of 800 billion yuan has been formed, and construction of these projects could kick off soon once preliminary work is done, he said.

In 2019, a total of 3.2451 trillion yuan of fixed assets investment was made in the transport sector, seeing 8,000 kilometers of new railways put into operation and 320,000 km of roads newly built or renovated. Some world-class projects, such as Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, were also put into use last year.

VIRUS EXPOSES US DOUBLE STANDARD ON RIGHTS

The novel coronavirus outbreak has exposed the hypocrisy of the United States as the self-proclaimed greatest defender of human rights. As of May 18, the novel coronavirus had infected more than 1.4 million people and claimed 85,000 lives in the US. In less than 100 days, the number of infections had crossed 1 million and deaths topped 60,000−the first infection was reported on Jan 21. And in only two months, the COVID-19 death toll had exceeded that in the Vietnam War. These cruel numbers mean loss of lives and broken families.

People's rights to life and health are the most fundamental human rights and recognized and guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet the US administration turned a deaf ear to the warnings from not only China and the World Health Organization but also the US intelligence community since early January, and refused to take action to control the spread of the virus, and thus prevent deaths. The US leader delayed ordering tests on people suspected to have contracted the virus, perhaps because the presidential election and political gains, not the lives of the people, are more important for him and other politicians.

An article in The Washington Post on May 3 said studies show that, if the US administration had implemented social distancing measures on March 2, instead of March 16, it could have prevented 90 percent of the COVID-19 patients from dying. The US accounts for less than 5 percent of the world's population but more than 25 percent of the deaths worldwide. Due to the US administration's lax attitude, incorrect policy and delayed action, the country is now the worst affected. Had it been any other country, the US would certainly have demanded a human rights inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council.

The novel coronavirus has spared no country. But data from the United Kingdom and the US show that the death rate among the poor is twice as much as those among the well-off. Data from the New York City Department of Health, show blacks and Hispanics dying from COVID-19 make up more than 60 percent of the city's coronavirus-related fatalities. In Chicago, blacks make up roughly 33 percent of the population but account for almost 75 percent of the COVID-19 deaths. The numbers are equally grim and lopsided in Louisiana, the Carolinas and Michigan.

In the US, colored people have always faced disparity in healthcare. And income inequality and inadequate access to good healthcare services have further worsened the situation for the poor. A recent report by Rubix, a medical research firm, says African Americans exhibiting coronavirus symptoms are less likely to be tested, possibly delaying treatment and putting their lives at greater risk. Hispanics are not much better; the death rate among them is twice as high as whites in New York City.

GAME FIRMS EXPAND GLOBAL REACH

Chinese gaming companies are seeing new growth opportunities overseas and are accelerating efforts to expand abroad as they face tighter regulations at home, especially as domestic licenses plunge.

According to business research site App Annie, consumers worldwide spent over $23.4 billion on gaming apps in the first quarter, marking the largest-ever quarter in terms of consumer spending on electronic games. Consumers spent over $16.7 billion on mobile games during the period, up 5 percent from the previous quarter.

Game licenses issued by the country's top game regulator−the National Press and Publication Administration−dipped significantly in the first quarter, with only 309 Chinese games getting market approval, which is far less than the 794 titles during the same period last year.

The sharp decrease was partly due to a relatively high number of games awaiting authorization in late-2018 that received a group green light in early 2019.

"Most gaming companies can't afford to offer free-to-play games without in-app purchases. Thus, those lacking game licenses need to think of other ways to sustain normal operations, and the overseas market offers them a new channel to monetize. There's still huge development potential in the overseas gaming market and Chinese firms need to focus on distribution channels to better promote more kinds of games globally," said Yao Ming, head of Chinese gaming studio Shuizhun.

4 DEAD, 24 INJURED IN SW CHINA QUAKE

Four died, at least 24 others were injured and one person was trapped in debris, after a 5-magnitude earthquake struck Qiaojia county in Southwest China's Yunnan province late Monday, local authorities said Tuesday.

Rescue forces from the local public security, fire fighting, emergency response sectors have rushed to the quake zone.

The quake struck at 9:47 pm Monday. The epicenter, with a depth of eight km, was monitored at 27.18 degrees north latitude and 103.16 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

In addition to Qiaojia, the earthquake was felt strongly in Huize county of Qujing city, as well as the cities of Zhaotong and Xuanwei and Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture.

The county government of Qiaojia has sent rescuers to 16 townships for the rescue and disaster relief.

The county meteorological observatory forecast that there will be mainly sunny and cloudy weather in the next three days. Only the area of Xiaohe township will see some showers.

HUNAN CREATES FIRST PLAN TO PAY WILDLIFE BREEDERS

Hunan province on Friday launched the country's first provincial-level plan to compensate wildlife breeders following China's ban on eating and trading wild animals due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

It released a document that included a comprehensive ban on eating terrestrial wild animals across the province and clarified compensation for wildlife farmers as well as what to do with animals in captivity.

The document revealed the compensation amounts for the first batch of 14 species, including the bamboo rat, the civet cat and the cobra. Bamboo rat farmers will be paid 75 yuan ($10.60) a kilogram, and civet cat farmers will be paid 600 yuan for each animal.

The standards were established after taking into account several factors, including the cost of breeding, facilities and farming methods, the document said, adding that a second batch of animals subject to compensation will be announced later.

Only farmers with valid and legal breeding licenses for terrestrial wild animals will be able to receive compensation.

It strictly prohibited the consumption of terrestrial wild animals, including those bred in captivity, while explaining that all wildlife farmers who retreat from the business will be compensated and will receive help in transforming their operations.

It also clarified three ways to dispose of the animals in stock. They will either be returned to natural areas that are far from human settlements, used for scientific and medical research, or incinerated or deeply buried to minimize infection risks.

Hunan's document follows a nationwide ban in February on eating and trading wild animals, which are highly suspected to be the source of the outbreak.

The tightened regulations have sparked debate, with many worrying the ban would harm the economy, as wildlife breeding has played a big role in the country's rural development and poverty alleviation project.

Hunan's document is the first local plan to specify measures to assist affected farmers. It said local forestry departments, poverty alleviation departments and financial institutions will offer funds and other financial support to help wildlife farmers transform their businesses into ones that produce forest products, fruits and vegetables, livestock, poultry, tea or Chinese herbal medicines.

Meanwhile, the provincial government will continue to strictly manage hunting, breeding, trading and importing terrestrial wild animals and strengthen the monitoring and early warning mechanism of epidemics to prevent close contact between wild animals and humans, the document said.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, it's never too late to turn back. - Turkish Proverb