📡Guardians of Hong Kong
9.58K subscribers
21.6K photos
1.88K videos
27 files
9.99K links
We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/BeWaterHongKong
Instagram: @guardiansofhk
Website: https://guardiansofhk.com/
Download Telegram
#Newspaper

China Isn’t Helping Italy. It’s Waging Information Warfare

//Italy is an ideal outpost for China’s wide-reaching propaganda effort to cover up its own responsibility for the global spread of the new coronavirus, all the while presenting itself as a compassionate power aiding Western countries in need.

//The government has been pursuing a two-pronged strategy that carefully combines sending medical supplies to assert its relevance in a leaderless world—call it mask diplomacy—while at the same time spreading conspiracy theories to conceal the true origin of the virus. In this “global battle of narratives,”

//it’s also led by a government coalition that includes the Five Star Movement, a Euroskeptic and increasingly pro-Chinese party that has for years relentlessly promoted a stronger relationship with Beijing while downplaying the traditional trans-Atlantic alliance and fueling suspicion toward NATO

//Recently, China’s state media outlets suggested the new coronavirus originated in Italy, not in Wuhan, by shrewdly twisting the words of the Italian physician Giuseppe Remuzzi

//it was part of a commercial deal formalized a few days before in a phone call between the foreign ministers of China and Italy, Luigi di Maio and Wang Yi. Italy was buying medical equipment from China, but the government took advantage of a parallel donation made by China’s Red Cross to make it look like an instance of its “politics of generosity.”

//selectively praising China’s generous efforts while downplaying the belated solidarity coming from EU members

//If the Chinese government knew [about the virus] and didn’t tell it publicly, it committed a crime against humanity

//The Five Star Movement has long been a hotbed for conspiracy theories and fake news

//France and Germany combined have now donated more masks to Italy than China, and Austria contributed 1.6 million more. German hospitals are taking care of some patients from Italy, while France donated 200,000 protective suits.

Source: FP, (31-Mar)
https://bit.ly/3bVxn08

Further reading:
Italy is ranked as the country with the most rapid spread of Covid-19 outside of China.
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/19303

#Italy #China #ChinesePropaganda #France #Germany #Austria #Masks #Donation #OneBeltOneRoad #MaskDiplomacy
#Newspaper

China's coronavirus aid to Syria fits inside just two cardboard boxes


//Coronavirus aid delivery from China arrived in Damascus on Wednesday after an outbreak of the disease in Syria which many fear will have a devastating impact on the country's struggling healthcare sector.

//China's ambassador to Damascus said the delivery was the first batch of medical assistance to Syria and more supplies will follow soon. But the photo of the aid delivery left many Syrians severely disappointed with their long-time ally.

//China delivered medical supplies to Syria in the fight against #COVID19, and yes those two boxes were the supplies. Mask diplomacy doesn't (properly) apply to Syria

//Although Syria has only reported 33 cases and two deaths from coronavirus, experts believe the disease is much more widespread in the country.

Full article: The New Arab, (16-Apr)

#Syria #Coronavirus #Pandemic #MaskDiplomacy #China