Unscientific and Unethical, Says US Expert as Chinese Pharma Pushes Wuhan Virus Vaccine Not Fully Tested
The Chinese pharmaceutical CanSino was reported to have been negotiating with several countries for urgent approval of the use of its Wuhan virus vaccine, which is still in phase 3 trials. Public health experts have voiced concerns as the vaccine has yet to be fully tested for its safety and effectiveness on a mass scale. They stressed that the experimentation and the trials must be transparent and that CanSino must disclose data concerning the vaccine’s trials in the Chinese military.
A senior manager at CanSino revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the pharma was negotiating with several countries, requesting emergency approval for the use of its experimental Wuhan virus vaccine before its phase 3 trials are completed. If approved, the early-stage vaccine will be in use globally for the first time, with health professionals and essential workers like soldiers and police officers being the first to get the shot.
Public health experts worry that despite the new evidence indicating the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety, it is highly risky to put it to public use before large-scale trials are completed. Dr Amesh A. Adalja, a senior expert at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security, said there is some data showing the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety following its trials in the Chinese military. “It is crucial, however, to use the vaccine in accordance with the data obtained at Phase 3 clinical trials,” he added. “Its effectiveness can be determined only in an environment where many people are exposed to the virus, and it is necessary to look into a better sample group to know if the vaccine is safe.” CanSino, he said, should disclose the data obtained at trials in the military to reassure the public.
Pierre Armand Morgon, Senior Vice President for International Business of CanSino, said giving several million people the vaccine before the clinical trials conclude helps ascertain its safety and effectiveness and create a database of safety information. Morgon declined to name all of the countries the pharma is in talks with, saying only that they include Pakistan, Latin American countries and a number of developed countries. None of them has approved the vaccine for use, he said.
Source: Apple Daily #Aug29
#China #CanSino #WuhanVirus #Coronavirus #COVID19 #Pandemic #Vaccine #Ethics
https://bit.ly/2RqheYn
The Chinese pharmaceutical CanSino was reported to have been negotiating with several countries for urgent approval of the use of its Wuhan virus vaccine, which is still in phase 3 trials. Public health experts have voiced concerns as the vaccine has yet to be fully tested for its safety and effectiveness on a mass scale. They stressed that the experimentation and the trials must be transparent and that CanSino must disclose data concerning the vaccine’s trials in the Chinese military.
A senior manager at CanSino revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the pharma was negotiating with several countries, requesting emergency approval for the use of its experimental Wuhan virus vaccine before its phase 3 trials are completed. If approved, the early-stage vaccine will be in use globally for the first time, with health professionals and essential workers like soldiers and police officers being the first to get the shot.
Public health experts worry that despite the new evidence indicating the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety, it is highly risky to put it to public use before large-scale trials are completed. Dr Amesh A. Adalja, a senior expert at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security, said there is some data showing the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety following its trials in the Chinese military. “It is crucial, however, to use the vaccine in accordance with the data obtained at Phase 3 clinical trials,” he added. “Its effectiveness can be determined only in an environment where many people are exposed to the virus, and it is necessary to look into a better sample group to know if the vaccine is safe.” CanSino, he said, should disclose the data obtained at trials in the military to reassure the public.
Pierre Armand Morgon, Senior Vice President for International Business of CanSino, said giving several million people the vaccine before the clinical trials conclude helps ascertain its safety and effectiveness and create a database of safety information. Morgon declined to name all of the countries the pharma is in talks with, saying only that they include Pakistan, Latin American countries and a number of developed countries. None of them has approved the vaccine for use, he said.
Source: Apple Daily #Aug29
#China #CanSino #WuhanVirus #Coronavirus #COVID19 #Pandemic #Vaccine #Ethics
https://bit.ly/2RqheYn
PEN America Calls for Flagging US Films Piggybacked by Chinese Propagandists
Source: Apple Daily #Aug29
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Source: Apple Daily #Aug29
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PEN America Calls for Flagging US Films Piggybacked by Chinese Propagandists
Almost every six months, Americans are reminded once again of how communist China influences their popular culture. In Top Gun: Maverick, for example, the flag of the Republic of China on Tom Cruise’s jacket is made to disappear. But James Tager, author of a recent report on China’s cultural power published by the New York-based literary society PEN America, notes that Americans are apt to put behind China’s impact on the US cinema as irritated as they were at first.
In his report Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing, Tager points out that Beijing’s censorship works differently from that in the US, where sensitive material is simply cut out at the start of the editing process after the shooting is completed. With Chinese-style censorship, changes are, frustratingly, often not made clear at the outset and take place in the middle of the shooting. For the most part, though, it does not go as far as it did in MGM’s 2012 film Red Dawn, where digital technology had to be employed to change the Chinese villain into a North Korean in post-production.
But Tager adds that over time, writers and producers will start to engage in self-censorship. Seeing its futility, they will refrain from generating ideas, stories, or characters that break the rules. It is not easy to produce and distribute a film in Hollywood without taking into account the foreign market. Given also the plight the Wuhan virus pandemic has left the US in, the Chinese audience is increasingly important to American studios.
With a quota in place for foreign films distributed in China, competition among them is fierce. The last thing a studio wants is a potential mistake that leads to its production’s being kept out of release in China. It is unthinkable nowadays that a major studio would make a film like the 1997 thriller Red Corner, where a businessman, played by Richard Gere, is framed for murder by the Chinese Communist Party—let alone a film about pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong or China’s anti-Uyghur concentration camps. No studio would dare to take such a risk in face of the 1.4 billion Chinese consumers. It would be commercial suicide.
And not only does this shift prevents Chinese consumers from getting in touch with innovative ideas, but it also allows for a dictatorship to piggyback its propaganda onto American films. Take as an example the 2012 film Looper. Abe, the future leader of the killers played by Jeff Daniels, says to a younger killer, “I’m from the future; you should go to China.” The average viewer will not realize that this is propaganda, much less that it is a major victory for the Chinese government in its effort to increase its authority and elevate China’s status.
In view of this, Tager suggests putting a permanent label at the beginning of all films funded and, in turn, censored by China. It will serve as a warning that counteracts the brainwashing effect the film has on the audience—the same way the Motion Picture Association’s (MPA) rating, shown before every film, warns the audience of the film’s adult content and smoking scenes.
Source: Apple Daily #Aug29
#US #China #PENAmerica #Film #Culture #Propaganda #Diplomacy
https://bit.ly/3iN5w68
Almost every six months, Americans are reminded once again of how communist China influences their popular culture. In Top Gun: Maverick, for example, the flag of the Republic of China on Tom Cruise’s jacket is made to disappear. But James Tager, author of a recent report on China’s cultural power published by the New York-based literary society PEN America, notes that Americans are apt to put behind China’s impact on the US cinema as irritated as they were at first.
In his report Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing, Tager points out that Beijing’s censorship works differently from that in the US, where sensitive material is simply cut out at the start of the editing process after the shooting is completed. With Chinese-style censorship, changes are, frustratingly, often not made clear at the outset and take place in the middle of the shooting. For the most part, though, it does not go as far as it did in MGM’s 2012 film Red Dawn, where digital technology had to be employed to change the Chinese villain into a North Korean in post-production.
But Tager adds that over time, writers and producers will start to engage in self-censorship. Seeing its futility, they will refrain from generating ideas, stories, or characters that break the rules. It is not easy to produce and distribute a film in Hollywood without taking into account the foreign market. Given also the plight the Wuhan virus pandemic has left the US in, the Chinese audience is increasingly important to American studios.
With a quota in place for foreign films distributed in China, competition among them is fierce. The last thing a studio wants is a potential mistake that leads to its production’s being kept out of release in China. It is unthinkable nowadays that a major studio would make a film like the 1997 thriller Red Corner, where a businessman, played by Richard Gere, is framed for murder by the Chinese Communist Party—let alone a film about pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong or China’s anti-Uyghur concentration camps. No studio would dare to take such a risk in face of the 1.4 billion Chinese consumers. It would be commercial suicide.
And not only does this shift prevents Chinese consumers from getting in touch with innovative ideas, but it also allows for a dictatorship to piggyback its propaganda onto American films. Take as an example the 2012 film Looper. Abe, the future leader of the killers played by Jeff Daniels, says to a younger killer, “I’m from the future; you should go to China.” The average viewer will not realize that this is propaganda, much less that it is a major victory for the Chinese government in its effort to increase its authority and elevate China’s status.
In view of this, Tager suggests putting a permanent label at the beginning of all films funded and, in turn, censored by China. It will serve as a warning that counteracts the brainwashing effect the film has on the audience—the same way the Motion Picture Association’s (MPA) rating, shown before every film, warns the audience of the film’s adult content and smoking scenes.
Source: Apple Daily #Aug29
#US #China #PENAmerica #Film #Culture #Propaganda #Diplomacy
https://bit.ly/3iN5w68
Universities hire planes to fly in China students
Britain’s top universities are chartering flights to get Chinese students to the UK next month amid fears that global travel restrictions could cost hundreds of millions of pounds in overseas fees.
The universities are worried that their income from overseas students — which is more than £1 billion, partly because of the premium on domestic fees the institutions are able to charge — could be undermined by travel problems.
More than 50 UK universities — including many of the elite Russell Group of 24 leading institutions such as Imperial College London, Bristol and Exeter — have already chartered four flights to bring in 1,200 Chinese students in time to start their degrees next month.
Source: The Times #Aug29
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-hire-planes-to-fly-in-china-students-gfq2cc9j0
#China #Britain #University #Student
Britain’s top universities are chartering flights to get Chinese students to the UK next month amid fears that global travel restrictions could cost hundreds of millions of pounds in overseas fees.
The universities are worried that their income from overseas students — which is more than £1 billion, partly because of the premium on domestic fees the institutions are able to charge — could be undermined by travel problems.
More than 50 UK universities — including many of the elite Russell Group of 24 leading institutions such as Imperial College London, Bristol and Exeter — have already chartered four flights to bring in 1,200 Chinese students in time to start their degrees next month.
Source: The Times #Aug29
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-hire-planes-to-fly-in-china-students-gfq2cc9j0
#China #Britain #University #Student
#Solidarity
Mime Pro-democrscy Demonstration in #Nottingham, Hongkongers in #UK Preserve Memory of 8.31 Prince Edward Attack
Source: Stand News; 移英日記 facebook #Aug29
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30995
Mime Pro-democrscy Demonstration in #Nottingham, Hongkongers in #UK Preserve Memory of 8.31 Prince Edward Attack
Source: Stand News; 移英日記 facebook #Aug29
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30995
#Solidarity
Mime Pro-democrscy Demonstration in #Nottingham, Hongkongers in #UK Preserve Memory of 8.31 Prince Edward Attack
2021 marks the second anniversary of the 8.31 Prince Edward Attack by the police in 2019. As Hong Kong is under the tight grip of authoritarian control, there are no large scale memorial activities planned.
Overseas Hongkongers told their fellow Hongkongers that they have not forgotten this date.
In UK on August 29, 2021, the group "Nottingham Stands With Hong Kong" presented a large-scale silent skit titled "We Are the Chosen One", recreating scene after scene of heart-rending moments from the 2019 Anti-ELAB protests.
Participants posted photos and videos of the skit on Facebook, noting that "there are things that can't be done in Hong Kong now. We understand. So leave it to us overseas people."
The group explained that they wanted to preserve the memory of the events; however, it was even more important that the international community knows what happened in Hong Kong. "It doesn't matter if you're in Hong Kong or overseas. As long as you're a true Hongkonger, our hearts will be connected, and we'll remember what we promised to each other. See you under the Pot!"
Video from Nottingham Stands With Hong Kong: https://www.facebook.com/NottsStandsWithHK/posts/585861336158559
Source: Stand News; 移英日記 facebook #Aug29
https://www.thestandnews.com/international/ab%E7%B4%80%E5%BF%B5-831-%E5%85%A9%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4-%E5%9C%A8%E8%8B%B1%E6%B8%AF%E4%BA%BA%E8%88%89%E8%BE%A6%E9%BB%98%E5%8A%87%E8%A8%98%E4%BD%8F%E6%AD%B7%E5%8F%B2
#CollectiveMemory #831PrinceEdward #StandWithHongKong
#Performance #Remembrance
Mime Pro-democrscy Demonstration in #Nottingham, Hongkongers in #UK Preserve Memory of 8.31 Prince Edward Attack
2021 marks the second anniversary of the 8.31 Prince Edward Attack by the police in 2019. As Hong Kong is under the tight grip of authoritarian control, there are no large scale memorial activities planned.
Overseas Hongkongers told their fellow Hongkongers that they have not forgotten this date.
In UK on August 29, 2021, the group "Nottingham Stands With Hong Kong" presented a large-scale silent skit titled "We Are the Chosen One", recreating scene after scene of heart-rending moments from the 2019 Anti-ELAB protests.
Participants posted photos and videos of the skit on Facebook, noting that "there are things that can't be done in Hong Kong now. We understand. So leave it to us overseas people."
The group explained that they wanted to preserve the memory of the events; however, it was even more important that the international community knows what happened in Hong Kong. "It doesn't matter if you're in Hong Kong or overseas. As long as you're a true Hongkonger, our hearts will be connected, and we'll remember what we promised to each other. See you under the Pot!"
Video from Nottingham Stands With Hong Kong: https://www.facebook.com/NottsStandsWithHK/posts/585861336158559
Source: Stand News; 移英日記 facebook #Aug29
https://www.thestandnews.com/international/ab%E7%B4%80%E5%BF%B5-831-%E5%85%A9%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4-%E5%9C%A8%E8%8B%B1%E6%B8%AF%E4%BA%BA%E8%88%89%E8%BE%A6%E9%BB%98%E5%8A%87%E8%A8%98%E4%BD%8F%E6%AD%B7%E5%8F%B2
#CollectiveMemory #831PrinceEdward #StandWithHongKong
#Performance #Remembrance
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Independent English bookshop in Hong Kong Closes as Owner Leaves the City
Source: Stand News #Aug29
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Source: Stand News #Aug29
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Independent English bookshop in Hong Kong Closes as Owner Leaves the City
In Hong Kong, the independent English bookshop, Bleak House Books (清明堂) will be closed in mid-October, 2021. The co-founder Albert King-ho Wan announced on Sunday, August 29, 2021.
Wan and his family will be leaving Hong Kong in the near future. Wan wrote in the blog of the bookstore, "the backdrop to these developments is, of course, politics".
Albert Wan was born in the 1970s in the United States and grew up there until he moved back to Hong Kong with his family in 2016. Previously a lawyer, Albert Wan started #BleakHouseBooks in early 2018 in San Po Kong, Kowloon.
Bleak House Books mainly sells vintage English books and comics and has become popular among readers over time. The bookshop also held talks for readers to exchange reflections.
Albert Wan said that the bookshop will be closed on October 15, 2021. Wan explained that his family’s daily lives are not overtly political, "but as George Orwell once remarked, in our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics. All issues are political issues."
The closure is a decision made with great sadness, said Wan. He added that given the state of politics in Hong Kong, "My wife and I can no longer see a life for ourselves and our children in this city, at least in the near future."
Source: Stand News #Aug29
https://thestandnews.page.link/NBKUcSdHhuqu6u527
More at:
https://blog.bleakhousebooks.com.hk/the-last-memo/
#NationSecurityLaw #emigration #MigrationWave #BookStore #Lawyer #AlbertWan
In Hong Kong, the independent English bookshop, Bleak House Books (清明堂) will be closed in mid-October, 2021. The co-founder Albert King-ho Wan announced on Sunday, August 29, 2021.
Wan and his family will be leaving Hong Kong in the near future. Wan wrote in the blog of the bookstore, "the backdrop to these developments is, of course, politics".
Albert Wan was born in the 1970s in the United States and grew up there until he moved back to Hong Kong with his family in 2016. Previously a lawyer, Albert Wan started #BleakHouseBooks in early 2018 in San Po Kong, Kowloon.
Bleak House Books mainly sells vintage English books and comics and has become popular among readers over time. The bookshop also held talks for readers to exchange reflections.
Albert Wan said that the bookshop will be closed on October 15, 2021. Wan explained that his family’s daily lives are not overtly political, "but as George Orwell once remarked, in our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics. All issues are political issues."
The closure is a decision made with great sadness, said Wan. He added that given the state of politics in Hong Kong, "My wife and I can no longer see a life for ourselves and our children in this city, at least in the near future."
Source: Stand News #Aug29
https://thestandnews.page.link/NBKUcSdHhuqu6u527
More at:
https://blog.bleakhousebooks.com.hk/the-last-memo/
#NationSecurityLaw #emigration #MigrationWave #BookStore #Lawyer #AlbertWan
立場新聞 Stand News
獨立英文書店清明堂將結業 店主：因政治原因舉家離港 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞
香港碩果僅存的獨立英文書店清明堂（Bleak House Books）今日宣布將於 10 月中結業。店主溫敬豪...
Shanghai University has claimed the college to report LGBT student list, including their political perspectives and psychological condition
Source: Stand News #Aug29
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Source: Stand News #Aug29
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Shanghai University has claimed the college to report LGBT student list, including their political perspectives and psychological condition
Recently the sex niche in mainland universities and colleges has been repeatedly suppressed. After the LGBT student WeChat groups in multiple universities have been deactivated, the Shanghai University has announced to claim all colleges report LGBT student list with their information like political perspectives for “school investigation”. Some LGBT groups concerned, sex niche students will be continually supressed, the law scholars questioned the relevant investigation may illegal.
In the recent days there was an online internal document from Shanghai University, which showed the school is using reason of “school investigation” to claim, “colleges have to reflect all information of LGBT student”.
That form claims to report the gender and education background of LGBT student, but also claim to report their state of mind and psychological condition, including political position, study and research, daily life, interpersonal relationship, life plan, health condition, bad condition, mental disorder, and illnesses.
Source: Stand News #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3jSHgTf
#Shanghai #University #LGBT #Politics #Psychology #Suppression #WeChat #Investigation #HumanRights #Liberty
Recently the sex niche in mainland universities and colleges has been repeatedly suppressed. After the LGBT student WeChat groups in multiple universities have been deactivated, the Shanghai University has announced to claim all colleges report LGBT student list with their information like political perspectives for “school investigation”. Some LGBT groups concerned, sex niche students will be continually supressed, the law scholars questioned the relevant investigation may illegal.
In the recent days there was an online internal document from Shanghai University, which showed the school is using reason of “school investigation” to claim, “colleges have to reflect all information of LGBT student”.
That form claims to report the gender and education background of LGBT student, but also claim to report their state of mind and psychological condition, including political position, study and research, daily life, interpersonal relationship, life plan, health condition, bad condition, mental disorder, and illnesses.
Source: Stand News #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3jSHgTf
#Shanghai #University #LGBT #Politics #Psychology #Suppression #WeChat #Investigation #HumanRights #Liberty
A year being in the US before returning, Bao Choy: Do my best to HK with my strength
Source: Inmedia #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO
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Source: Inmedia #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO
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A year being in the US before returning, Bao Choy: Do my best to HK with my strength
Bao Choy, the director of TV programme Hong Kong Connection at RTHK, was told that she made false statement on Vehicle Registration in one of the episodes. She was convicted at a magistrate's court last year and was charged HKD6000.
Bao Choy applied for an appeal to the High Court. She indicated after the trial that searching for Vehicle Registration involves public right to know; but followed by her accusation, many news agencies no longer allow their journalist to search in the registration list. She hoped to do her best for the freedom of the press.
Choy received a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University last year and had studied for a year from last August. It is to investigate the independence, the future development and the survival of news agency.
She recently returned to Hong Kong. She answered, "Hong Kong is my home, where I love. I hope to do something for Hong Kong with my reachable power" when she was asked for the reason of returning.
She will wait for the judge to decide her case with peace in mind while she is not suitable to comment. "To do what I can do." The appeal not only is for her individual case but also involves public right to know, to let the court decide whether the registration aligns with Hong Kong legal spirit.
She believes the original judge has an extremely narrow interpretation to the law. The registration record has been very useful and valuable to the public interest for the past decades, including high officials getting vehicles before taking over the seat.
From her knowledge, the majority of the news agencies has stopped their journalists from searching the registration, having a negative impact to the industries. She hopes she can do something for the freedom of press with the case.
Source: Inmedia #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO
#BaoChoy #ChoyYukLing #RTHK #HongKongConnection #FreedomofPress #PublicRighttoKnow #July21WhohastheTruth
Bao Choy, the director of TV programme Hong Kong Connection at RTHK, was told that she made false statement on Vehicle Registration in one of the episodes. She was convicted at a magistrate's court last year and was charged HKD6000.
Bao Choy applied for an appeal to the High Court. She indicated after the trial that searching for Vehicle Registration involves public right to know; but followed by her accusation, many news agencies no longer allow their journalist to search in the registration list. She hoped to do her best for the freedom of the press.
Choy received a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University last year and had studied for a year from last August. It is to investigate the independence, the future development and the survival of news agency.
She recently returned to Hong Kong. She answered, "Hong Kong is my home, where I love. I hope to do something for Hong Kong with my reachable power" when she was asked for the reason of returning.
She will wait for the judge to decide her case with peace in mind while she is not suitable to comment. "To do what I can do." The appeal not only is for her individual case but also involves public right to know, to let the court decide whether the registration aligns with Hong Kong legal spirit.
She believes the original judge has an extremely narrow interpretation to the law. The registration record has been very useful and valuable to the public interest for the past decades, including high officials getting vehicles before taking over the seat.
From her knowledge, the majority of the news agencies has stopped their journalists from searching the registration, having a negative impact to the industries. She hopes she can do something for the freedom of press with the case.
Source: Inmedia #Aug29
https://bit.ly/3ByG4vO
#BaoChoy #ChoyYukLing #RTHK #HongKongConnection #FreedomofPress #PublicRighttoKnow #July21WhohastheTruth