Updates on the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV):

(1)

The WHO and ICAO are still allowing Chinese nationals to dictate policy.  Why?

(2)

Philippine president and so-called “tough guy” Duterte has ordered the murders of 12,000 involved in the drug trade within the Philippines during his temporary hold on power.  And yet it only took one phone call from Xi Limping (an intentional spelling, as he limps from one crisis to another) for Duterte to start licking Xi’s boots, quivering in his own.

Duterte now tows Beijing’s line, referring to Taiwan as “part of China” and falsely inferring that people from Taiwan pose the same risk as those in the mass murdering dictatorship.  No one will be allowed to travel from Taiwan to the Philippines, whether Taiwanese national or foreigner.  There are still only 16 cases of nCoV in Taiwan, and no deaths, while the Philippines have nearly 400 (doubling since yesteday) and at least one confirmed death.

On the bright side, If it breaks out in the Philippines as it did in China, at least it won’t be Taiwan’s fault.

Taiwan hits out at China virus travel bans

Taiwan on Tuesday (Feb 11) hit out at countries that “confuse” it with China after the Philippines became the latest to impose a travel ban on the island over the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Despite its cultural links and close proximity to China, Taiwan moved swiftly against the outbreak and currently has just 18 confirmed cases of the new virus.

[…]

Late on Monday, the Philippines confirmed its current travel ban for China was being expanded to Taiwan under the so-called “one China” policy.

Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory – part of a “one China” – and has vowed to eventually take the island, by force if necessary.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday described that decision as “wrong and unilateral”.

“To confuse Taiwan with China has caused troubles for our side and in the international community,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou told reporters.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has worked in recent years to warm ties with China in search of trade and investment.

(3)

There are now over 1000 dead in China, 43000 infected.  Taiwan still has few infections and no deaths, because its government and medical system are acting professionally, unlike China’s which is becoming Stalinesque.

Two “senior officals” in Hubei province (read: party apparatchiks) were fired on Tuesday.  They were likely know-nothing hacks given the jobs as rewards, and firing them intended to give the perception that the government is in control. Unfortunately, they are being replaced by apparatchiks from Beijing, whose only ability to yell louder threats at doctors for not magically fingding a cure.

If Limping were smart, he would let doctors run the show.  But instead, like Stalin, Limping is blaming the generals for his own incompetence and corruption.

China fires two senior Hubei officials over coronavirus outbreak

China has fired two senior officials in Hubei, the highest-ranking yet to be sacked, as Beijing asserts its control after the deadly coronavirus outbreak – with local officials appearing to be bearing the blame.

State media said that Zhang Jin, the Communist party chief of the health commission in hardest-hit Hubei province, and Liu Yingzi, its director, were both fired. They will be replaced by a national-level official, Wang Hesheng, the deputy director of China’s national health commission.

The sackings come days after a wave of public anger aimed at the government after the death of a Wuhan doctor who was punished for trying to warn friends and colleagues about the new virus. Li Wenliang, who succumbed to the virus last week, has become a martyr for many and a lightning rod for criticism of the Chinese state’s instinct to suppress information.

Chinese authorities appear to be ramping up a campaign of punishing local officials for the epidemic, which has now claimed more than 1,000 lives.