Dear All,
The epidemic in Wuhan has affected the mood of each and every one of us as it lingers in our mind. If hardships do awaken a nation as the saying goes, it must happen in the wake of the people of the nation. We must question, reflect, and take action on the heart-wrenching events that have already occurred, which relies on our comprehensive and objective knowledge of the facts.
There has been so much information presented to us since the outbreak that we can comment fervently on a random piece of trendy events without serious reflection. But we would suffer a great deal from biases and misinformation if we ignore the chain reactions behind each event. To facilitate serious and balanced reflection, Citizen Power Initiatives for China (CPIFC) has catalogued and classified the news and information about the epidemic. After a week of efforts, CPIFC has produced a timeline report (in Chinese) on the epidemic that covers the period from December 1st, 2019 to February 9th, 2020. The report contains the daily record for epidemic development and global countermeasure strategies. We sincerely hope it provides a panoramic index and guide for analyzing the development of the epidemic.
Without backtracking the information, we would not have discovered that the Chinese government updated the U.S. about the epidemic daily since January 3rd. Only 3 days after January 3rd did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issue a Level 3 coronavirus alert that advised U.S. citizens avoid traveling to Wuhan. At the meantime, the Chinese government did not disclose any information about the epidemic to the local communities in Wuhan.
Without backtracking the information, we would not have known that CDC began implementing public health entry screening on travelers from Wuhan on January 17th. In the next day, more than 40,000 families dined together in Wuhan’s Baibuting community, which is confirmed later as one of the hardest hit areas in Wuhan. As January 18th (Lunar December 24th) is traditionally the Little New Year in southern China, it was at the height of people returning home, shopping, dining, and gathering, etc. However, no warning message was sent by the People’s Daily or local Wuhan media. The government thereby lost their last chance to control the epidemic.
Without backtracking the information, we would not have found that Wuhan Pneumonia Prevention and Control Headquarters published a propagandistic, mechanical and irresponsible announcement on the day Wuhan shut down. On January 23rd, the Headquarters published the No.2 Announcement, claiming that Wuhan people have “the cordial care coming from General Secretary Xi Jinping, the careful arrangements of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, as well as the support of people across the nation. At present, Wuhan has sufficient reserves of commodities, food, and medical protective equipments and will supply them smoothly in the future. Please do not panic, Wuhan citizens.” How ridiculous does it sound today! Why would the No.4 Announcement published on the next day urge everyone to donate money and supplies, if there were “care from Xi Jinping, adequate reserves, and smooth supply”?
The epidemic is still spreading with no signs that it would cease. Billions of people in China are suffering from the hardship. The death of Li Wenliang and many others are both the consequences of the coronavirus and the aftermaths of authoritarianism. We shall continue on seeking the truth, examining ourselves and those in power, speaking up and taking action, along with voicing concerns about the accountability of the government. If China remain unchanged after the disastrous epidemic, we would be a hopeless nation.
Dr. Wang Deyu is in charge of the whole project. Many people have joined our team to directly take part in editing and writing, including Yang Zili, Wu Pinghui, Daniel Gong, Amy Ma, Wang Kaiming, Dong Guo, Anna Yunpeng Chen, Li Yun, etc. Their effort is deeply appreciated. In addition, our team has referred to the thematic timeline and memorabilia produced by media, institutions and netizens. Thank you all for your effort, and please forgive me for not listing your names as references.
Due to the huge amount of information and the limitation of the human and material resources of our team, the timeline report would inevitably neglect or even mistake something. We apologize for this in advance. Please point out our mistakes without hesitation, if there is any. Citizen Power Initiatives for China hopes more friends would join us in our work. Anyone interested in volunteering at CPIC please contact me.
Here, on behalf of CPIC, I present to you Novel Coronavirus epidemic timeline report:
(It will be updated in real time, so stay tuned!)
Sincerely,
YANG JianliFounder and President of Citizen Power Initiatives for China