Tweet
2005 - Boxun Reports Out of China
(Originally posted in August 2005)
For the most part, I believe Boxun reports (The reports that come out of China) are very reasonable even though they are frightening.
There were the first reports on the catastrophy at Qinghai Lakes. What happened there was so dramatic that people may record time from now on is as BQ and AQ (Before Qinghai and After Qinghai)
Before Qinghai in April of this year, H5N1 was a bird flu like so many others. It could kill a few strains of birds and had no effect on others. A few humans in close contact to the infected birds could catch the virus and about half of those that did, died. In four years, less than half a hundred were recorded as having died. There are other bird flu strains and they have killed people, too. No big deal, unless you or somebody you love is the one who died.
After Qinghai, almost all birds came down with H5N1 (ducks, geese and swans previously did not seem to be victims, but THEY WERE at Qinghai). Add to that, cattle, pigs, dogs, cats, mice, fish, people and who knows what else!
From there it spread out to the northwest, killing everything in its path as it swept into half a dozen villages. At that point it showed itself as a vicious hemorrhagic fever that ate the internal organs of its victims and sometimes left splotches of bleeding under the skin or open sores on the skin. People started saying that it appeared to be a cross between Ebola and Flu (Flubola).
This frightening information was reported in Boxun. The Chinese military was called out and they isolated the area, and culled the people, animals and any trace of the villages. Boxun reported on that, too!
The Red Chinese leadership thought they had it under control, but it spread to Sichuan Province (Southeast from Qinghai) and villages were infected. Cattle and pigs as well as domestic fowl started dying. Now, there were a dozen villages infected. The military was called out and isolated those villages. No IN and no OUT was allowed. The villagers started rioting. Again reported in Boxun.
The military snuffed it out and culled the people and animals again. Those 12 villages disappeared! Satellite photos should confirm this. I have been told that the proof is there we just need to get current photos to compare to photos from a year ago, but the photos have been made nonavailable.
Again, the Red Chinese thought they had eliminated the problem only to find that pigs started dying in other villages in Sichuan. Not only the pigs were dying, but the cattle, and goats and sheep and chickens. The military secured most of Sichuan Province, but that was too many people to cull, so they decided to start feeding the media false information.
They said that there was a "Streptococcus Suis" infection that was sweeping that region in china. Strep-Suis is a bacterial infection that rarely kills people, but anybody who touched raw pork (butchers) risked dying within hours. At this time, I decided that this varient of Bird Flu needed to be called something other than Strep-Suis (SS), so I started calling it Sichuan Sheet (SS -- Because of the obvious see through aspect of the coverup in Sichuan--You can see through a thin Sheet.)
Since then, Sichuan Sheet has slowly spread all across China regardless of how many military controlled zones they established. China has admitted to a few cases, but the reality is that thousands of Chinese have had this virulent strain of H5N1, and it is killing many of them. Since the Chinese have consistently refused to release the sequences of this killing machine we are at a loss to devise preventative measures. We can't even develop an effective vaccine!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All of the below reports were translated by "Peterpan" on the Agonist board shortly after the Sichuan outbreak. My special thanks to the work done by "Peterpan." As you will be able to see, there was a coverup of the casualties, the actions and the nature of the illness in Sichuan. It was transparent to the Chinese, and thinly veiled to the Western World. Hence the name Sichuan Sheet. Since Sichuan Sheet is a Hemorrhagic Fever, it was initially misdiagnosed as Ebola. You'll see that in some of the translations.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Re:Boxun: Casualty Surpasses 700?
June 28, 2005, 11:39:46 pm ?
hi, i've been following this message boards for quite some time. chinese is my 2nd language, with english as my first. it's a bit rusty as i hardly speak it, but here's my take on what it actually translates to.
pre-amble/editor's note: the qinghai fracas has already caught the world's attention and close scrutiny. (hence, possibly that's why the WHO was allowed in recently). however, as yet, there is no 3rd party (independent) verification. boxun.com has not way to verify the reports.
para 1: Although the 9 people who reported the previous Qinghai story/article have since been secretly arrested, reports from the region continue to emerge. From these new reports, authorities have set up, or possibly have in existence, a contingency fund. this fund is being used to compensate the dead families to the tune of approximately 80,000 renminbi per fatality. This is a large sum and the editor approximates it to the amount that 1 person there would earn in 60 years.
para 2: Although previous reports suggest the death toll to be more than 100 people, evidence based on the compensation paid out by the government which has topped 60 billion renminbi so far, suggests that the number of fatalities has reached 700, & possibly 750. Strict control of the fund by federal/state authorities means that the actual number of fatalities may, in fact, be higher, as there may be other cases whose claims were not approved. In addition, authorities have warned recipients and other residents in the areas to remain silent about the deaths. Otherwise, they have been threatened to have their compensation revoked, or forcibly deported to other areas.
para 3: The region is rural and population density is low. Hence, it is likely that entire families may be wiped out without the knowledge of anyone else, rendering claiming of compensation impossible. Official word from surrounding districts which had rumors of bird flu incidence such as Xinjiang, Tibet, NingXia, Inner Mongolia, ShanXi & ChangXi, has not been forthcoming. The only news out of those region has been from internet message boards and emails.
para 4: Population dispersal and lack of population data renders data collection and establishment of case numbers and fatalities difficult. Owing to lack of information on the eligibility of claims for the compensation fund, the exact number of cases is unknown. However, it is of the opinion of the editor that the previous reported of more than 100 cases should be a outdated and a gross under-estimate of the number of cases now.
__________________
Re:Boxun : The Qinghai birds and beasts flu continues to proliferate, the domest
July 20, 2005, 09:39:33 pm ?
My mandarin-as-second-language translation, hopefully it's not too inaccurate.
The excerpt below was extracted from a message board (i think it's message board). However, it was erased or deleted on the afternoon of 20th July.
"Hey, are we going to war? Something's not right. I can see many armoured vehicles and soldiers with guns on the road. I can ever hear planes in the air. Rumor has it that they're from Yushu (i believe that this's a location, but i'm not sure which) Can someone please clarify what's happening?"
"They're over here too. I can see hundreds of troops, many of whom are in full battle order. I'm from Yushu"
"I'm from Chengdu. Are you from the region where the bird flu was found?"
"I'm seeing the same thing here too, in LaSuTung (translation, i think it's a mongolian city). I've never seen so many planes in my entire life."
"It must be related to the bird flu."
"I thought "it" (the bird flu) was from the Qinghai region? It's here now? That's really fast."
"We'd better keep a low profile. My parents are asking me not to venture out. I can see troops in full battle order grabbing people. But I'm not sure why so."
"You're right, I can see troops and planes too."
"It must be our comrades getting ready to attack Japan."
"It's such a mess here. We can't even sort nourselves out, what nonsense about Japan. This must be measures to deal with the bird flu."
(2-3 irrelevant posts cursing the japanese in general)
"Hey, I can see troops in "white suits" and planes flying at low altitudes. If you can see them too, can you please acknowledge?"
(5 posts agree)
"I see people being snatched out of their houses"
(curses & swears at everything and anything in particular - Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaopeng and the Bird Flu included)
"Let's see - YuShu, ChengDu, LaSuTung, Jie-Wu (and other locations which i can't read) all inaccessible for the next few days? What the hell?"
"The troops are finally here. They're walking through the village (or town), checking the houses. I should be fine since I don't breed any birds."
"It's ridiculous to think that they can drag people off the streets just because of the bird flu."
"I hear that they're snatching people whose names are on a printed namelist. They're only checking the houses of those in their vicinities."
"Hu Jing Tao & Wen Jia Bao have already said that to eliminate the bird flu, we must start by getting rid of the human cases. Only via ridding the human cases can transmission be stopped."
"I'm going to turn vegan from today onwards."
Note from Boxun: The locality of the above places are Northwest of Qinghai.
__________________
:Boxun: Mainland China popular internal heat birds and beasts flu
July 20, 2005, 11:53:29 pm ?
In the first half of 2005, a Mr. Zhou from ShenZhen released information about the Ebola outbreak to the rest of the world. (I believe this information must have dried up recently and its absence prompting Boxun to initiate its investigations as follows)
Following our (Boxun) investigations, such as monitoring troop movements and open source surveillance, Mr Zhou and his 5 other colleagues who broke the Ebola story have since been dealth with (implying removed or imprisoned). They were extracted (out of their homes or offices, I believe) from Guangzhou, Shantou & ____jiang. On 28th June, they were "dealth with" in Fujian, thus bringing an end to the ShenZhen Ebola fracas.
The full name of Mr. Zhou is Zhou Zheng Bei. His ethicity is that of LingDun (unsure about this). In his early years, he lived in Canton and was involved in the textiles manufacturing undustry. Subsequently, he went into a PLA-linked company. He moonlighted privately and dabbled in electrical goods, pharmaceuticals and the oil trading industries.
In early 2005, he became alarmed by the Ebola situation and stopped his private business ventures. Instead, using materials obtained by his brother, they decided to notify the world about the Ebola outbreak. Following this, they received substantial media attention.
In June 2005, Mr Zhou met a foreign client in his capacity as representative of the PLA-linked company. Their conversation digressed into biological weapons. Upon his return, he was captured and brought to Fujian. He has been uncontactable since. This is similar to the 5 other people, all of whom remain uncontactable and untraceable.
The Ebola outbreak in Shenzhen though small initially, did spread and cause fatalities. This led authorities to condede that there was an outbreak. Currently, the PLA is safekeeping Ebola viral samples in its labs.
__________________
Boxun: The official arrest birds and beasts flu patient initiates the disturb
July 22, 2005, 10:59:14 am ?
my guess on the translation. some of it is guesstimate, so forgive the incoherence and potential errors. once again, chinese isn't my first language and this is really rather high level-ish.
Riots Reported Due to the Capture / Arrest of the Bird Flu Patients, the Army Strengthens its Hold Over the New Outbreak Zones
[Disclaimer by Boxun stating that information is not independently verified]
According to a news report by BBS (they call this a "location", that's a literal translation. i think it's actually a website.) on the morning of 22nd July, the bird flu is still spreading. This (the spread) has caused serious disturbances in a YuShu farm to the Northwest of Qinghai. Based on information from forums / message boards, it is understood that on the 12th July, this farm / farming area was discovered to have many people afflicted with acute pneumonia (i'm not sure if it's via identification of symptoms or was it actually lab confirmed). Following this, authorities entered the area and isolated the patients. Their whereabouts are unknown. They also forcibly inspected surrounding areas and isolated those with "abnormal respiratory problems". On 18th July, the decision was made to close / quarantine the area. This was aimed at preventing / restricting the movement of people in and out of the area. This led the residents to "lose control of themselves" and revolt against the authorities, leading to many casualties. To prevent a chain reaction linked to the Tibetan question (this is a guess, nomads / Tibetans are the words alluded here), on the 20th, the PLA sent in huge numbers of re-inforcements to quell the uprising. At the moment, the extent of the disturbances there is unclear as the area still remains under martial law.
The following is the extract of the forum / message board taken by Boxun.
Title: Something's Happening
[Description / Moderator's Comments, possibly] (i'm guessing what that was. but the text should go along the following lines)
I finally understand why. Over here in the farming area, there are people rioting and they've inflicted casualties on the troops. That farming area is the same one that has been quarantined. I hear the disturbances were huge, and that's why re-inforcements have been sent.
"Does anyone know what happened at that farm."
"Received / Affirmative" (Irrelevant / error i think)
"Fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting over a bunch of birds!"
"The farm - nothing was mentioned about it. Just closed for no good reason, ostensibly for 'lessons' ('lessons' is my take, google translates it as exams, if so, it might fit, but i believe that the literal meaning is that of lessons)"
"We'd better ignore it. There's nothing to see. The other forum has already said that it's because of the fighting between the Tibetans / nomads and the doctors. The troops have been sent to suppress the disturbances. The farming area (actually, i think farming community might be a better word) has not been quarantined because of lessons, but rather its been isolated because of the bird flu. The investigators there are in fact linked to the arrests that had been made previously."
__________________
Ziyang Sichuan Translation
July 24, 2005, 09:36:40 pm ?
Virus in Ziyan SiChuan Suspected to be EB-SZ77 Strain of Ebola
[This was copied and pasted directly by Boxun, Boxun is unable to verify the authencity of this article]
The viurs currently circulating in ZiYang SiCuhan is thought to be a strain of Ebola. However, both authorities and the press have been prohibited from alluding it to be so. Even the use of the word "Ebola" has been banned.
Although minimal information has been released, many Chinese believe that the virus circulating in SiChuan is the EB-SZ77 strain of Ebola that first emerged in ShenZhen between 19 - 27 May this year. However, what is puzzling is that this strain has evolved very rapidly - it can now be transmitted by 3rd party, unlike the other strains which are only bloodborne.
According to authorities, initial symptoms observed included high fever, weakness, vomitting and the patient was noted to have a "disgusting" disposition. Subsequently, they were seen to bleed from under the skin and to go into shock.
These symptoms are consistent among all patients. They also had a common history of slaughtering pigs and sheep. They also appeared to have a direct contact with blood, a unique characteristic for Ebola transmission.
As for the bleeding under the skin and convulsions, these are the symptoms exhibited when Ebola spreads in one's body. Although there have been many strains of Ebola in China, some with unique characteristics, most of them are largely similar. Hence, there is cause to believe that the virus in Ziyang is the EB-SZ77 (suggesting that it is very different from the other strains). This strain is known to be transmitted among animals, but it not had a history of infecting pigs and sheep. If this is taken to be true, it will be indicative of another shift in the evolution of the virus.
Upon death, the bodies were observed to blacken. This could be related to the evolution of the virus in relation to the environment it is circulating in. Based on information of patients available on the internet, many of them had dark purple patches, which would not tally with the official accounts of them turning black. However, literature and information available freely is insufficient and unclear to explain for this difference.
In their final report, Chinese authorities problably will not cite Ebola to be the virus, but instead, come up with another name. Until now, SiChuan has yet to report the Ebola virus. If so,m it would be indicative of the spread of the virus to the Northwestern region of China.
__________________
Translation - "birds and beasts flu disturbance is suppressed
July 24, 2005, 11:41:12 pm ?
Apologies for errors and incoherence.
Believe this is a follow-up post to the earlier report on the rebellion by farmers in response to quarantine orders imposed on them and troops seizing them forcibly.
Rioting in YuShu Farming Community Suppressed, Troops Leaving Area
[Boxun's disclaimer that they are unable to verify the authencity of the information]
According to the BBS (BBS, incidentally, stands for Bulletin Board Service) from Qinghai, riot troops sent in to quell the YuShu riots departed the area on 24th July. These troops were sent in the previous week in response to urgent requests for re-inforcements to quell the riots (following the bird flu outbreak) in the YuShu farming community. According to eyewitness reports, loud explosions, complete with fire and smoke, were observed in the surrounding area following their (troops) insertion.
Currently, the affected farming community is under martial law and is policed by local police. A quarantine has been imposed - banning movement of people in and out of the farming community. The casualty figures are yet to be known. However, it is believed that this is the first time since 1989 (Tiananmen) that the riot troops have been activated and deployed. Eyewitnesses said that the revolt started because the patients being seized by the troops were afraid of being buried alive. Hence, they seized a large quantity of arms from their guards, and took some doctors hostage. Skirmishes were reported with the advance party of a "special arms" unit of the local police (i'm guessing this is their SWAT). Villagers from neighouring communities also joined in, swelling their numbers and creating a largescale revolt. Afraid that this revolt would escalate and be complicated by the Tibetan issue, local authorities urgently requested for information by the PLA. That brought things under control and the unrest was suppressed.
That excerpt was extracted from Qinghai discussion boards and chatrooms.
The news report is inaccurate. Although some riot troops have withdrawn, most have yet to leave the area. The area is still in a state of martial law. The exact situation is unclear.
Boxun adds that part of the information is from reports by its readers in the area, hence, it is unable to verify its authencity.
But, it adds, troop movements in the area would corroborate with their accounts. However, it is unable to confirm the seriousness of the events.
__________________
Boxun : The Sichuan mystical disease 80 case of illness deaths increases to 1
July 25, 2005, 07:57:54 pm ?
Sichuan Outbreak: 80 Cases, 19 Fatalities.
Since June 2005, the city of Ziyang in Sichuan has been plagued by an outbreak of an unknown disease. The symptoms presented so far have had a rapid onset ("rapid" appears here, i'm not too sure). These symptoms include high fever, headaches, and a "poisoned" disposition throughout the body and weakness. Meningitis appears to be the primary diagnosis for most of the patients. / A majority of the cases presented with these symptoms, consistent with those of meningitis.
As of 25th July, 80 cases have been reported. 67 have been clinically diagnosed and 13 are suspected. 19 fatalities have been reported. 4 patients have been discharged. 17 patients are still hospitalized and are in critical condition. The virus is believed to have spread through Ziyang and 4 districts / counties in Neijiang. The patients have come from 40 towns / villages (higher echelon) and 75 sub villages (lower echelon).
Medical experts say that the human incubation period varies from hours to days, with the average being 2-3 days. Most of the cases are thought to be critically ill, with extremely severe onset of symptoms (appearance, i think, they look to be very ill), with around 50% of the cases have a poisoned / toxic appearance. (I think)
__________________
July 27, 2005, 10:43:12 pm ?
The officials involved in the Sichuan Outbreak have been forced into a corner, and are anxiously seeking a scapegoat.
The Sichuan outbreak has caused numerous cases and deaths. Yet, the Chinese authorities, instead of addressing the issue, are anxiously searching for scapegoats. The crazy political blame game has started.
1. Pushing the blame.
The current diagnosis of "Streptococcus suis" by the Chinese authorities appears to have calmed things down. Hence, with this, all news and work will be directed towards dealing with it - quarantining the area, searching for antibiotics etc. Even if it were discovered not to be the Streptococcus suis, the "new" disease can be explained by it being a mutation fo the Streptococcus suis. In other words, if the actual cause was not Streptococcus suis, it (Streptococcus suis) can and will still be used as a cover diagnosis. The reason being so is obvious. Using such a diagnosis will allow the government to push the blame of the outbreak on the people, more specifically, those dead. At the heart of this is the attempt to change people's view of the matter such that the government can be potrayed to be the metaphorical knight in shining armour. This will single-handedly captivate the public's attention. Nothing has been mentioned of the local Health Department's late diagnosis and treatment, lax handling of the issue, environmental and chemical pollution, corruption, illegal working overtime (?), protection of authorities (? covering up, i believe) etc. If the local government had handled the matter properly right from the start, the outbreak would not have exploded to such proportions. This is the reason why the blame is being pushed.
2. Ambigious news reports
Reports of the outbreak have been liberally sprinked with the word "maybe". Essentially, this is to serve the purpose of covering-up the issue. The only similarity among the varying reports / communiques issued by the different officials concerning the source, progress, diagnosis, analysis etc is the use of the words "possibly", "it may be possible", "suspected" etc. And these officials are mostly investigators sent into the area from Beijing. Also, many of the symptoms and developments, although barely related to Streptococcus suis, have been lumped in en masse. Even so, these reports are again filled with ambigious terms such as "possible" and "suspected". This is obviously an attempt at covering up the political fallout from the outbreak.
3. Making sense of the political forces at work
Considering the political and economic stakes at hand, the most important issue now is how to disseminate information adequately - to absolve the blame of the local government and ascertain possible scapegoats. It appears that questions are already being asked about this outbreak. If inadequately addressed, it is feared that local officials will be put in trouble. The Politburo has already offered local officials a way out. This solution seeks to lay the blame on the farmers, thus sparing local officials of the blame. It has even been bandied about that following the outbreak, their misdemanours be forgotten and they may even be promoted.
4. Urgent search for a scapegoat.
To blame such a huge outbreak on the environment, pests, human-to-human transmission or animal-to-human transmission would not satisfy the needs of the officials. Even if that should be the truth, officials would cite it as a secondary factor, instead, pushing the blame on someone wealthy and involved in this matter.
Doing so would allow his assets to be seized, relieve the political pressure and it would provide an explanation and a suitable conclusion to the entire affair and appease the people.
This period is the most dangerous for the people. Even if unrelated, statements they say may be mis-construed by the authorities. If the people are dis-obedient, they will be subjected to harsh recriminations. After all, withholding evidence and closing cases abruptly is a CCP specialty. In order to close the matter quickly, Chinese authorities need to rapidly identify a scapegoat, following which everything can be quickly settled. The longer this drags on,the greater the risk of leaks.
Thus, as long as there is a slight suspicion of any leaks, locals will be captured. However, those with the possibility of framing may be left behind. This is done in the hope of aiding the search for a scapegoat before attention switches to the government's dereliction.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/english/2005/07/20050725012 6.shtml
Mysterious
(July 25, 2005) On July 22, CCTV reported nine dead of mysterious disease in Ziyang, Sichuan Province. Report said there are 20 infected - nine death, six in critical situation.
According to CCTV, symptoms are fever, sick, vomit, extravasated blood under skin, shock. The none-official information said that the dead body are dark, victim's relative said there should be more than nine dead.
None-official source said that 15 villages of 12 towns have found the disease, it has ordered to deep bury dead pigs and goats. It is said that local hospital has been guarded.
One reader, who wrote to Boxun, said that it looks like Ebola (type EB-SZ77). In March 2005, Boxun and Dajiyuan reported Shenzhen has Ebola incident, but it was denied by Shenzhen government (Xinhua, March 28, 2005).
Latest news from Xinhua (July 24, BJ time), there are 17 dead, 12 in critical situation, 58 infected, by noon of July 23. 49 villages have people infected i.e. 1-2 persons in one village. <!-- Signature -->
For the most part, I believe Boxun reports (The reports that come out of China) are very reasonable even though they are frightening.
There were the first reports on the catastrophy at Qinghai Lakes. What happened there was so dramatic that people may record time from now on is as BQ and AQ (Before Qinghai and After Qinghai)
Before Qinghai in April of this year, H5N1 was a bird flu like so many others. It could kill a few strains of birds and had no effect on others. A few humans in close contact to the infected birds could catch the virus and about half of those that did, died. In four years, less than half a hundred were recorded as having died. There are other bird flu strains and they have killed people, too. No big deal, unless you or somebody you love is the one who died.
After Qinghai, almost all birds came down with H5N1 (ducks, geese and swans previously did not seem to be victims, but THEY WERE at Qinghai). Add to that, cattle, pigs, dogs, cats, mice, fish, people and who knows what else!
From there it spread out to the northwest, killing everything in its path as it swept into half a dozen villages. At that point it showed itself as a vicious hemorrhagic fever that ate the internal organs of its victims and sometimes left splotches of bleeding under the skin or open sores on the skin. People started saying that it appeared to be a cross between Ebola and Flu (Flubola).
This frightening information was reported in Boxun. The Chinese military was called out and they isolated the area, and culled the people, animals and any trace of the villages. Boxun reported on that, too!
The Red Chinese leadership thought they had it under control, but it spread to Sichuan Province (Southeast from Qinghai) and villages were infected. Cattle and pigs as well as domestic fowl started dying. Now, there were a dozen villages infected. The military was called out and isolated those villages. No IN and no OUT was allowed. The villagers started rioting. Again reported in Boxun.
The military snuffed it out and culled the people and animals again. Those 12 villages disappeared! Satellite photos should confirm this. I have been told that the proof is there we just need to get current photos to compare to photos from a year ago, but the photos have been made nonavailable.
Again, the Red Chinese thought they had eliminated the problem only to find that pigs started dying in other villages in Sichuan. Not only the pigs were dying, but the cattle, and goats and sheep and chickens. The military secured most of Sichuan Province, but that was too many people to cull, so they decided to start feeding the media false information.
They said that there was a "Streptococcus Suis" infection that was sweeping that region in china. Strep-Suis is a bacterial infection that rarely kills people, but anybody who touched raw pork (butchers) risked dying within hours. At this time, I decided that this varient of Bird Flu needed to be called something other than Strep-Suis (SS), so I started calling it Sichuan Sheet (SS -- Because of the obvious see through aspect of the coverup in Sichuan--You can see through a thin Sheet.)
Since then, Sichuan Sheet has slowly spread all across China regardless of how many military controlled zones they established. China has admitted to a few cases, but the reality is that thousands of Chinese have had this virulent strain of H5N1, and it is killing many of them. Since the Chinese have consistently refused to release the sequences of this killing machine we are at a loss to devise preventative measures. We can't even develop an effective vaccine!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All of the below reports were translated by "Peterpan" on the Agonist board shortly after the Sichuan outbreak. My special thanks to the work done by "Peterpan." As you will be able to see, there was a coverup of the casualties, the actions and the nature of the illness in Sichuan. It was transparent to the Chinese, and thinly veiled to the Western World. Hence the name Sichuan Sheet. Since Sichuan Sheet is a Hemorrhagic Fever, it was initially misdiagnosed as Ebola. You'll see that in some of the translations.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Re:Boxun: Casualty Surpasses 700?
June 28, 2005, 11:39:46 pm ?
hi, i've been following this message boards for quite some time. chinese is my 2nd language, with english as my first. it's a bit rusty as i hardly speak it, but here's my take on what it actually translates to.
pre-amble/editor's note: the qinghai fracas has already caught the world's attention and close scrutiny. (hence, possibly that's why the WHO was allowed in recently). however, as yet, there is no 3rd party (independent) verification. boxun.com has not way to verify the reports.
para 1: Although the 9 people who reported the previous Qinghai story/article have since been secretly arrested, reports from the region continue to emerge. From these new reports, authorities have set up, or possibly have in existence, a contingency fund. this fund is being used to compensate the dead families to the tune of approximately 80,000 renminbi per fatality. This is a large sum and the editor approximates it to the amount that 1 person there would earn in 60 years.
para 2: Although previous reports suggest the death toll to be more than 100 people, evidence based on the compensation paid out by the government which has topped 60 billion renminbi so far, suggests that the number of fatalities has reached 700, & possibly 750. Strict control of the fund by federal/state authorities means that the actual number of fatalities may, in fact, be higher, as there may be other cases whose claims were not approved. In addition, authorities have warned recipients and other residents in the areas to remain silent about the deaths. Otherwise, they have been threatened to have their compensation revoked, or forcibly deported to other areas.
para 3: The region is rural and population density is low. Hence, it is likely that entire families may be wiped out without the knowledge of anyone else, rendering claiming of compensation impossible. Official word from surrounding districts which had rumors of bird flu incidence such as Xinjiang, Tibet, NingXia, Inner Mongolia, ShanXi & ChangXi, has not been forthcoming. The only news out of those region has been from internet message boards and emails.
para 4: Population dispersal and lack of population data renders data collection and establishment of case numbers and fatalities difficult. Owing to lack of information on the eligibility of claims for the compensation fund, the exact number of cases is unknown. However, it is of the opinion of the editor that the previous reported of more than 100 cases should be a outdated and a gross under-estimate of the number of cases now.
__________________
Re:Boxun : The Qinghai birds and beasts flu continues to proliferate, the domest
July 20, 2005, 09:39:33 pm ?
My mandarin-as-second-language translation, hopefully it's not too inaccurate.
The excerpt below was extracted from a message board (i think it's message board). However, it was erased or deleted on the afternoon of 20th July.
"Hey, are we going to war? Something's not right. I can see many armoured vehicles and soldiers with guns on the road. I can ever hear planes in the air. Rumor has it that they're from Yushu (i believe that this's a location, but i'm not sure which) Can someone please clarify what's happening?"
"They're over here too. I can see hundreds of troops, many of whom are in full battle order. I'm from Yushu"
"I'm from Chengdu. Are you from the region where the bird flu was found?"
"I'm seeing the same thing here too, in LaSuTung (translation, i think it's a mongolian city). I've never seen so many planes in my entire life."
"It must be related to the bird flu."
"I thought "it" (the bird flu) was from the Qinghai region? It's here now? That's really fast."
"We'd better keep a low profile. My parents are asking me not to venture out. I can see troops in full battle order grabbing people. But I'm not sure why so."
"You're right, I can see troops and planes too."
"It must be our comrades getting ready to attack Japan."
"It's such a mess here. We can't even sort nourselves out, what nonsense about Japan. This must be measures to deal with the bird flu."
(2-3 irrelevant posts cursing the japanese in general)
"Hey, I can see troops in "white suits" and planes flying at low altitudes. If you can see them too, can you please acknowledge?"
(5 posts agree)
"I see people being snatched out of their houses"
(curses & swears at everything and anything in particular - Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaopeng and the Bird Flu included)
"Let's see - YuShu, ChengDu, LaSuTung, Jie-Wu (and other locations which i can't read) all inaccessible for the next few days? What the hell?"
"The troops are finally here. They're walking through the village (or town), checking the houses. I should be fine since I don't breed any birds."
"It's ridiculous to think that they can drag people off the streets just because of the bird flu."
"I hear that they're snatching people whose names are on a printed namelist. They're only checking the houses of those in their vicinities."
"Hu Jing Tao & Wen Jia Bao have already said that to eliminate the bird flu, we must start by getting rid of the human cases. Only via ridding the human cases can transmission be stopped."
"I'm going to turn vegan from today onwards."
Note from Boxun: The locality of the above places are Northwest of Qinghai.
__________________
:Boxun: Mainland China popular internal heat birds and beasts flu
July 20, 2005, 11:53:29 pm ?
In the first half of 2005, a Mr. Zhou from ShenZhen released information about the Ebola outbreak to the rest of the world. (I believe this information must have dried up recently and its absence prompting Boxun to initiate its investigations as follows)
Following our (Boxun) investigations, such as monitoring troop movements and open source surveillance, Mr Zhou and his 5 other colleagues who broke the Ebola story have since been dealth with (implying removed or imprisoned). They were extracted (out of their homes or offices, I believe) from Guangzhou, Shantou & ____jiang. On 28th June, they were "dealth with" in Fujian, thus bringing an end to the ShenZhen Ebola fracas.
The full name of Mr. Zhou is Zhou Zheng Bei. His ethicity is that of LingDun (unsure about this). In his early years, he lived in Canton and was involved in the textiles manufacturing undustry. Subsequently, he went into a PLA-linked company. He moonlighted privately and dabbled in electrical goods, pharmaceuticals and the oil trading industries.
In early 2005, he became alarmed by the Ebola situation and stopped his private business ventures. Instead, using materials obtained by his brother, they decided to notify the world about the Ebola outbreak. Following this, they received substantial media attention.
In June 2005, Mr Zhou met a foreign client in his capacity as representative of the PLA-linked company. Their conversation digressed into biological weapons. Upon his return, he was captured and brought to Fujian. He has been uncontactable since. This is similar to the 5 other people, all of whom remain uncontactable and untraceable.
The Ebola outbreak in Shenzhen though small initially, did spread and cause fatalities. This led authorities to condede that there was an outbreak. Currently, the PLA is safekeeping Ebola viral samples in its labs.
__________________
Boxun: The official arrest birds and beasts flu patient initiates the disturb
July 22, 2005, 10:59:14 am ?
my guess on the translation. some of it is guesstimate, so forgive the incoherence and potential errors. once again, chinese isn't my first language and this is really rather high level-ish.
Riots Reported Due to the Capture / Arrest of the Bird Flu Patients, the Army Strengthens its Hold Over the New Outbreak Zones
[Disclaimer by Boxun stating that information is not independently verified]
According to a news report by BBS (they call this a "location", that's a literal translation. i think it's actually a website.) on the morning of 22nd July, the bird flu is still spreading. This (the spread) has caused serious disturbances in a YuShu farm to the Northwest of Qinghai. Based on information from forums / message boards, it is understood that on the 12th July, this farm / farming area was discovered to have many people afflicted with acute pneumonia (i'm not sure if it's via identification of symptoms or was it actually lab confirmed). Following this, authorities entered the area and isolated the patients. Their whereabouts are unknown. They also forcibly inspected surrounding areas and isolated those with "abnormal respiratory problems". On 18th July, the decision was made to close / quarantine the area. This was aimed at preventing / restricting the movement of people in and out of the area. This led the residents to "lose control of themselves" and revolt against the authorities, leading to many casualties. To prevent a chain reaction linked to the Tibetan question (this is a guess, nomads / Tibetans are the words alluded here), on the 20th, the PLA sent in huge numbers of re-inforcements to quell the uprising. At the moment, the extent of the disturbances there is unclear as the area still remains under martial law.
The following is the extract of the forum / message board taken by Boxun.
Title: Something's Happening
[Description / Moderator's Comments, possibly] (i'm guessing what that was. but the text should go along the following lines)
I finally understand why. Over here in the farming area, there are people rioting and they've inflicted casualties on the troops. That farming area is the same one that has been quarantined. I hear the disturbances were huge, and that's why re-inforcements have been sent.
"Does anyone know what happened at that farm."
"Received / Affirmative" (Irrelevant / error i think)
"Fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting over a bunch of birds!"
"The farm - nothing was mentioned about it. Just closed for no good reason, ostensibly for 'lessons' ('lessons' is my take, google translates it as exams, if so, it might fit, but i believe that the literal meaning is that of lessons)"
"We'd better ignore it. There's nothing to see. The other forum has already said that it's because of the fighting between the Tibetans / nomads and the doctors. The troops have been sent to suppress the disturbances. The farming area (actually, i think farming community might be a better word) has not been quarantined because of lessons, but rather its been isolated because of the bird flu. The investigators there are in fact linked to the arrests that had been made previously."
__________________
Ziyang Sichuan Translation
July 24, 2005, 09:36:40 pm ?
Virus in Ziyan SiChuan Suspected to be EB-SZ77 Strain of Ebola
[This was copied and pasted directly by Boxun, Boxun is unable to verify the authencity of this article]
The viurs currently circulating in ZiYang SiCuhan is thought to be a strain of Ebola. However, both authorities and the press have been prohibited from alluding it to be so. Even the use of the word "Ebola" has been banned.
Although minimal information has been released, many Chinese believe that the virus circulating in SiChuan is the EB-SZ77 strain of Ebola that first emerged in ShenZhen between 19 - 27 May this year. However, what is puzzling is that this strain has evolved very rapidly - it can now be transmitted by 3rd party, unlike the other strains which are only bloodborne.
According to authorities, initial symptoms observed included high fever, weakness, vomitting and the patient was noted to have a "disgusting" disposition. Subsequently, they were seen to bleed from under the skin and to go into shock.
These symptoms are consistent among all patients. They also had a common history of slaughtering pigs and sheep. They also appeared to have a direct contact with blood, a unique characteristic for Ebola transmission.
As for the bleeding under the skin and convulsions, these are the symptoms exhibited when Ebola spreads in one's body. Although there have been many strains of Ebola in China, some with unique characteristics, most of them are largely similar. Hence, there is cause to believe that the virus in Ziyang is the EB-SZ77 (suggesting that it is very different from the other strains). This strain is known to be transmitted among animals, but it not had a history of infecting pigs and sheep. If this is taken to be true, it will be indicative of another shift in the evolution of the virus.
Upon death, the bodies were observed to blacken. This could be related to the evolution of the virus in relation to the environment it is circulating in. Based on information of patients available on the internet, many of them had dark purple patches, which would not tally with the official accounts of them turning black. However, literature and information available freely is insufficient and unclear to explain for this difference.
In their final report, Chinese authorities problably will not cite Ebola to be the virus, but instead, come up with another name. Until now, SiChuan has yet to report the Ebola virus. If so,m it would be indicative of the spread of the virus to the Northwestern region of China.
__________________
Translation - "birds and beasts flu disturbance is suppressed
July 24, 2005, 11:41:12 pm ?
Apologies for errors and incoherence.
Believe this is a follow-up post to the earlier report on the rebellion by farmers in response to quarantine orders imposed on them and troops seizing them forcibly.
Rioting in YuShu Farming Community Suppressed, Troops Leaving Area
[Boxun's disclaimer that they are unable to verify the authencity of the information]
According to the BBS (BBS, incidentally, stands for Bulletin Board Service) from Qinghai, riot troops sent in to quell the YuShu riots departed the area on 24th July. These troops were sent in the previous week in response to urgent requests for re-inforcements to quell the riots (following the bird flu outbreak) in the YuShu farming community. According to eyewitness reports, loud explosions, complete with fire and smoke, were observed in the surrounding area following their (troops) insertion.
Currently, the affected farming community is under martial law and is policed by local police. A quarantine has been imposed - banning movement of people in and out of the farming community. The casualty figures are yet to be known. However, it is believed that this is the first time since 1989 (Tiananmen) that the riot troops have been activated and deployed. Eyewitnesses said that the revolt started because the patients being seized by the troops were afraid of being buried alive. Hence, they seized a large quantity of arms from their guards, and took some doctors hostage. Skirmishes were reported with the advance party of a "special arms" unit of the local police (i'm guessing this is their SWAT). Villagers from neighouring communities also joined in, swelling their numbers and creating a largescale revolt. Afraid that this revolt would escalate and be complicated by the Tibetan issue, local authorities urgently requested for information by the PLA. That brought things under control and the unrest was suppressed.
That excerpt was extracted from Qinghai discussion boards and chatrooms.
The news report is inaccurate. Although some riot troops have withdrawn, most have yet to leave the area. The area is still in a state of martial law. The exact situation is unclear.
Boxun adds that part of the information is from reports by its readers in the area, hence, it is unable to verify its authencity.
But, it adds, troop movements in the area would corroborate with their accounts. However, it is unable to confirm the seriousness of the events.
__________________
Boxun : The Sichuan mystical disease 80 case of illness deaths increases to 1
July 25, 2005, 07:57:54 pm ?
Sichuan Outbreak: 80 Cases, 19 Fatalities.
Since June 2005, the city of Ziyang in Sichuan has been plagued by an outbreak of an unknown disease. The symptoms presented so far have had a rapid onset ("rapid" appears here, i'm not too sure). These symptoms include high fever, headaches, and a "poisoned" disposition throughout the body and weakness. Meningitis appears to be the primary diagnosis for most of the patients. / A majority of the cases presented with these symptoms, consistent with those of meningitis.
As of 25th July, 80 cases have been reported. 67 have been clinically diagnosed and 13 are suspected. 19 fatalities have been reported. 4 patients have been discharged. 17 patients are still hospitalized and are in critical condition. The virus is believed to have spread through Ziyang and 4 districts / counties in Neijiang. The patients have come from 40 towns / villages (higher echelon) and 75 sub villages (lower echelon).
Medical experts say that the human incubation period varies from hours to days, with the average being 2-3 days. Most of the cases are thought to be critically ill, with extremely severe onset of symptoms (appearance, i think, they look to be very ill), with around 50% of the cases have a poisoned / toxic appearance. (I think)
__________________
July 27, 2005, 10:43:12 pm ?
The officials involved in the Sichuan Outbreak have been forced into a corner, and are anxiously seeking a scapegoat.
The Sichuan outbreak has caused numerous cases and deaths. Yet, the Chinese authorities, instead of addressing the issue, are anxiously searching for scapegoats. The crazy political blame game has started.
1. Pushing the blame.
The current diagnosis of "Streptococcus suis" by the Chinese authorities appears to have calmed things down. Hence, with this, all news and work will be directed towards dealing with it - quarantining the area, searching for antibiotics etc. Even if it were discovered not to be the Streptococcus suis, the "new" disease can be explained by it being a mutation fo the Streptococcus suis. In other words, if the actual cause was not Streptococcus suis, it (Streptococcus suis) can and will still be used as a cover diagnosis. The reason being so is obvious. Using such a diagnosis will allow the government to push the blame of the outbreak on the people, more specifically, those dead. At the heart of this is the attempt to change people's view of the matter such that the government can be potrayed to be the metaphorical knight in shining armour. This will single-handedly captivate the public's attention. Nothing has been mentioned of the local Health Department's late diagnosis and treatment, lax handling of the issue, environmental and chemical pollution, corruption, illegal working overtime (?), protection of authorities (? covering up, i believe) etc. If the local government had handled the matter properly right from the start, the outbreak would not have exploded to such proportions. This is the reason why the blame is being pushed.
2. Ambigious news reports
Reports of the outbreak have been liberally sprinked with the word "maybe". Essentially, this is to serve the purpose of covering-up the issue. The only similarity among the varying reports / communiques issued by the different officials concerning the source, progress, diagnosis, analysis etc is the use of the words "possibly", "it may be possible", "suspected" etc. And these officials are mostly investigators sent into the area from Beijing. Also, many of the symptoms and developments, although barely related to Streptococcus suis, have been lumped in en masse. Even so, these reports are again filled with ambigious terms such as "possible" and "suspected". This is obviously an attempt at covering up the political fallout from the outbreak.
3. Making sense of the political forces at work
Considering the political and economic stakes at hand, the most important issue now is how to disseminate information adequately - to absolve the blame of the local government and ascertain possible scapegoats. It appears that questions are already being asked about this outbreak. If inadequately addressed, it is feared that local officials will be put in trouble. The Politburo has already offered local officials a way out. This solution seeks to lay the blame on the farmers, thus sparing local officials of the blame. It has even been bandied about that following the outbreak, their misdemanours be forgotten and they may even be promoted.
4. Urgent search for a scapegoat.
To blame such a huge outbreak on the environment, pests, human-to-human transmission or animal-to-human transmission would not satisfy the needs of the officials. Even if that should be the truth, officials would cite it as a secondary factor, instead, pushing the blame on someone wealthy and involved in this matter.
Doing so would allow his assets to be seized, relieve the political pressure and it would provide an explanation and a suitable conclusion to the entire affair and appease the people.
This period is the most dangerous for the people. Even if unrelated, statements they say may be mis-construed by the authorities. If the people are dis-obedient, they will be subjected to harsh recriminations. After all, withholding evidence and closing cases abruptly is a CCP specialty. In order to close the matter quickly, Chinese authorities need to rapidly identify a scapegoat, following which everything can be quickly settled. The longer this drags on,the greater the risk of leaks.
Thus, as long as there is a slight suspicion of any leaks, locals will be captured. However, those with the possibility of framing may be left behind. This is done in the hope of aiding the search for a scapegoat before attention switches to the government's dereliction.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/english/2005/07/20050725012 6.shtml
Mysterious
(July 25, 2005) On July 22, CCTV reported nine dead of mysterious disease in Ziyang, Sichuan Province. Report said there are 20 infected - nine death, six in critical situation.
According to CCTV, symptoms are fever, sick, vomit, extravasated blood under skin, shock. The none-official information said that the dead body are dark, victim's relative said there should be more than nine dead.
None-official source said that 15 villages of 12 towns have found the disease, it has ordered to deep bury dead pigs and goats. It is said that local hospital has been guarded.
One reader, who wrote to Boxun, said that it looks like Ebola (type EB-SZ77). In March 2005, Boxun and Dajiyuan reported Shenzhen has Ebola incident, but it was denied by Shenzhen government (Xinhua, March 28, 2005).
Latest news from Xinhua (July 24, BJ time), there are 17 dead, 12 in critical situation, 58 infected, by noon of July 23. 49 villages have people infected i.e. 1-2 persons in one village. <!-- Signature -->
Comment