[Text/Observer Network Columnist Song Luzheng]
Saturday, May 9, 2020 It turns to heavy rain
unblocked the second day to the last day!
went to the supermarket for the first time since the city was closed. The reason why I dare to take risks is that after more than fifty days of lockdown, the epidemic is now slowing down. In fact, it is the safest time in France, but it will not be safe after the lockdown is unsecured. Second, the online shopping level is still too low, either it is out of stock or exceeds the amount of delivery per day. There is no stock when there is a quota, and there is no stock when there is a quota.
The author took
I haven't been to the supermarket for dozens of days, and there have been great changes. All cash registers have transparent protective covers, employees are wearing masks, and even membership cards are scanned with machines. There is no shortage of things in the supermarket, which still reflects France's strength. In addition to the obvious rise in prices of fruits and vegetables, the others are also stable. Most customers wear masks and line up when paying, unlike in the past when people choose counters at will.
The author took the Chinese supermarket near
because it is relatively small, so the flow of people is restricted. The boss and his wife wore masks to collect payments, and the child controlled the traffic at the door, and one came out and the other went in. Seeing the family working hard, they were moved and proud of the Chinese. Chinese are diligent, rational, and have a sense of risk in the future. Not only is the performance of this epidemic amazing - no Chinese in Italy, where the epidemic is the worst, is infected! The same was true during the economic crisis in 2008: locals were all swept out of the house after going bankrupt, and Chinese were safe and sound. The secular nature and practical rationality of Chinese civilization are really invincible.
I went to another larger supermarket in the afternoon. There are not many people wearing masks on the road, only 10%. Most of the people queuing at the entrance of the bakery do not wear masks. The bakery is very small and there is no safe distance at all. After you arrive at the supermarket, you will line up to go in because everyone needs to wash their hands with disinfectant after entering. There are relatively more people in supermarkets wearing masks, but I estimate that it is only 30%. I found it difficult to maintain a safe distance when checking out.
Obviously, France faces two major problems with the release of the cover: First, everyone is still unwilling to wear masks. Second, it is still very difficult to maintain a safe distance, whether in school or in the subway. Even if there is a logo, it is still difficult to operate, especially with national character like France.
The author took
seems to verify my judgment. Today, the media reported that Dordogne, which is listed as a "green area", found at least 9 cases of new coronavirus infection after a recent funeral event. There are serious violations in the funeral: The current number of funerals is limited to less than 20 people, but dozens of people attended the funeral and family gathering, some from Portugal and Switzerland. This clustered transmission is the most terrifying. What will happen if France is unblocked?
The French poll on Thursday also showed that 72% of the people believed that the second wave of the epidemic would lead to another lockdown. Fortunately, the infected person tracking system was passed last night, and it will be activated next Tuesday. Let’s see the effect of the application. In addition, Congress has also passed a health emergency extension order. Interestingly, the first reading was passed by a vote.
These two times today, out of caution, I filled out the electronic version of the way out. But there was no policeman at all. It is said that the police are a group with special training and special discipline requirements, but they are so careless in performing such important tasks.
For a long time, people have accused Chinese people of being careless and not doing things in detail. But the fact is that except for Japan and Germany, most countries cannot compare with China. This epidemic is a living example. China will deal with matters based on priorities, rather than the same standard for everything. This is more like a normal human. As far as the epidemic is concerned, the quality of China's national quality is not as high as that of the second country. You may still remember that a large number of British tourists went to Spain to take vacations in the worst-hit area, and you should also remember Easter. Although the border is closed, French tourists still ran to Spain for vacation. Young people in Germany and the United States hold selfish COVID-19 parties. This is completely impossible in China. The United States accused China of taking measures too late and Chinese tourists infected the world.Of course, the accusations of the United States do not conform to the facts. More importantly, look at the UK and France. No matter how serious the epidemic is and the borders are closed, aren’t they still running around?
But it's funny, French scholars' own research results show that this lockdown shows the unusual maturity of the French nation: 55% of the people only go out once a week or a month. After the lockdown, two-thirds of chronic patients did not go to the hospital again. No wonder the West is so afraid of China to set standards. Ha ha.
Although Europe and the United States were unwilling to lock down the city in the early stage, they were eager to unblock the city later, because of two extremes. The United States is extremely pragmatic, which is the economy. Therefore, politicians have repeatedly called for the sacrifice of the elderly and sacrifice their lives for the economy. Nowadays, many states clearly cannot meet the federal unblocking standards, but they still try their best to unblock them. The Associated Press analysis pointed out that at least 17 states began to restart business activities without fully meeting the conditions set by the government.
Europe also has economic factors, but the reason it comes up with more values: freedom is supreme, and the value of European civilization cannot be sacrificed because of the virus. However, China is quite moderate: life is the first, economy is the second, and values are the third. The final result is that on the one hand, as much life as possible is saved, and on the other hand, the economy can fully recover, the losses are minimal. In addition, the global outbreak of the epidemic has caused the demand for medical supplies, and economic losses are reduced as much as possible. It also highlights China's values. I also said in my previous diary that humans invent systems or values for better development. Institutions and values are not goals, but tools for realizing human ideals. Now the West is indeed putting the cart before the horse.
Italy shocked the world twice today. First, several Italian team members revealed that they were infected at the Wuhan Military Games held in October last year, and once again supported the French team members' statements, and also "slapped" the French Ministry of Defense's refusal to admit.
Italian fencing athlete and former Olympic champion Matteo Tagliariol said in an interview with the Italian Evening Post (Corriere della Sera) that he developed typical symptoms of COVID-19 during the Wuhan Military Games and after returning to Italy. "When people started talking about this (new coronavirus), I realized that I was infected at that time. These symptoms of my life were consistent with the symptoms of the new coronavirus." "After arriving in Wuhan, we were all sick," Talia Rior said. "All six people in my apartment were sick, and so were many athletes from other delegations." After returning to Italy, his condition became even worse. "I started to have a high fever and couldn't breathe. It was useless to take antibiotics. I was sick for three weeks and was very weak. After that, my two-year-old son Leo also fell ill. He also coughed for three weeks, and my partner was also sick, but her symptoms were milder."
The reason why the infection at the 7th Wuhan Military Games is important is that there are many outsiders who question the performance of the United States in the Military Games and suspect that the United States is related to the new coronavirus. The United States won only three silver medals and five bronze medals at the Wuhan Military Games, ranking 35th among the 66 participating countries, all lagging behind Namibia and Tunisia in Africa. Of course, except for the first military games, the United States has not performed well in other sessions, and has only one or two gold medals in recent sessions.
And a very important point is that the US delegation's residence is close to the seafood market where the epidemic first occurred. During the sports meeting, five American players were hospitalized for malaria - this is also quite strange. Neither China nor the United States is a high-risk area for malaria, and the US military's protection level is world-class. Even if they go to high-risk areas, they will take preventive measures. The players selected for international competitions are well protected. How can they get malaria? And there are five people!
However, the symptoms of malaria and the new coronavirus are indeed very different, which is why although many people are talking about it, there is no "true". However, under the treacherous international situation and the lack of mutual trust in international relations, various speculations and doubts are inevitable.Not only China speculates, but also Japan, an allies in the United States, also has other aspects related to the epidemic: Japan's Asahi TV station issued an astonishing speculation on February 21, that is, "some of the 14,000 patients in the United States who died of influenza last year may die of COVID-19."
Now that so many players from countries believe that they are infected with the new coronavirus, the United States should take the initiative to take measures to find answers and accept questions from the outside world calmly. This is not only for the United States itself, but also for the health of all mankind. Now all countries are exploring the origin of the virus, and the United States must shoulder its own responsibilities.
At present, we can only say that China was the first to detect the new coronavirus. No one knows when this virus appeared in human society and which country it was the first to appear. France judged that there was a new coronavirus patient on November 16 based solely on lung CT. A US mayor claimed that he thought he had influenza in November last year (the flu test was negative), but this time he found antibodies to the new coronavirus. As mayor, he had an opportunity to have an examination once a year, and he took the initiative to ask for antibody tests to discover it. These times were earlier than the first case discovered in Wuhan on December 8.
Another thing that shocked the world in Italy is that Milan, an economic city, has gradually been lifted since the 4th. After the lockdown began, people gathered arbitrarily in ignoring the risk of infection. Many of them did not wear masks or maintained social distance. Milan is the capital of the Lombardy region in northern Italy, which is the region with the worst epidemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Italy - accounting for nearly 40% of the total confirmed cases in the country, and the cumulative deaths account for half of the country. Massimo Galli, director of the Department of Infection at the well-known Shake Hospital in Milan, pointed out that after the lockdown measures were relaxed, "a lot of infected people were walking around again." Infectious disease scientists warn that Milan is like an irregular time bomb and may have another outbreak of the epidemic.
Italy is the microcosm of the entire West at present. China has agreed to forget the pain after healing the scar. The Western wound has not yet been scarred, so it has forgotten it. Is it because the West is counting on summer or vaccines to fight the epidemic?
Today, I will continue to share with you my research on French politics. Yesterday I talked about how the former French president handled his own private affairs and his family during his tenure, and today I focus on how he exercised public power.
On July 1, 2014, Sarkozy was detained and questioned by the Anti-Corruption Office of the National Judicial Police Headquarters. This is the first time that a former president has been detained by the police for suspected illegal activities since the Fifth Republic of France was announced in 1958. On July 2, Sarkozy officially began to undergo judicial investigations due to suspected of exploring judicial secrets and corruption.
The accusations Sarkozy were all related to political donations during the campaign. First, it received illegal political donations from Liliana Betungu, the richest woman in France and the female heir to L'Oreal Group. Second, according to the French arms dealer Ziad Takieddine, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provided Sarkozy with £40 million in cash for the 2007 general election between December 2006 and January 2007, and the huge donation was whitewashed through Panama and Swiss accounts.
Another charge for him is to interfere with the judiciary. Telephone surveillance conducted by two judges responsible for the source of Sarkozy's campaign funding case in 2007 showed that there was a network of informants dedicated to Sarkozy's service in the state's police and judiciary; it also showed that Sarkozy and his close friends used "inside" practices to obtain information that could threaten his case. So Sarkozy is very familiar with the trial process of the case. The French judicial department also discovered that Sarkozy had used his influence to send his lawyer to meet with a judge, suspected of obstructing judicial justice. For this reason, his lawyers and two senior judges of the Supreme Court were also prosecuted in a judicial investigation suspected of obstructing judicial justice.
Sakocchi's case has several highlights: First, it seriously violates the system. For such electoral democracy in the West, it is the rule of the game that it is not allowed to illegally accept political donations. If everyone violates it, the democratic system will no longer exist. Just like the reason why the Watergate Incident was serious back then was the same.Is a president violating the system? Is it the president who is bold and despises the rules, or is there something wrong with the system itself?
It should be said that this is by no means Sarkozy's case. Former French Prime Minister Baladier was also investigated for campaign funding issues. However, he was suspected of joining forces with the then Defense Minister Leota to distribute kickbacks for the sale of arms to the outside world and illegally misappropriate the secret office expenses of the Prime Minister's Office in the presidential election. Due to arms kickbacks, the attacks in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002 killed 11 French people. The judge believes the incident may be a retaliatory measure surrounding the back-scenes kickbacks in arms deals. This incident is suspected to have uncovered the dark side of France's domestic politics.
The second is to interfere with the judiciary. One of the core foundations of Western democracy’s self-recognition is judicial independence. However, as the president who defends the values of the republic, he openly engages in the act of bribing judges and interfering in the judiciary. The president can intervene and apply it, the governor can do it, the mayor can do it, and the speaker can do it. Anyone with power can do it. So, how can France claim to be judicial independence?
Third, the time point of this event occurs is very intriguing and easy to make people associate. Since the second half of 2013, Sarkozy has made a high-profile appearance to build momentum for his reappearance. Just at this time, Sarkozy was detained, and the scene of him being taken away by the police shocked French society. There is no doubt that regardless of whether he was finally convicted, his political image was seriously damaged, and even if his political career did not end, it would be hindered.
corresponds to the cruel political struggle, which is the stingy allegiance and flattery of subordinates to their superiors. Lagarde, who served as president of the International Monetary Fund and is now the president of the European Central Bank, was nominated and recommended by Sarkozy. As a result, the loyalty she wrote to Sarkozy when she was minister was unexpectedly exposed, which gave the world a dark side to understand the inside story of politics under democratic systems. Here is a quote:
"Dear Nicholas, I will briefly and respectfully state some points to you: 1. I will serve you and serve France. 2. I will do my best. Please forgive me when I fail periodically. 3. I personally have no political ambitions. Recently, some people around you who express your sincerity to you are not lasting, and I have no intention of becoming such a slave ambition woman. 4. You can enable me when it is suitable for you, actions that suit you, and appearances for me. 5. If you enable me, I will treat you as a mentor or supporter. Without a guide, I will work ineffectively; without support, I may lose credibility. I admire your Christina L (the first capital letter of the Lagarde surname) infinitely." After the letters of
were disclosed, French society was in an uproar, and many netizens sighed: "I have heard of corruption in the political world before, but such a low level of corruption is unimaginable."
Seeing French politics often reminds people of a famous saying in Britain, the birthplace of modern democratic systems: "Politics is possible except turning a rooster into a hen." It's a true portrayal of democratic politics.
Finally, we need to say that although France is declining, it is still a world power after all. The former president of a big country was detained, which was considered a shocking thing, and there were also bloody "highlights" like Gaddafi. Unexpectedly, just one day later, it disappeared in the Western media.
After staying in the West for a long time, they find that they have a mature approach when promoting themselves and attacking third countries or ideologies that they believe are threatening. For example, they repeatedly promote and raise a problem that arises from the other party. Since there have been great famines in both the Soviet Union and China's history, the West claims that such things have never happened in democratic countries (presumably they have forgotten the Great Famine in Ireland under the leadership of Britain).But they will never propaganda that democratic countries will never engage in racial discrimination and apartheid, democratic countries will never engage in external colonization, democratic countries will never launch wars to export opium, democratic countries will never ignore the opposition of the United Nations and use force against a sovereign state, democratic countries will never overthrow an elected government and support a military dictatorship, the West will never support a fascist country, and will also give it Marshall aid and let it join NATO.
Finally, I share with you a "highlights" involving three European countries: 200,000 fabric masks were stolen in Spain on the way from Portugal to Paris, which was of course theft by the custodian: the transport driver committed a crime in the highway service area. In the past, transportation was carried by police and military police, but the details of this time are still unknown. During this epidemic, governments from Europe and the United States competed to seize masks, and many incidents of mask theft occurred in society, and several hospitals in France were stolen. The epidemic has given us more knowledge about the West today.
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