The Socialist Experience in Chile (Part I): Three years before

To understand the great crisis that was generated in Chile in the early 1970s and that culminated with the military intervention led by General Augusto Pinochet and the suicide of Salvador Allende, it is necessary to know the facts that preceded this stage of our history.

In September 1973, Salvador Allende died. Three years before he was elected President of Chile, after four attempts.

In 1952 he suffered a wide defeat against Carlos Ibañez. In 1958 he almost succeeded and was barely 33,000 votes away from victory. In 1964 Eduardo Frei Montalva defeated him by 432,000 votes.

For this reason, in the 1970 campaign there were many skeptics, they distrusted the left itself, they were not sure if it would be able to win in another attempt to reach the presidency.

Finally, and on the condition that he govern together with the leaders of the popular unity parties, the left parties supported his candidacy. It would be a president without autonomy of command.

His opponents in 1970 were former president Jorge Alessandri, representing the right-wing sector, although he personally rejected being branded a rightist or conservative, preferring to be associated with efficiency and accuracy. In the campaign his austerity features would stand out, for fifteen years he lived alone in an old building near the Plaza de Armas in Santiago. What could play against him would be his advanced age, since he would enter La Moneda at 78 years old.

The other rival was Radomiro Tomic, standard-bearer of the Christian Democrats. His slogan was "not a step back" in the conquests achieved with Frei, President in those days. With two candidates as opposed as Alessandri and Allende, the electorate was polarizing. Tomic offered a program similar to Allende's although he warned that changes would be made in freedom and democracy.

Allende was a skillful candidate, he never presented himself as a Marxist, who if he succeeded would implant Marxism and the dictatorship of the proletariat. And the night of the triumph he would repeat: "My government will not be a communist, socialist, or radical government; it will be the government of the forces that make up the Popular Unity..."

Allende's program consisted of two parts, one was "The First 40 Measures." Forty promises offered to the people: Half a liter of milk for each child, schoolchildren would spend the summer at the presidential house in Viña del Mar, books and school supplies would be free, no one would pay in hospitals, homes that were not mansions would be exempt from contributions (house tax), all people over 60 years old would have retirement even if they did not have social security. History would show that many of these promises are difficult to fulfill, but the educational level of a large part of the Chileans of those times was quite precarious.

Other measures contemplated the nationalization of the large copper and iron mining companies, banks, the telephone company, foreign trade, and large monopolistic companies. He listed them as 45. But he warned: "All these expropriations will always be carried out with full protection of the small shareholder; we are not going to strip anyone."

Allende in the human sense: "In thirty-two years as a politician they have told me everything, except that I have stolen or that I am homosexual."

Allende and his relation with the Communist Party

Regarding the Communist Party being able to dominate it, its old disputes with the community were remembered. In 1948 he commented before the Senate that the Chilean socialists who recognized many of the achievements of Soviet Russia, rejected its political organization and many laws that restricted individual freedoms... In fact, since those times the Socialist Party had been leaning towards the extreme left.

The triumph of an Allende who declared himself a Marxist, but who affirmed that he would make a democratic government could be accepted by a rather tolerant Chilean.

The Diario Ilustrado (of a conservative tendency) published before the elections: "There is no doubt that we do not want for Chile what the Popular Front brought to Spain: burned temples, desecrated convents, raped nuns."

With this climate the presidential elections of September 4th, 1970 took place.

Allende triumphed at the polls with 1,075,616 votes (36.3%). Second was Jorge Alessandri with 1,036,278 votes (34.9%) and third, Tomic with 824,849 votes (27.8%).

Allende was the virtual winner although with a very narrow first relative majority. He beat Alessandri by just 39,000 votes (1.4%).

The result also revealed that almost 2/3 of the electorate rejected a Marxist alternative. Those who voted for Alessandri and Tomic (2 out of 3 Chileans) believed in democracy.

The electoral process had not yet finished, the Chilean Constitution established that the citizen who obtained half +1 of the votes was anointed as President-elect. Allende lacked a lot: 400,000 votes (15.2%).

When there is no such majority, the Constitution indicates the way: the full Congress (50 Senators and 150 deputies) will have to choose between the first two majorities. In this case, it had to be between Allende and Alessandri.

Both arrived before the full Congress on equal terms. The Christian Democrats during the electoral campaign had proposed creating the second round, as in France. In this way, the elected President would represent the great majorities. However, neither the supporters of Alessandri nor those of Allende accepted this initiative.

Jorge Alessandri Rodriguez - President of Chile (1958-1964)

Hence, the transcendental responsibility of settling the lawsuit remained with Congress.

There was a tradition that was very heavy for Chileans. Until then, the full Congress had always respected the first majority. Even during the campaign the three candidates repeated "whoever wins by one vote will be the president."

Now came the dramatic dilemma. Those who voted for Alessandri argued: it is true that this betrayal exists, but it was between democratic candidates; now it is to open the doors of La Moneda (government palace) to Marxism, being a minority.

In the full Congress Allende was also a minority. It had only 78 parliamentarians. Much less than half. If Allende expected to be President, he must necessarily knock on the doors of the Christian Democracy. This party with its 75 parliamentarians decided.

But the Popular Unity aroused misgivings. Allende was accompanied by some undesirable characters. Who could guarantee that the same thing that happened with Fidel Castro, who in Sierra Maestra proclaimed himself a democrat, catholic and devotee of the Virgin, would not happen to him?

In a dramatic meeting, the National Board of Christian Democracy agreed with its parliamentarians that they would give Allende a vote in full Congress, but provided that they accept compliance with 7 Statutes of Democratic Guarantees, which would be incorporated into the Constitution.

The full Congress elects Allende as President of Chile. Later, interviewed by journalist Regis Debray, Allende acknowledged that his acceptance of the guarantees had been only a tactic to reach the Government.

The 7 guarantees were:

- The Constitution ensured the free creation, existence and development of political parties

- Free access to the press, radio and television of all streams under equal conditions.

- It was constitutionally enshrined that the public force would be composed exclusively of the Armed Forces and Police, and that neither popular militias nor guards could be organized.

- The Armed Forces and Carabineros (Chilean police) would be professionalized, hierarchical, obedient and non-deliberative institutions. Full power was reserved to the Commanders in Chief for the appointment of their subordinates.

- In the Statute of Education it was proclaimed that it would be independent of any official ideological orientation.

- The constitutional guarantee that establishes the right to associate, through cooperatives or unions, and that the right to strike would be maintained.

- The constitutional guarantees of the right of assembly and personal freedom were modernized.

For the first time distrust was manifested towards who would be elected President of the Republic.

The full Congress finally elected Allende President of Chile with 2 thirds of the parliamentarians: 153 votes against 35 for Alessandri and 7 blank. This is how the Christian Democrats allowed Allende to reach the presidency of Chile.

* Information based mainly on the work by Hernan Millas and Emilio Filippi "Anatomy of a Failure".

Hernán Millas was born on May 5th, 1921, and studied Law for a year at the University of Chile, and later devoted himself to journalism. He worked as a reporter and columnist in the newspapers El Clarín and La Época, in the "Ercilla" and "Hoy" magazines, and on the Santiago radio. He also wrote several books. And in 1985 he received the National Prize for Journalism.

Emilio Filippi, University Professor received the National Journalism Award in 1972 with a mention in writing. He began his life in journalism in 1942 working for the newspaper "La voz de la columna" in Villa Alemana, of which he became its director. In 1965, he joined as Zig-Zag's newspaper publishing manager.

He was director of the magazine "Ercilla" between 1968 and 1976. He was the founder and director of the magazine “Hoy” and of the newspaper "La Época'' (1987), which he directed until 1993. Same year that he was ambassador of Chile in Portugal, appointed by President Patricio Aylwin.

Schindler´s List (1993)

Blog Rating: 9.45 out of 10

The film (released in 1993) tells the story of German businessman Oskar Schindler, who saved more than 1,100 Jews from death during World War II.

Schindler's list is known for its theme and for the brilliant roles played by Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.

The film directed by the great Steven Spielberg is the cornerstone of world cinematography. This masterpiece has won more than 70 awards, including 7 Oscars, 7 BAFTA and 3 Golden Globes.

Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler

This is the supreme work on Nazism and all the horrors of that era. The story is well known, but what attracts us is its staging in black and white -which serves to enhance its emotionality- sensitive music and pain-filled figures

In a few words, we will see the path of a skilled man who sees war as an opportunity for enrichment: Oskar Schindler. A German industrialist, interesting, with charm and a very sharp mind, who attracts the highest Nazi leaders on his side, to be left alone and run a business as he wishes.

Taking as an assistant an excellent accountant and director Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingley) plus the use of Jews as workers, for Schindler, war is an opportunity: The ability to make money buying friends.

Ben Kingsley as Itzhak Stern: "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire"

Another tasty character (much more bitter, but equally intriguing) is Amon Goeth (the exceptional Ralph Fiennes), sent by Hitler to clean the ghettos and open the camp. A handsome man, with crazy eyes and schizoid gestures, an insane alcoholic, who transforms crime into a pleasure that satisfies every day. The perfect moment for his description is after a passionate night with his lover, when he sits on the balcony and starts shooting prisoners from above, as if he were practicing a noble sport in which he is extremely skilled.

Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth

Schindler’s List is a brilliant film, with a strong humanistic message, with great acting, it is a pleasure to see the game between Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, in which he created one of the most powerful demonic images of a Nazi criminal.

The film has wonderful music, from beginning to end, creating a viscous atmosphere of hopelessness and loss of the meaning of life.

🎧 Listen to the film soundtrack on Spotify

Amon Goeth (Camp Commander) hunting Jewish prisoners from his balcony

Schindler's List, wrote the critic of the "New Yorker," is "the best dramatic, non-documentary film ever made about the Holocaust."

Director  : Steven Spielberg

Cast       : Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

Genre     : Drama

Duration : 195 minutes

Los Soprano (1999 - 2007)

Blog Rating: 9.60 out of 10

Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), one of the key positions in the New Jersey-based Italian-American organized crime group, passes out for no apparent reason at a family picnic. After being examined in a hospital, he took the advice of a friend and made an appointment with therapist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), who promises to do everything possible to reduce the risk of such panic attacks in the future.

Lorraine Bracco as Jennifer Melfi 

The difficulty lies in the fact that Tony cannot honestly tell psychologist how he makes a living... meanwhile the criminal life around him runs its course.

Carmela (Edie Falco), for her part, must be the faithful wife who accompanies him in difficult moments and stoically supports his adventures to maintain the family structure with her two adolescent children.

Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano

This series, very well set in the late 90s, describes how an Italian-American family develops in the environment of the mafia. At times very domestic stories intertwined with episodes of extortion, bribery and murders that generate very good dividends. With some reminiscences of The Godfather, which turns out to be the favorite movie of many of the members of the band.

It is incredible how despite all the crimes, infidelities and murders that are carried out with a certain frequency, one ends up becoming fond of each of the characters very well developed by the chosen cast.

And all thanks to the talent of the scriptwriters who develop the plot in such a way that the history of the clan keeps you expectant in the face of every twist or unpredictable circumstance.

The performance of the main roles is simply phenomenal, the setting and costumes are very well achieved, in a time without great technological advances.

Despite being filmed 20 years ago, its pace is agile and the plot keeps you very entertaining.

It definitely became one of my favorite series of all time. Totally recommendable

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 86

Genre: Crime, drama

Creator: David Chase

Writers: David Chase, Terence Winter, Mitchell Burgess

Stars: James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco

Awards: 5 Golden Globes and 113 other awards & 303 nominations.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in a dark attic of a building located in the city of Bonn (Germany), supposedly on December 16th, 1770. 

Music was not something alien in that home, where there was a piano, a father (Johann van Beethoven) who worked as tenor for a trusted man of Emperor Joseph II and his grandfather who had become an orchestra conductor at the court of Flanders.

Beethoven's house

Ludwig's mother, Maria Magdalena Keverich, widow of a court footman before marrying Johann, not only had to take care of her children and her husband, but also her own mother, with alcohol problems and psychic imbalances. Only an iron will of which Ludwig was heir, prevented his mother from bowing to his destiny.

Son of an impoverished family, at the age of 4, Ludwig was forced by his father to practice piano. In those years music was an occupation that with good luck could help them to eat.

Maria Magdalena Keverich (Beethoven's mother)

For some families, having a child prodigy was like a safe conduct to overcome misery. That is how at 8 years old, Ludwig first appeared in public as a pianist in Cologne. However, to make him more attractive, his father said he was only 6 years old. This is how Ludwig received a lot of applause at his first concert. At 9, Bonn already appreciated him as a very good organist.

In 1787, Beethoven obtained a scholarship, and with the assurance that his parents and siblings would not stop eating, he went to Vienna, the cradle of all European musicians. There, Amadeus Mozart listened to Beethoven play the piano and commented that "the young musician would give a lot to talk about."

Vienna city

However, a few weeks after being in the Austrian capital, he received news that his mother had become ill, and at just 17 years old, Beethoven was forced to return to Bonn to accompany her in her last moments and check how her father fell into the alcohol.

He then enrolled at the University of Bonn and became an inveterate reader. He was not only dedicated to classical literacy from Homer to Shakespeare, but to the themes of his time under the gaze of Goethe and Schiller.

University of Bonn

A special scholarship sent Beethoven back to Vienna to study with Franz Joseph Haydn. In 1796, a tour took him to Nuremberg, Prague, Dresden and Berlin where he dazzled the court of Frederick William II of Prussia, who was moved to tears when he heard his Sonatas for piano 1 and 2, opus 5.

The Viennese high society at the same time that celebrated him as a composer and pianist, they forgave his bad character and abrupt manners, which were usual theme in the meetings of the time. There was also a rumor circulating that on his return from Berlin, he had visited an ear specialist.

Franz Joseph Haydn

After several years of deceptive medical care with hopes of improvement whose healing could take years, today it is known that Beethoven's deafness was due to an otosclerosis, a disease that consists in the development of a porous bone inside the ear, easily curable in our days. The doctors at the time believed that the problem was due to a stomach condition that the musician had contracted in Bonn.

By 1803 Beethoven's influence had already reached maturity and splendor. This is how he developed in all its fullness the forms of musical classicism and at the same time connect it with a new sensibility that was spreading throughout Europe: the romanticism.

                               

In those silent years, his creation touched the genius. In 1824 in his Ninth Symphony, opus 25, called Coral, he reached the maximum transgression: to unite the human voice to the symphonic genre. And despite the pain and loneliness, he did it with Schiller Ode to Joy.

On December 1st, 1826, Beethoven became ill thinking it was a passing flu. But it was about dropsy so he had to undergo four operations to remove water from his belly; He suffered from liver cirrhosis.

Beethoven premiered his 9th Symphony on May 7th, 1824 in Vienna

On March 26th, 1827, at 17:45 hrs, Beethoven quoted Cesar Augusto: "Applaud friends, the comedy is over," was his way of saying goodbye. Around 20,000 people accompanied their remains in the city of Vienna.

Ludwig van Beethoven funeral

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Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau performs Ludwig van Beethoven's Concerto No. 5 for piano and orchestra (in E flat major - Op.73), in a free concert held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago de Chile.

With Victor Tevah conducting the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Chile.

This presentation was made in front of an audience of 5,000 people gathered inside the cathedral and another 6,000 people listening through special speakers installed outside the temple in the rain.

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This audiobook in Spanish narrates the life and work of this musical genius.

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An Ode to Joy - Beethoven 9th Symphony flashmob at Placa de Sant Roc. By Orquestra Simfonica del Valles. Sponsored by Banc de Sabadell (May 2012).

                     

The Chinese regime would hide the true number of COVID-19 cases

The Chinese Communist Party has deliberately masked the total number of COVID-19 cases in China in an attempt to safeguard its image both domestically and internationally, according to experts in China and according to evidence documented by The Epoch Times.

* The Epoch Times is the Spanish edition of the international newspaper Da Jiyuan or Epoch Times (its name in English). The Epoch Times is an independent voice expressed in print and online. With a network of local journalists worldwide, The Epoch Times is the most widely distributed independent newspaper in the world, with publications in 35 countries and 21 languages.

As more countries voiced anger and frustration at Beijing's failed handling of the virus, fueled by a powerful cover-up, half a dozen experts told The Epoch Times that the regime is undeniably reporting the cases of the virus, but what is under debate is to what extent they are reporting it.

Beijing itself publicly admitted that it concealed the number of people with the disease when it announced that it would start reporting cases of asymptomatic carriers on April 1st, revealing that it had not been doing so. The Chinese National Health Commission also acknowledged that asymptomatic carriers can infect others and cause outbreaks, which they had previously ruled out. 

John R. Mills, former director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy and International Affairs at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said the recent claims by the regime of no new case in China are "patently absurd" and added that in totalitarian bureaucracies "Everyone learns very quickly to stop reporting."

The regime is expelling China-based American journalists who work for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, highlighting the country's appalling record on press freedom. China is 177th out of 180 on the 2019 World Press Freedom Index for Reporters Without Borders.

"Bad things happen to people who report bad numbers," Mills said of China. “In these systems and forms of government, everyone learns that in order to survive, the norm is to lie. Everyone lies to everyone about everything, there is no truth. "

In the past three months, the number of Chinese cell phone users has dropped by 21 million, suggesting that deaths from the CCP virus may have been a factor. Since September 1st, 2010, China has required all cell phone users to register phones with their real identification.

In China's Shandong province alone, the new daily infection numbers were up to 52 times higher than data officially released by the Shandong Health Commission and the China National Health Commission. Information provided by Wuhan residents also indicates that the death toll there could be more than 32,000, which represents 12.7 times the official figure.

Mills said that while no government or leader can act perfectly in a complex and fast-moving situation like the current pandemic, which has forced more than 1.5 billion people worldwide to remain in their homes, the CCP is deliberately consistent in its obfuscation and lies. He added that there has been little or no good faith, cooperation or diligence in the CCP's search for truth.

The truth: The biggest obstacle

Yang Jianli, a Chinese dissident and the son of a former Communist Party leader who now heads the Citizen Power Initiatives for China, a pro-democracy NGO in the United States, said minimizing cases is crucial to Beijing's "broader goal of leadership and global domination ”.

"The truth about COVID-19 within China is the biggest obstacle to ambition [by Chinese leader Xi Jinping]," Yang told The Epoch Times. "As long as Xi is seen as successful, there is little room to challenge his rule.

However, if that assessment changed, it is not difficult to imagine spiteful party members and angry people; Independent intellectuals, dissidents, and ordinary people, try to unite in an effort to challenge him. ”

Yang agrees with UK advisers who say China's cases are likely to be downplayed by a factor of 15 to 40 and urged the international community to "hold the CCP accountable."

Scientific advisers warned the UK Prime Minister that official statistics on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus could be "downplayed by a factor of 15 to 40 times" and that Downing Street believes that Beijing is trying to exploit the pandemic for financial gain, as reported by The Mail on March 28th. The Epoch Times contacted press office Number 10, but a spokesman declined to comment.

Movie theaters in China slowly reopened with the CCP's permission, until last week, when authorities suddenly changed course and ordered all theaters to return to shutdown mode. Meanwhile, medical professionals in Spain and the Czech Republic reported that rapid tests for CCP viruses imported from China failed 70 to 80 percent of the time.

"The CCP, which for years has claimed to be a responsible member of the global community, once again showed its true nature when this crisis hit," said Yang. "If the CCP gets away with it, or worse, if it really wins worldwide applause for its actions, then no country will feel the need to be honest with the world if it is considered that being honest is politically disadvantageous."

Chinese officials and the state media have tried to blame the regime's failure to contain the virus by pushing conspiracy theories directed at the United States as part of an aggressive global disinformation campaign.

The CCP bots have been invading Twitter to defend the communist regime, attack the United States, and repeat propaganda along with Chinese officials. China's open influence accounts have published "more than 32,000 COVID-19 related posts on various western social media platforms," ​​according to a recent report by cybersecurity company Insikt Group.

Yang warned that if left unchecked, an emboldened CCP "will become more aggressive externally and repressive internally, having learned that it can deceive and intimidate the world into submission."

The Epoch Times has documented stories of some Chinese citizens, including whistleblowing doctors, citizen journalists, academics and businessmen, who have been silenced by the regime for exposing the truth.

Joseph Bosco, a former China desk official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told The Epoch Times that the regime is evading and repressing the truth about the virus, as most other things do, "to preserve the myth of the competence and infallibility of the CCP ”.

In the past few days, thousands of ash urns have been delivered to a funeral home in Wuhan, prompting questions about the true scale of the outbreak and its severity. Photos of the long lines circulated on Chinese social media before they were immediately removed by regime censors, The Epoch Times previously reported.

"It is clear that for Xi, political self-preservation is more important than the lives that can be saved, in China and around the world, through accurate media coverage," Yang added.

A totalitarian regime

Frank Gaffney, vice chairman of the Committee on Present Danger: China, told The Epoch Times that Beijing has done a masterful job of hiding the truth and deflecting blame.

"This is the kind of thing totalitarians do, and I think [China] will be considered an outcast when the general public, not just in China, but beyond, adequately understands the role the Chinese government has been playing and how large of the damage that has been caused worldwide as a result, ”he said.

Gaffney, who was undersecretary of defense for international security policy during the Reagan administration, said that anyone who believes that the CCP's claims in any area are "making a terrible mistake."

"It would be folly to trust the Chinese in anything, particularly when they lie about their statistics, whether it's the effects of the disease or, in other cases, the impact on their gross domestic product," he said. "I think everything they tell you should be treated with intense skepticism, if not utter disbelief."

A source in China told The Epoch Times in January that public health authorities were trying to cover up the severity of the virus by limiting the number of diagnostic kits sent to Wuhan hospitals.

The Epoch Times has also spoken to Chinese residents who complained of being rejected from hospitals and were undiagnosed. Many of these people later died as a result.

United States and China

The global pandemic has raised broader concerns about the United States' relationship with China.

"It certainly seems to me that a general reconsideration of the kind of engagement we have had with China up to this point is not only overdue but absolutely mandatory," Gaffney said. "I think more and more Americans feel that way."

Author and China expert Gordon Chang said the CCP is trying to "give the impression that China has recovered" as part of a deeper battle with the West. He believes that China is being hit by a second wave of infections or has never recovered from the first.

"They are relentlessly promoting the line that China's system is superior to that of the United States," Chang told The Epoch Times. "Furthermore, Beijing has launched into the attack by pushing the notion that the United States is in decline."

"Almost everyone in China knows that the coronavirus still plagues the country. And soon the rest of the world will know, too, ”Chang said. "The lies and falsehoods of the regime will not last long. The virus has the last word. "

Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, suggested in a March 31st briefing that the US response was slow due to flawed data from China.

"When you looked at the data from China originally... you start to think of this more like SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] than a global pandemic," he said.

"The medical community interpreted the Chinese data as if this was serious, but smaller than anyone expected," Birx said. "Because we were probably (...) missing a significant amount of data."

Source: La Gran Epoca 

The report that explains how the Chinese regime allowed the coronavirus to become a pandemic

A study by researchers at the University of Southampton suggests that the number of COVID-19 cases in that country may have dropped 86 percent if the first steps had been taken. Reporters Without Borders, meanwhile, explained how the process of silencing was to those who warned about the outbreak of the deadly flu.

The head of the Chinese regime, Xi Jinping, inspecting the coronavirus prevention and control
work in the Anhuali Community in Beijing. His government prevented the rapid communication
of the outbreak that was taking place in Wuhan. On the contrary, he censured and punished
those who spoke of a new virus (Reuters)

In a report released in the last hours, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RWB) shows how, without the control and censorship imposed by the authorities of the Chinese regime, the local media could have informed the citizenry -the main victim- much earlier on the severity of the coronavirus epidemic, thus saving thousands of lives and avoiding, perhaps, the current pandemic.

In an analysis published on March 13th, researchers from the University of Southampton suggest that the number of cases of COVID-19 in China could have been reduced by 86% if the first measures, taken on January 20th, had been implemented two weeks before. Based on what happened in the first days of the crisis, RWB highlights that, without the control and censorship imposed by the authorities, the Chinese media would have informed the public long before the seriousness of the epidemic, saving thousands of lives and possibly avoiding the current pandemic.

For example, Beijing forced the social network WeChat - the Chinese regime-controlled WhatsApp - to suppress keywords that alluded to the flu outbreak as the government reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) about the appearance of pneumonia of unknown origin. Indeed, the origin had already been identified. The authorities took valuable weeks to transmit information about the new virus and the significant number of cases related to the Wuhan market. "If the authorities had not hidden from the media the existence of an epidemic outbreak linked to a very popular market, the public would have stopped visiting this place long before its official closure, on January 1st," says RWB.

The censorship was such that it even had as its first victims Chinese doctors and nurses who wanted to alert the population and those responsible for the regime's health system about a new SARS-like virus that annihilated people from pneumonia. To the renowned case of the doctor Li Wenliang, for example, those of Dr. Lu Xiaohong, head of gastroenterology at the Wuhan City Hospital, who since December 25th he could have publicized his suspicions that the virus could be transmitted between humans.

Proof that reporting the danger meant exposing yourself to retaliation from the regime, five days later, the director of the Wuhan Central Hospital emergency department, Ai Fen, alerted to a "SARS-like coronavirus." She and her colleagues were arrested four days later for spreading "false rumors." Chinese censorship then affected the ability of the rest of the planet to cope with what was becoming a pandemic.

"If the international media had had full access to information that the Chinese authorities had on the scale of the epidemic before January 13th, it is likely that the international community would have assessed the crisis and anticipated it better, reducing the risk that the epidemic will spread outside of China and, possibly, preventing its transformation into a pandemic, "concludes the NGO.

Reporters Without Borders listed the most sensitive episodes that marked the blockade of information by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (PCC) to its population, before and during the expansion of the outbreak of COVID-19. If they had provided accurate information without concealment, the people of Wuhan would have taken other measures first and then the rest of the world. Especially the scientific community that received several days overdue key data on how the new Chinese strain was composed.

October 18th 2019

The Chinese press may have reported the chilling results of a pandemic drill.

The John Hopkins Center for Health Safety, in association with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, conducts a coronavirus pandemic drill on October 18th, 2019 and alerts the international community to the chilling results: 65 million deaths in 18 months. If the Chinese internet was not isolated by an elaborate electronic censorship system and the media were not forced to follow the instructions of the Communist Party, the public and authorities would no doubt have been interested in this information from the United States, which was made echo of the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic. SARS infected 8,000 people and caused more than 800 deaths, mainly in China.

December 20th 2019

Wuhan City authorities could have reportedly told reporters.

One month after the first documented case, Wuhan City already has 60 patients with unknown SARS-like pneumonia; several of them have frequented the Huanan fish market. Despite the situation, the authorities do not consider it convenient to communicate this information to the media. If the authorities had not concealed from the media the existence of an outbreak linked to a very popular market, the public would have stopped visiting this place long before its official closure on January 1st.

December 25th 2019

Dr. Lu Xiaohong could have expressed his fears to the press.

On December 25th, Dr. Lu Xiaohong, chief of gastroenterology at Wuhan City Hospital No. 5, begins to learn of cases of infection affecting medical personnel and suspects from the first week of January that the infection may be transmitted between humans. If journalists' sources in China were not exposed to severe penalties -ranging from professional reprimand to prison terms- Dr. Lu Xiaohong would have assumed the responsibility of alerting the media, forcing the authorities to take action that did not happen until three weeks later.

December 30th 2019

The media reportedly collected the early warning from the complainants.

The director of the emergency department of Wuhan Central Hospital, Ai Fen, and a group of doctors issue an alert about a "SARS-like coronavirus". Eight of them, including Dr. Li Wenliang, who later died of the disease, will be detained by Wuhan police on January 3rd for circulating "false rumors". If the press and social networks had been able to freely disseminate the information provided by the complainants on December 30th, the public would have realized the danger and would have pressured the authorities to take measures to limit the spread of the virus.

December 31st 2019

Social media reportedly broadcast the official alert in China.

China officially alerts the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31st, but at the same time forces the WeChat discussion platform to censor a large number of keywords that refer to the epidemic. Uncensored, the WeChat social network, which has 1 billion active users in China, could have allowed journalists to broadcast reports and precautionary statements that contribute to better compliance with standards recommended by health authorities.

January 05th 2020

Scientific means would have previously sequenced the coronavirus genome.

Professor Zhang Yongzhen's team at the Shanghai Clinical Public Health Center manages to sequence the virus on January 5th, but authorities appear reluctant to release the genome. On January 11th, the day China confirms its first death from the virus, researchers leak information on open source platforms, resulting in the punitive closure of their laboratory. If the Chinese authorities were transparent, they would have immediately reported the coronavirus genome sequence to the scientific media, saving the international community precious time in their research for the development of a vaccine.

January 13th 2020

The international community would have anticipated the risk of a pandemic.

The first case of coronavirus infection outside of China, a tourist from Wuhan, is reported in Thailand. If the international media had had full access to the information that the Chinese authorities had on the scale of the epidemic before January 13th, it is likely that the international community would have assessed the crisis and anticipated it better, reducing the risk of the epidemic spreading outside of China and possibly preventing its transformation into a pandemic.

Source: Infobae