Did the Americans try to hide the logo on a new Chinese crane with the US flag, so that people won’t know that they were made in China?
Take a look at the new viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Did the US hide logo of new Chinese crane with US flag?
People are sharing a video showing the US flag falling from a Chinese crane, revealing the ZPMC logo, together with this message :
During opening ceremony of new gantry cranes in USA. A sudden gust of wind blew away the board covering Chinese brand name. You can see the board is black on one side and has American flag on the other.
What an embarrassment trying to hide the Chinese made cranes.
Truth : The US did not hide logo of new Chinese crane with US flag!
The video is genuine, but taken out of context. Here are the facts…
Fact #1 : Video was recorded on 29 March 2013
The viral message was intentionally vague on when it happened, suggesting that it was new. The truth is – the video was recorded many years ago – on 29 March 2013 in Miami, Florida.
At that time, the President of the United States was Barack Obama, not Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
Fact #2 : It was not an opening ceremony of any kind
The viral message said that this incident happened during an “opening ceremony of new gantry cranes” in the United States. That is completely FALSE.
The video was recorded at the Port of Miami Tunnel project in Miami, Florida – just before President Obama spoke about his infrastructure plan.
It was related to the Port of Miami tunnel project on Dodge Island, which would connect the port to the interstate highway system, and had nothing to do with the gantry cranes.
As President Obama was going to speak about shipping “products made in America” through ports like the Port of Miami, so it would have been awkward optics to have Chinese logos in the background.
Therefore, members of the White House advance team decided to cover up the ZPMC logo with a US flag. Not only did the ZPMC have Chinese characters, it was also a Chinese state-owned company. Awkward indeed!
Fact #4 : They left the ZPMC logo visible
After wind blew the American flag off the logo, a member of the White House team went onto the gantry to retrieve the flag. But instead of putting it back over the logo, he shifted the American flag to the side of the gantry.
Ultimately, the ZPMC logo was left visible during President Obama’s speech, as this picture shows.
They were more than 8 years old when President Obama spoke at the Port of Miami in 2013, and more than 16.5 years old when this fake news started circulating in 2021.
So the claim that the Americans were trying to pass off new Chinese cranes as American-made cranes is nothing but fake news.
Now that you know the truth, please SHARE this fact check so other people won’t be fooled by it!
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the Western media try to drug Pan Zhanle after he won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Western media tried to drug Pan Zhanle at 2024 Olympics!
This message has gone viral on WhatsApp and Douyin, claiming that the Western media tried to drug Chinese star swimmer Pan Zhanle after he won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics!
Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle won the gold medal in the men’s 100m freestyle yesterday with a world record-breaking 46.40 seconds, beating his Western opponents. Just after the game, a Western media person enthusiastically offered Pan Zhanle water to drink; fortunately, Pan Zhanle’s coach found it and stopped him in time. Later, the Chinese team detected doping in the water!
What does this mean? This means that if Pan Zhanle accidentally drank the water handed over by the Western media, and was summoned for a urine test later, he would definitely be found to contain doping in his urine! That means Pan Zhanle has no excuses, not only will his gold medal in the final be revoked, he will even face the misfortune of being banned by the International Swimming Federation for a long time!
Think about it, Western media, athletes and those evil leaders, in order to stop China’s progress, are simply unscrupulous to the point of being outrageous! Hateful! Shameful! Hateful!
Translation : Western media enthusiastically offered water to Pan Zhanle to drink. Pan Zhanle’s coach found out and stopped him in time. Later, excitement was detected in the water. Only the United States and other countries can do such despicable means.
Truth : Western media did not try to drug Pan Zhanle at 2024 Olympics!
This is yet another example of fake news circulating on WhatsApp, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No one tried to drug Pan Zhanle at 2024 Olympics!
Let me just start by quickly pointing out that no one tried to sabotage Pan Zhanle with a glass or bottle of water containing drugs.
If that actually occurred, it would have been a major scandal. The Chinese contingent and the IOC would have lodged a police report, and launched a major investigation into who did it and why. There would have been extensive coverage all over the world, and in particular, by the Chinese media.
Even Pan Zhanle, who isn’t shy about throwing about controversial claims, never said he was almost drugged by anyone. Neither did the Chinese Olympics team, who would have been furious about such an attempt.
Yet, there has been no coverage by any reputable media outlet, not even in China. Heck, there hasn’t even been any outrage amongst Chinese netizens over this terrible crime. That’s because it never happened. The story was completely fabricated!
Fact #2 : There was no evidence of any attempt to drug Pan Zhanle
The entire event was not only recorded and streamed on live TV, there were thousands of people watching Pan Zhanle win his gold medal, and then receive it on the podium with Kyle Chalmers of Australia and David Popovici of Romania.
If someone actually tried to drug him right after he won his gold medal, it would have been recorded by the many cameras at the Paris La Defense Arena, or witnessed by the Chinese and Olympic officials there. Yet, there is no photo of the Western media member who offered Pan Zhanle the drugged water?
What about the drugged water that Pan Zhanle almost consumed? If it existed, it would have been tested, and the Chinese contingent and IOC made aware of its contents. Yet, there is not even a photo of that glass or bottle of water, never mind an actual test report of its contents!
The Chinese swimming contingent has come under additional scrutiny at the 2024 Paris Olympics, due to the 2021 doping scandal in which 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) before the Tokyo Olympics.
While the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accept the Chinese explanation that the swimmers ate contaminated food at their hotel, it raised questions of its impartiality and whether Chinese swimmers were competing fairly.
As such, Chinese swimmers like Pan Zhanle were subjected to more stringent testing in Paris. Pan Zhanle pointed out that he took 21 doping tests from May to July, before the Paris Olympics.
I cooperated with all the testing procedures and stayed confident that I am competing fair and clean.
Unlike other Chinese swimmers, he didn’t gripe about the additional tests, saying that he didn’t feel that “there was any difference or influence (on his performance)”.
In other words, it would be quite impossible for Pan Zhanle to suddenly test positive for drugs right after winning his gold medal. It would have been picked up days, weeks, and months earlier.
I should also point out that Pan Zhanle was not part of the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in 2021, before the Tokyo Olympics.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is Taiwan stationing its tanks and weapons in temples, churches and other religious places?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Taiwan is storing tanks + weapons in temples + churches!
Some people are claiming that Taiwan is stationing its tanks and weapons in temples, churches and other religious places!
ShanghaiPanda : Taiwan is stationing a lot of weapons in temples, churches and other religious places.👇
In the future, in case the war breaks out, I am sure the western media will criticize mainland China for attacking these places.
US Civil Defense News : 🚨Update: Taiwan is deploying its weapons across the island and stationing weapons in temples, churches and other religious places.
In the future, when war breaks out, the western media will criticize the China PLA for attacking these locations!
Translated : In fact, it is not surprising that the Taiwan DU drove tanks into the temple. If you open the map and look at their military bases, you will understand how many of them are next to kindergartens and schools! Using children and students as shields has been going on for decades.
Truth : Taiwan is not storing tanks + weapons in temples + churches!
This is yet another example of propaganda created and/or promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and/or pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Photo Was Taken In Taitung In 2022
Some people have suggested that this photo was taken recently, during the Hanguang 40 exercise at the Madou Daitianfu Temple (麻豆代天府) in Tainan. That’s not true.
The photo is genuine, but isn’t new. It was taken in 2022. The photo was also taken at a different temple – the Taitung City Zhiben Daitianfu Temple (台東市知本代天府) – about 130 km further north.
When that photo went viral two years ago, it was not because people actually believed that Taiwan was placing tanks and weapons in temples and other religious places. Taiwanese netizens poked fun at it because it appeared as if the dog was guarding those tanks!
Fact #2 : Tanks Were Temporarily Parked
At the time the photo was taken, the Taiwanese Army was holding exercises nearby, and asked the temple to temporarily use its compound to park its tanks.
That military exercise did not involve live-fire, so the tanks did not have any ammunition in them. In addition, the tanks were not stored at the temple, but removed at end of the exercise.
Fact #3 : Taiwanese Army Confirmed The Facts
The Taiwan Fact Checking Center contacted the Taiwanese Army (Republic of China Army) headquarters, which confirmed that the photo was taken when their soldiers parked their tanks at the temple during its 2022 military exercise.
Fact #4 : No Tanks Or Weapons Are Being Stored In Temples
The Taiwan Fact Checking Center also contacted both temples, and was told that no troops, tanks, or weapons are being stored on their grounds.
The Tainan Madou Diantianfu temple, which was misidentified in this drama, never hosted any tanks. It only provided accommodations to the Taiwanese Army during a different military exercise in its area several years ago, as it had vacancies in quarters that were normally reserved for pilgrims.
Other than this single photo of two tanks being parked in a temple two years ago, there has been no other report of temples, churches, or other religious places being used by the Taiwanese Army to store tanks or weapons.
Unsurprisingly, none of those who made these claims actually provided any evidence to back them up.
Fact #5 : One Unit Did Consider Using Temples To Store Ammunition
While that photo actually went viral two years ago, it appears to have been resurrected by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and/or pro-CCP netizens, to take advantage of a controversy that erupted in early July 2024, over a suggestion to store ammunition on one temple’s grounds.
On June 17, 2024, the Taiwanese Army Armed Forces Reserve Command for Maoli County issued a letter to the Tianbao Temple (天寶寺), asking for permission to stockpile ammunition on its grounds in the event of an imminent conflict. The redacted letter was released online, triggering criticism by Taiwanese netizens.
On Monday, 1 July 2024, the Maoli County Armed Forces Reserve Command clarified that it had no plans to stockpile ammunition in temples, and it was merely requesting local temples to take part in its logistics resilience exercises. It urged the Taiwanese people to cooperate with efforts to bolster the combat preparedness of the armed forces, as national security cannot be maintained without the support of the public.
On the same day, Jiouhu Village (九湖) Warden Tseng I-nan (曾義男) said that the military called him to apologise for the controversy, and said that its ammunition storage proposal has been scrapped. Tseng said that he disagreed with the proposal as using religious sites for military purposes is banned under international law.
While one Taiwanese Army unit did consider storing ammunition (not weapons or tanks) on temple grounds, it never came to fruition. As far as we can tell – no temple or church or other religious places in Taiwan have been used, or are being used, to store weapons or tanks or ammunition for the Taiwanese Army.
Ultimately, this appears to be nothing more than than yet another example of propaganda created or promoted by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and/or pro-CCP netizens. Here are some other examples I fact-checked recently:
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is Chinese President Xi Jinping in critical condition after suffering a massive stroke?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2024-07-19 : Added Xi Jinping photo from Third Plenary Session
Updated @ 2024-07-18 : Added quotes from the official CCP communique Originally posted @ 2024-07-18
Claim : Xi Jinping In Critical Condition After Massive Stroke!
Some people are claiming or suggesting that Chinese President Xi Jinping may be in critical condition after suffering a massive stroke!
US Civil Defense News :🚨Update: President of China Xi Jinping reportedly suffered a stroke, According to reporter Jennifer Zhang!
US Civil Defense News :🚨Update: Chinese dictator Xi in critical condition following a brain stroke.
Frank Valchiria : RUMORS SPREADING: Chinese President, Xi Jinping appears to have suffered a stroke during a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee. Chinese social media claim he collapsed in pain before helped out of the chamber by staff.
Mario Nawfal : 🚨 UNCONFIRMED — XI JINPING REPORTEDLY SUFFERS STROKE
Social media in China is abuzz with news that President Xi suffered a stroke during a CCP meeting.
Although there is no official confirmation yet, the viral news has caused significant unrest.
Sources: Local Media
Brian Allen : CHINESE 🇨🇳- President Xi may have suffered a stroke based on unconfirmed local reports.
This is yet another example of fake news circulating on social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Claim Was Based On Unverified Posts
Let me start by pointing out that these claims appear to be based on unverified reporting (archive) by Jennifer Zeng on 16 July 2024:
Xi Jinping just had a stroke at CCP’s Third Plenary Session? Since yesterday, Chinese social media has been buzzing with the news that something ‘big’ has happened.
Incredibly, it appears that she based her reporting on an anonymous post that does not even mention Xi Jinping, although she seems to believe it refers to the Chinese president…
It is said that my second uncle had a stroke during the group’s shareholders’ meeting, and the backbone of the group is in chaos. After learning this, some people cheered and told me this good news.
Those who are a bit awakened hope that he will die sooner. But those who are fully awakened hope that he can get up and continue to take charge of the group’s business.
I belong to the latter. I hope my uncle can continue to run the group because his mission is not yet completed. At least he should live until he drives all the stakeholders and those who were brainwashed into buying its stocks to their deaths.
Otherwise, it is not fair for us who are fully awakened. Keep up the good work, my dear Second Uncle. I’m behind you!
Is Chinese President Xi Jinping the “second uncle” mentioned in this anonymous post – one of the millions posted on Chinese social media? Who knows???
Her strongest evidence was a YouTube video by Chinese writer Su Xiaohe, who allegedly said:
Xi Jinping suddenly suffered a stroke at the scene of the Third Plenary Session of the CCP. His entire face was distorted, and he was rushed to the hospital.
However, Su Xiaohe does not appear to offer any evidence to back up his claims, and there has been no independent corroboration that Xi Jinping suffered a stroke during the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee.
Was he at the Third Plenary Session? I highly doubt it as he is not listed as a member of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Committee Party. So how did he come by such shocking news that even China experts appear to be unaware of?
It should also be noted that Jennifer Zeng (曾錚) is a Falun Gong practitioner and writer who fled China, and has “a track record of spreading rumours and unverified videos” according to MIT Technology Review. You may recall that Jennifer Zeng once suggested that Xi Jinping was arrested in a military coup, which turned out to be false…
If Chinese President Xi Jinping suffered a stroke, it would have disrupted the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. After all – he’s presiding over the session, and with political power centralised in him (like a Chinese emperor?), it would have been impossible for the Third Plenary Session to continue if he is incapacitated.
If Xi Jinping suffered a stroke, he would certainly have been rushed to a nearby hospital by ambulance – an event that would be publicly seen, and even recorded, by people working at the event, or hospital. Word of mouth, and surreptitious photos or videos, would be impossible to stop, even if Chinese censors erase all mention on social media.
While Chinese state media may be muzzled from immediately reporting on such a shocking event, they can only delay so long. After all, the entire event is being recorded, and Chinese state media are expected to post videos of it in the past, like this CCTV video of the Third Plenary Session of the 19th CCP Central Committee from 6 years ago.
It also does not benefit the Chinese Communist Party to conceal Xi Jinping’s stroke, if it’s bad enough to incapacitate or even kill him. Sure, it is expected to keep a lid on such an unfortunate event, but only long enough to select a replacement that its cadres can back.
The Third Plenary Session is also being closely watched across the world. If Xi Jinping has been incapacitated by a stroke, it would have spurred a flurry of activity outside of China, as intelligence agencies and world leaders scramble to determine who might replace Xi Jinping, what this could mean for relations with China, and what they should do. Yet, there was no uptick in concern over Xi Jinping’s health inside and outside of China, except for these unverified rumours.
In any case, the Third Plenum ended on Thursday, 18 July 2024, and the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a communique, in which it stated that “Xi Jinping delivered important addresses”, as well as “explanatory remarks on the draft version of the Resolution” to “Advance Chinese Modernisation”.
The communique ended with a call for the whole CCP, the Chinese military, and the Chinese people to “stay closely rallied around the Party… with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core”. Obviously, that can only happen if Xi Jinping isn’t incapacitated or dead from a stroke.
The Chinese Communist Party also issued this photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping walking to attend the Third Plenum.
I should also point out that the viral photos of Xi Jinping wincing are not new. They were taken on 11 March 2024 – more than 4 months earlier.
During the closing meeting of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), the Chinese president appeared to wince after taking a sip from his teacup, as if he just took a gulp of hot tea before letting it cool down.
No one seemed to notice his wince, but it was caught on video. While the CCP has not stated why Xi Jinping made that face, he did not suffer any ill effects, and was seen standing to give a round of applause.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the PLA deploy over 1,000 military vehicles to protect Chinese President Xi Jinping?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Over 1,000 Military Vehicles Sent To Protect Xi Jinping!
Some people are claiming or suggesting that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent over 1,000 military vehicles to protect Chinese President Xi Jinping during the CCP’s Third Plenary Session in Beijing!
Jennifer Zeng : According to former Chinese journalist @uyunistar, over 1000 military vehicles were seen driving south from Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province in China early this morning.
Not sure what is happening, or whether it is related to the rumor that Xi Jinping just had a stroke at the CCP’s Third Plenary Session yesterday, which I talked about here.
赵兰健［Lanjian Zhao］ (translated) : [Thousands of military vehicles: Wenzhou appeared and drove south] [Strange Weapon: Specifically Designed to Suppress the People] At the Third Plenum, in order to defend Xi Jinping, the army has been fully armed to deal with petitioners. In the early morning of July 16, more than 1,000 military vehicles drove through Wenzhou. I was seen by the public and reported to me, and I hope to provide information for all netizens.
The Chinese army has gone beyond Hitler’s SS, and now it has become Xi’s army.
China is the only country in the world that uses the military to suppress its own people.
Darth Dawg Jar : [Thousands of military vehicles: appeared in Wenzhou and headed south]
[Weird weapons: specially used to suppress the people]
The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee: In order to protect Xi Jinping 👀
No Evidence Over 1,000 Military Vehicles Sent To Protect Xi Jinping!
This appears to be yet another example of fake news circulating on social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Claim Was Based On Unverified Third Party Report
Let me start by pointing out that this claim appears to be based on a single, unverified report by a third party to citizen journalist Zhao Lanjian (archive).
Apparently, he received a message from someone reporting that his friend claimed to have seen more than a thousand vehicles crossing the Oujiang River in Wenzhou:
惊天！我朋友说今凌晨温州瓯江边开过一千多辆军车大致往南边开
Shocking! My friend said that more than a thousand military vehicles drove past the Oujiang River in Wenzhou early this morning, heading roughly south.
…我问了军分区朋友，他是说为了三中全会的调度，估计是维稳。
… I asked a friend in the military sub-district, and he said it was for the the Third Plenary Session [of the 20th CPC Central Committee], probably to maintain stability.
As you can tell – the person reporting did not actually see those military vehicles. He was only telling Zhao that his friend saw many military vehicles crossing the Oujiang River.
In addition – there has been no corroboration of what was reported. No one else reported these PLA military vehicles, or what they were actually doing.
Fact #2 : Vehicle Does Not Belong To PLA
Zhao Lanjian shared a photo of a futuristic-looking vehicle with his post, appearing to suggest that it was one of the military vehicles crossing the Oujiang River, and headed south.
However, that photo was taken on 27 October 2022 – almost two years ago, and that particular vehicle was located over 2,700 kilometres away in the Qinghai province! It is also not a PLA military vehicle.
That is the Sanneng 8×8 riot control vehicle, whose design was “inspired” by the RT-01 Transport – a fictional vehicle from the 2012 movie Prometheus. This particular vehicle belongs to the Wulan County Public Security Bureau in the Qinghai province.
A similar Sanneng 8×8 riot control vehicle was also donated by the city of Huzhou in Zhejiang to the public security department of Ulan County, also in the Qinghai province.
It is said to be an electric vehicle (EV), with electric motors powering the rear axles, and is protected by bulletproof body panels. It has a camera on the roof, and can carry up to 8 fully-armed SWAT officers (source, source).
It is unknown how many Sanneng 8×8 riot control vehicles exist in China. Regardless of how many of these vehicles actually exist in China, what is certain is that they are owned and operated by Chinese police forces, and not the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Fact #3 : Vehicle Photo Is Old
Interestingly, the message screenshot appear to show that the person who reported the vehicles to Zhao Lanjian did not actually take any photo of the convoy of over 1,000 military vehicles:
Zhao : There are no pictures (没有任何图吧)
Unknown : Correct. None. (对• 没有)
Instead, the person apparently provided that photo of the Sanneng 8×8 vehicle which he claimed he took during Speaker Nancy Pelosi’ visit to Taiwan, when he allegedly saw about 200-300 of such vehicles.
However, I should point out that Speaker Pelosi visited Taiwan on 2 August 2022, but that particular photo appears to have been taken sometime in May 2023 (source, source) – about 9 months later. Even the earliest official showcase of this vehicle happened in November 2022 (source) – 3 months after Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
The photo also shows a solitary Sanneng 8×8 vehicle, and not a convoy of 200-300 of these vehicles.
Falun Gong practitioner and writer Jennifer Zeng appears to believe that the PLA military movement might be related to the “rumor that Xi Jinping just had a stroke at the CCP’s Third Plenary Session“.
Well, that rumour proved to be false after the Chinese Communist Party concluded its Third Plenary Session, and issued an official communique which called for the whole CCP, the Chinese military, and the Chinese people to “stay closely rallied around the Party… with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core”.
Obviously, that can only happen if Xi Jinping isn’t incapacitated or dead from a stroke.
Fact #5 : No Reports Of Military Vehicles Clogging Beijing
Even a hundred military vehicles would have been quite a sight in Beijing, never mind over a thousand of them. All those vehicles would also have caused massive traffic jams in Beijing.
Yet, there have been no media or social media reports about large numbers of military vehicles in Beijing.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Truth : China Did Not Airdrop Food Aid To Palestinians In Gaza!
This is yet another example of fake news created and/or promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and/or pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : China Never Airdropped Food Aid To Gaza
Let me start by pointing out that China never air-dropped any food aid to feed hungry Palestinians in Gaza.
So far, nine countries air-dropped food and other supplies into Gaza – Jordan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Egypt.
China never took part in any airdrop of humanitarian aid into any Palestinian territory, never mind Gaza.
Fact #2 : Video Shows Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
The example video above does not show the Y-20 cargo transport aircraft, which is used by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Instead, it shows a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, which is commonly used by the United States and NATO countries.
Obviously, the PLAAF does not own or use any Boeing C-17 aircraft, so it is impossible for anyone to claim that those planes belonged to China.
Instead of showing China air-dropping food and other essential supplies to Palestinians in Gaza, the videos actually show American or British C-17 Globemaster III aircraft dropping supplies.
To be fair – China provided some aid – initially just 100 million yuan ($13.8 million) in aid.
But at the end of May 2024, President Xi Jinping announced that China would contribute an additional 500 million yuan ($68.96 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance, as well as $3 million in funds to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Fact #4 : Chinese Aid Is Disproportionally Small
However, it must be noted that Chinese aid is disproportionally small to its importance and economic strength.
Even when fully realised, Chinese aid is less than $86 million – just 7% of what the United Nations estimated in January 2024 that the Palestinians would require – some $1.2 billion in aid. It also pales in comparison to what other countries have sent to Gaza.
The Americans, for example, provided $180 million to Gaza through USAID by February 2024. In addition, the US military not only air-dropped supplies, it also built a temporary pier which cost $320 million to deliver more than a million pounds of aid (source) before it broke apart at the end of May, and had to be towed away for repairs.
Even smaller countries are contributing far more aid to Gaza than China. The UAE, for example, contributed 25% of all foreign aid to Gaza!
While credit should be given to China for the aid it promised, the contribution is far less than what the viral videos make it appear.
This is really nothing more than yet another example of Chinese propaganda created or promoted by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and/or pro-CCP netizens. Here is just the latest dozen I fact-checked:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The US government has quietly revoked some export licences from Intel and Qualcomm, cutting off more chip supplies to Huawei!
US quietly revokes Intel + Qualcomm export licences to Huawei!
A week after Huawei unveiled its MateBook X Pro laptop, which is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, the US government quietly revoked some export licences from Intel and Qualcomm, cutting off more chip supplies to Huawei!
It does not appear that Intel has violated any sanctions by supplying its latest Core processors to Huawei for its laptop. After all, Intel received a licence to export laptop CPUs to Huawei in 2020. Qualcomm also received a licence in 2020, to sell older 4G chips to Huawei.
However, American politicians who are critical of China have said that any authorisation by the Commerce Department “would be unacceptable and a failure to enforce export controls against a blacklisted champion of the Chinese Communist Party.”
That could explain the quiet revocation of existing export licences on Tuesday, 7 May 2024, not only affecting Intel and Qualcomm, but also other unnamed companies as well.
The US Department of Commerce confirmed that it revoked some export licences, but did not specify which licences were cancelled, and which companies were affected. However, Intel and Qualcomm have confirmed that some (but not all) of their licences were revoked.
While AMD has not been mentioned, it seems likely that Intel’s rival could also be affected.
Revoked Intel + Qualcomm Export Licences Will Hurt Huawei
The export licences being revoked appear to target processors and System-on-a-Chip (SoCs) used in laptops and smartphones, although it is still unknown which exact chips are affected.
The loss of high-performance computer chips will be particularly hurt Huawei, as it has no viable alternative, especially if AMD had its export licences revoked as well.
Huawei was able to circumvent US sanctions by developing last year’s HiSilicon Kirin 9000S mobile SoC for its Mate 60 series of smartphones, and fabricating it using SMIC’s 7nm process technology. But it won’t be able to do this for its laptops, which are based on the x86 architecture.
That said, it seems likely that the US government is only interested in curtailing the export of high-performance processors to Huawei. If Intel and Qualcomm are still allowed to sell less powerful chips to Huawei, it may not be quite the death knell for the embattled Chinese company. But it will certainly hurt its competitiveness.
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Hong Kong independence activist Fion Ho Yik King commit suicide after fleeing to the United Kingdom?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : HK Activist Fion Ho Committed Suicide After Fleeing To UK!
CCP supporters, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing this message on WhatsApp, as a warning to Hong Kong residents who are planning to migrate to the United Kingdom.
The viral message claims that Hong Kong independence activist Fion Ho Yik King committed suicide after foolishly fleeing to the United Kingdom. It’s a very long message, so you should skip to the next section for the facts!
MISS FION HO YIK KING
You are not alone if you did not know Miss Ho Yik King because I didn’t know her either and neither did any of my friends. However her suicide in the United Kingdom on November 2022 suddenly pushed her to the headline and many were compelled to read about her and to determine what it was that drove her to end her life in the manner it did.
Miss Ho was an intelligent 27 year old HongKong girl who achieved a degree from a HongKong university in 2017 and a master degree from Switzerland in 2019. A bright future was before her had she stayed on as a normal citizen of HongKong.
But youth and wisdom are at times not packaged together and she fatally follows her rebellious nature to confront the Authorities in HongKong on human rights and the Extradition laws etc. Most of her university mates were doing it and so why not her.
Swept along by the reckless HongKong student movement and a constant stream of propaganda from the West on human rights, democracy and freedom she “marched” with the rebels and determinedly wrecked HongKong whilst demanding for independence. For months and years the Western media portrayed them as freedom fighters and as heroes whilst denouncing the Authorities and China as evil.
They destroyed malls, train stations, shops and banks. By engaging hit and run tactics they successfully disrupted airport activities and brought the city centre to a stand still.
With funds and supplies from the West they relentlessly pursued their destructive activities. They used knives, paved stones , arrows, Molotov bombs as weapons . They even killed an innocent citizen through their projectiles, stabbed one on the neck and engulfed another in flame.
The United Kingdom fueled the mind boggling chaos by offering British national overseas visas to the activists which encouraged them to march with extra vigor . But this was only a visa and one that is tailored for HongKong citizens who were bent on leaving HongKong albeit with lots of money in their suitcases.
But the students were blind to the British visa nuance and to the cost of living in the UK . They stayed on the course of destruction . On paper the visa offered them a choice of escape from HongKong but they did not read the fine prints if they ever existed. Remember the saying ” the devil is in the details”.
Finally the HongKong Authority had enough of the student movement and chaos and issued the New Security Law in 2022 .Those who had a reason and the means to leave HongKong did so by way of the British magical visa.
Miss Ho was one of them. She sold everything and left HongKong and took the flight into the safe arms of Britain in April 2022 . She envisaged starting life afresh , getting a good job, getting married and all of her dreams would be fulfilled because she would be a British subject after five years of stay and she would qualify for social benefits that come with citizenship.
No, that dream didn’t work out! Instead her real nightmare just started.
For whatever the reason she found difficulty in opening a bank account upon arrival. Her British visa did not qualify her to open one. She allegedly found out she needed a UK identification card number which she didn’t have.
Next, she found out that house rental in Britain was not only prohibitively expensive but that she was regarded by astute landlords with suspicion. Of course they would . Why would a British landlord accept a Chinese girl as tenant when her name was associated with a notoriously rebellious history. Eventually she lived in a modest flat in Richmond that came with a shared and unhygienic toilet.
Miss Ho was a picture of delusion. Britain was not meeting her minimum expectations. With limited funds she was allegedly often surviving on one meal a day . She needed help but found the visit to a psychologist was too exorbitant.
Finally , when living costs soared due to rising cost for food and heating, Miss Ho , with nowhere to turn to, decided to end her life in her rented flat. Days later her lifeless body was discovered along with a suicide note.
When alive she was regarded by the British as an unwanted immigrant and she lived a miserable life in Britain but when she died the coroner was full of praise for her. He said ” Fion is an excellent example of the high calibre of person who is so welcome in England…”
This is the reality. Fiona’s destiny was potentially one of distinction until she joined the band of delusional activists of HongKong who believed in western propaganda only to find out the dream was nothing but a damning mirage.
Hopefully there is a lesson here for the Taiwanese, the Philippines, the Japanese and the South Koreans. If the lesson is learnt then Fion’s life story and death will not have gone to waste.
This appears to be yet another example of PROPAGANDA created or promoted by CCP supporters and/or the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Her Name Was Fion Ho Yee-King
First, let me just point out that a Chinese lady did indeed commit suicide in the UK, after migrating from Hong Kong. However, her name was not Ho Yik King or Ho Yit King or Ho Yi King.
She was known as Fion Ho in the UK, and her name in Hong Kong was Ho Yee-King.
This is important, because if you search for “Ho Yik King” or “Ho Yit King” or “Ho Yi King”, you will get links to the same propaganda story on multiple Chinese websites and social media. But if you search for “Ho Yee King” or “Fion Ho”, you will get links to her true story.
Fact #2 : Fion Ho Was Not A Hong Kong Independence Activist
Fion Ho Yee King was a 27 year-old Hong Kong native who migrated to the United Kingdom in April 2022, but sadly committed suicide in November 2022.
However, she was not a Hong Kong independence activist. You won’t find her in any list of activists associated with the Hong Kong protests or independence movement.
In fact, Fion Ho was working in Jordan as an Assessment Officer from September 2019 to October 2020 – during the time of the Hong Kong protests.
Fact #3 : Fion Ho Did Not Flee Hong Kong
Fion Ho certainly did not flee Hong Kong to escape its National Security law. After all, she was in Jordan when the controversial National Security Law was passed on 30 June 2020.
If she wanted to avoid the National Security Law, she would have just remained in Jordan, or migrated to the UK. Instead, she returned to Hong Long in December 2020 – after the National Security Law was in effect!
As far as I can tell – Fion Ho Yee King did not have trouble getting a job in the UK. In fact, she appears to have migrated to the United Kingdom for a job.
She was working as an International and Relief Service Officer for the Hong Kong Red Cross from December 2020 to March 2022, before migrating to the UK the next month to work for a charity promoting education for women and girls internationally.
Fact #5 : Fion Ho Had Financial Trouble
According to her brother, Tommy Ho Yiu Hang, Fion suffered from stress and mental health issues due to the cost of living crisis in the UK.
Fion Ho had been paying £900 a month to rent a room in a South West London flat, which she described as “unhygienic”. She was worried about her income, and ability to make ends meet.
She mentioned to me on September 7, 2022 that since July, she was worried about her income and was not able to sustain her life in the UK and felt depressed.
The hygiene condition of the bathroom made her feel uncomfortable…This made her pressure build up and fall to a loss of strength to work from home and live at home. And she seldom left her room.
She was scared she will be laid off from work due to stress and face a loss of income due to her poor working performance.
After her death, Tommy found her diary, in which she detailed the days when she would eat only lunch or dinner to save money.
Due to insufficient income, I think she had begun to limit her meals per day.
Fion Ho Yee King was not found several days after her suicide. When she failed to turn up for work and did not answer her phone, her brother Tommy asked one of the other three tenants of her flat to check on her.
That was when Fion was discovered to have taken her own life. She was pronounced dead on 3 November 2022, and Coroner Dr. Anton van Dellen listed her death as a suicide on 24 January 2023.
Fact #7 : UK ID Not Required To Open Bank Account
There is no evidence that Fion Ho Yee King faced any issue opening a bank account. UK banks do not require a UK ID to open an account. Common forms of identification that they accept include:
Passport
UK birth certificate (for applicants under 18 years old)
EU / EEA National Identity Card
UK photo card driving licence
UK Residence Permit
Fact #8 : BNO Passport Was Established In 1987
The British National (Overseas) passport is not available only to Hong Kong independence activists. In fact, the BNO passport was created in 1987 – after the enactment of the Hong Kong Act 1985, conferring British Overseas Territory citizen status for Hong Kong permanent residents (and their children) who register for the status by 30 June 1997.
The BNO visa does not confer you British citizenship. However, since 31 January 2021, BNO visa recipients can stay for up to 5 years, and extend that as many times as they wish. They can also apply to live in the UK permanently after living there for at least 5 years.
This is just ultimately just another example of CCP propaganda, created / spread by CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛). Here are other examples:
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Hong Kong independence activist Ho Yi King commit suicide because of her terrible living conditions in the United Kingdom?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Hong Kong Independence Activist Committed Suicide In UK!
CCP supporters, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing and promoting a video, which claims that a Hong Kong independence activist called Ho Yi King just committed suicide because of her terrible living conditions in the United Kingdom!
The Exciled & Educated Hong Kees Running Dogs For Regimes Eville Satanic Demonic UK & USA Were Abandoned By The Regimes & Died in Misery….Lessons For All Oriental Chinese To Learn…
Here is a transcript of what was said, or posted, in the viral video, which continues to be available on YouTube. It’s very long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
It is a truly a poignant and regrettable story. This is a real life account [of] Hong Kong independence activist Ho Yi King.
After selling her domestic properties, joined the United Kingdom. However to her surprise, she couldn’t even afford rent after arriving in the UK, surviving on just one meal a day. Under immense pressure, she chose to leave a suicide note.
Hoyitking’s life was quite remarkable. In the first half of her life, she freely roamed the ocean of knowledge under the Protection of the Chinese government, witnessing the world’s most glamorous side.
However, in the latter half of her life, she became a Hong Kong independent activist under the encouragement of the UK government, engaging in a series of treasonous acts before entering university.
Hoyitking was always very well behaved during her studies at the University of Hong Kong. She even obtained a bachelor’s degree in Asian and International Studies. Furthermore, fuelled by her passion for researching international relations, she pursued further studies at the University of Geneva.
After graduating, earning a Master’s degree, it’s a tragic turn for someone with such an outstanding background to veer to the wrong path.
In 2018, Hong Kong experienced internal turmoil, primarily due to the proposed amendment of the Extradition Law, which posed a threat to the interests of radical individuals in Hong Kong. To oppose the amendment, these radicals organized continuous protests on the streets with no response from the Hong Kong government.
The protestors escalated their actions, resorting to vandalism and even attacks on ordinary citizens. During this period, under the influence of her peers, Ho Yi King was completely indoctrinated and actively joined the anti-extradition movement.
Perhaps driven by her inherently competitive nature, she became a prominent figure among these radicals utilising online platforms to express radical views, and participating in confrontations with the Hong Kong government.
The chaos caused by these radicals persisted until the enactment of the National Security Law in Hong Kong last year when authorities decided to take strict measures against the radicals. They finally ceased their disruptive activities.
At this point, Ho Yit King realised she was widely condemned in Hong Kong. Feeling there was no place for her to stand and nothing worth staying for, to seek an alternative and temporarily escaping scrutiny, she decided to go to the United Kingdom, a place she had long admired.
After the establishment of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2022, the end seemed near for Hong Kong independence activists. As an elite member, Ho Yit King had received advanced notice and managed to escape, arriving in the UK with joy.
Holding the British National Overseas (BNO) passport issued by the UK government, she expected favourable treatment, based on her background in China. She believed that by spending five years in the UK, she could become a British citizen and leave behind the troubles of Hong Kong.
However, Hoyitking’s journey to the UK turned out to be a nightmare. The BNO passport given to Hong Kong independence activists was merely a means for the UK government to profit. By issuing BNO passports to these activists, the UK government encouraged sentiment of rebellion, making them believe they had an escape route, even if things went awry in Hong Kong.
The UK government, by officially issuing 500,000 BNO passports, aimed to capitalise on this situation, and generated a staggering 300 million. From the beginning, these Hong Kong independence activists causing social unrest were mere pawns in the hands of of the UK government for financial gain.
Certainly, Ho Yikking was not surprised, but unfortunately at that time, she didn’t understand this truth. She thought she had contributed to the British government and with the BNO passport, she could find a decent job in the UK. She envisioned a happy life for the rest of her days.
However, upon arriving in the UK, she realised it was just a fantasy. To successfully rent a house in the UK, one needed a UK bank account which required a UK ID. When Ho Yik King tried to open a bank account with her BNO passport, she was informed by the bank staff that her passport wouldn’t be recognised, and without a bank account, she couldn’t rent a house.
Feeling helpless, Ho Yik King had to find a suitable job quickly to earn money. She believed that with her high education, she could secure a well-paying and respectable job. However, things didn’t go as planned.
Ho Yik King not only lacked a formal UK ID, but was also someone who betrayed her own country. No country would welcome a traitor, so her hopes of finding a good job were shattered. Her higher education received in China proved to be of no use in the UK. Eventually, after numerous setbacks, Ho Yit King finally found a job at a charity organisation.
She initially thought her life would gradually improve after finding a job, but events that followed shattered all her hopes. What exactly happened after arriving in the UK. The high cost of renter utility bills consumed her entire monthly salary. To save her money, Ho Yit King had to survive on just one meal a day.
As winter approached, the European energy crisis led to a significant increase in heating costs, making her situation even more challenging. However, the most fatal blow was the attitude of the British people towards her. Without a formal UK ID and her Chinese appearance, she felt like garbage discarded beside a trash bin, met with cold stares from everyone in the UK.
The combination of the British people’s attitudes, the burden of life and the inability to make ends meet left Ho Yit King breathless. This was starkly different from her expectations when she first came to the UK. She lost hope in living but didn’t want to die. In an attempt to change her circumstances, Ho Yit King started seeking help from a psychologist, actively addressing the mental and life pressures she faced.
However, due to the exorbitant fees of the psychologist, she couldn’t afford the sessions. After enduring seven months in the UK, Ho Yit King chose to end her life in her rented accommodation. About a week later, when neighbours noticed a strange smell and investigated, they discovered Ho Yit King’s lifeless body.
Before her death, the British government did not provide humanitarian assistance to Ho Yit King. It was only after her death, they offered assistance, helping with the handling of her body, and even stating that she was a good person. One cannot help but find this statement somewhat ironic, considering that someone who betrayed their country cannot be deemed a good person.
Ho Yit King who strayed from the right path must have faced moments of regret during her final illness. As a highly-talented graduate of the University of Hong Kong, she had excellent prospects whether she chose to stay in Hong Kong or returned to the mainland for work. With her abilities, she could have had a bright future, even becoming a prominent figure. However, due to one wrong decision, she forfeited her promising future.
Truth : Ho Yit King Was Not Hong Kong Independence Activist!
This appears to be yet another example of PROPAGANDA created or promoted by CCP supporters and/or the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Her Name Was Fion Ho Yee-King
First, let me just point out that a Chinese lady did indeed commit suicide in the UK, after migrating from Hong Kong. However, her name was not Ho Yi King or Ho Yit King or Ho Yik King.
She was known as Fion Ho in the UK, and her name in Hong Kong was Ho Yee-King.
This is important, because if you search for “Ho Yit King” or “Ho Yi King” or “Ho Yik King”, you will get links to the same propaganda story on multiple Chinese websites and social media. But if you search for “Ho Yee King” or “Fion Ho”, you will get links to her true story.
Fact #2 : Fion Ho Was Not A Hong Kong Independence Activist
Fion Ho Yee King was a 27 year-old Hong Kong native who migrated to the United Kingdom in April 2022, but sadly committed suicide in November 2022.
However, she was not a Hong Kong independence activist. If you look up the list of activists associated with the Hong Kong protests or independence movement, you won’t find any reference to her name.
In fact, Fion Ho was working in Jordan as an Assessment Officer, from September 2019 to October 2020 – during the time of the Hong Kong protests.
Fact #3 : Fion Ho Did Not Flee Hong Kong
Fion Ho certainly did not flee Hong Kong to escape the National Security law. After all, she was in Jordan when the controversial National Security Law was passed on 30 June 2020.
If she wanted to avoid the National Security Law, she would have just remained in Jordan, or migrated to the UK. Instead, she returned to Hong Long in December 2020 – after the National Security Law was in effect!
Fact #4 : Fion Ho Had A Job In The UK
As far as I can tell – Fion Ho Yee King did not have trouble getting a job in the UK. In fact, she appears to have migrated to the United Kingdom for a job.
She was working as an International and Relief Service Officer for the Hong Kong Red Cross from December 2020 to March 2022, before migrating to the UK the next month to work for a charity promoting education for women and girls internationally.
According to her brother, Tommy Ho Yiu Hang, Fion suffered from stress and mental health issues due to the cost of living crisis in the UK.
Fion Ho had been paying £900 a month to rent a room in a South West London flat, which she described as “unhygienic”. She was worried about her income, and ability to make ends meet.
She mentioned to me on September 7, 2022 that since July, she was worried about her income and was not able to sustain her life in the UK and felt depressed.
The hygiene condition of the bathroom made her feel uncomfortable…This made her pressure build up and fall to a loss of strength to work from home and live at home. And she seldom left her room.
She was scared she will be laid off from work due to stress and face a loss of income due to her poor working performance.
After her death, Tommy found her diary, in which she detailed the days when she would eat only lunch or dinner to save money.
Due to insufficient income, I think she had begun to limit her meals per day.
Fact #6 : Fion Ho Was Found By Fellow Tenant
Fion Ho Yee King was not found by neighbours after they noticed a strange smell. When she failed to turn up for work and did not answer her phone, her brother Tommy asked one of the other three tenants of her flat to check on her.
That was when Fion was discovered to have taken her own life. She was pronounced dead on 3 November 2022, and Coroner Dr. Anton van Dellen listed her death as a suicide on 24 January 2023.
Fact #7 : NHS Offers Free Counselling For Depression
The video claimed or suggested that Ho Yit King / Ho Yee King was started seeing a psychologist, but stopped because she could not afford the exorbitant fees.
The truth is – there is no evidence Fion Ho ever saw a psychologist, psychiatrist, or counsellor. She was booked for a psychological counselling session for depression, but she never made it to the session – she committed suicide four days before the appointment.
A private counselling session with a private psychologist / psychiatrist would be expensive, but the NHS offers free counselling for depression.
Fact #8 : UK ID Not Required To Open Bank Account
There is no evidence that Fion Ho Yee King faced any issue opening a bank account.
UK banks do not require a UK ID to open an account. Common forms of identification that they accept include:
Passport
UK birth certificate (for applicants under 18 years old)
EU / EEA National Identity Card
UK photo card driving licence
UK Residence Permit
Fact #9 : BNO Passport Was Established In 1987
The British National (Overseas) passport is not available only to Hong Kong independence activists. In fact, the BNO passport was created in 1987 – after the enactment of the Hong Kong Act 1985, conferring British Overseas Territory citizen status for Hong Kong permanent residents (and their children) who register for the status by 30 June 1997.
The BNO visa does not confer you British citizenship. However, since 31 January 2021, BNO visa recipients can stay for up to 5 years, and extend that as many times as they wish. They can also apply to live in the UK permanently after living there for at least 5 years.
This is just ultimately just another example of CCP propaganda, created / spread by CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛). Here are other examples:
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Were Chinese missiles really found to be filled with water, instead of fuel?! Take a look at the astonishing claim, and find out if it’s even plausible!
Claim : Chinese Missiles Were Filled With Water!
Bloomberg recently published a story on the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), suggesting that Chinese President Xi Jinping purged its leaders after missiles were found to be filled with water instead of fuel, and that missile silos had improperly functioning lids.
Here is an excerpt from the Bloomberg story (archive):
US intelligence indicates that President Xi Jinping’s sweeping military purge came after it emerged that widespread corruption undermined his efforts to modernize the armed forces and raised questions about China’s ability to fight a war, according to people familiar with the assessments.
The US assessments cited several examples of the impact of graft, including missiles filled with water instead of fuel and vast fields of missile silos in western China with lids that don’t function in a way that would allow the missiles to launch effectively, one of the people said.
The US assesses that corruption within the People’s Liberation Army has led to an erosion of confidence in its overall capabilities, particularly when it comes to the Rocket Force, and also set back some of Xi’s top modernization priorities, the people said. The graft probe has ensnared more than a dozen senior defense officials over the past six months, in what may be China’s largest crackdown on the country’s military in modern history.
AsiaTimes then published an article, calling claims that there were water in Chinese missiles “a fake story” (archive).
Water in Chinese missiles’ tanks is a fake story
The idea that water is substituted for fuel is preposterous: Corrosion-prone rockets are kept empty until needed
The story is technically naive when it comes to China’s missiles. China does not keep its liquid-fueled rockets filled with propellant. This means they are empty sitting in silos. If fuel was stored in a rocket booster the internal tanks and plumbing would soon be ruined by corrosion. The military fuels them if there are warning conditions requiring loading the missiles with fuel.
So did Bloomberg publish a fake story on Chinese missiles being filled with water, instead of fuel? Is that even plausible? Let’s find out…
Unless you are working in the upper echelons of the Chinese government or the PLARF, it is quite impossible to know the truth. However, here are the reasons why claims that Chinese missiles were found to be filled with water is plausible.
Fact #1 : PLARF Also Operates Cruise Missiles
First, I should point out that the Bloomberg story never identified what kinds of Chinese missiles were found to be filled with water, instead of fuel.
Most people jump to the conclusion that it must be referring to their ballistic missiles. But that is not necessarily the case.
The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force also operates over 300 cruise missiles like the Dongfeng 100 (DF-100), and Chang Jian 10 (CJ-10). Those missiles are mostly liquid-fuelled, being powered by jet engines that run on jet fuel.
The report doesn’t … specify what types of missiles are implicated. I’d note, for example, that the PLARF operates 300+ cruise missiles, which are mostly liquid-fueled.
– Masao Dahlgren, fellow at the Missile Defense Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Siphoning fuel is a common form of military corruption, and there is much less security over these cruise missiles. So it would be plausible for corrupt individuals to replace fuel in these cruise missiles with water.
Fact #2 : Liquid Fuelled Rockets Are Kept Empty
The AsiaTimes article is correct that liquid-fuelled rockets are generally kept empty, as liquid rocket fuel is both toxic and corrosive. Hence, these rockets are only fuelled when they are needed (for tests, exercises, or security alerts).
The Chinese Dongfeng 5 (DF-5) ICBM, for example, requires 30 to 60 minutes to fuel up, which is why it is due to be replaced by the solid-fuelled DF-41 rocket.
However, it is plausible that some of these rockets might have water left in their propellant tanks, after they were fuelled during tests or training exercises, and then defuelled and washed with water.
It is also plausible that water was found in the Post-Boost Vehicle (PBV) found on ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. The PBV uses onboard rocket motors to deliver multiple warheads onto different trajectories, allowing a single ballistic missile to hit multiple targets.
These rocket motors are almost always liquid fuelled. So it is plausible that some of these PBV rocket motors were found to contain water, instead of fuel. Such a scenario could be due to gross negligence, as @LIM49Spartan explained (archive) on X (formerly Twitter):
I’ve had some time to think about the Chinese “filled with water” claims; and I think I know what happened. Every modern ICBM has what’s called the “Post-Boost Vehicle”; which aims and releases the warheads following ICBM burnout.
Virtually all PBVs use some form of liquid hypergolic propellants — there are only a few exceptions, such as the USN’s Trident PBVs which use a series of solid propellant gas generators to avoid hypergolics on a submarine. (They also have much less delta V)
Finished PBVs have to pass a variety of quality checks before they’re released to the field. You’ve got to first check whether the entire system is leakproof, and then make sure that it can withstand launch vibrations.
I suspect that everyone tests their PBVs with non-toxic surrogate liquids for initial system pressure tests and when they’re placed on shake/rattle/roll tables to check if they’re leakproof under launch vibrations.
Otherwise, you find out there’s a problem with the PBV when the testing room is now on fire and full of toxic, corrosive and flammable materials. And to pass the shake testing, your surrogate has to approximate very closely the density/etc of flight materials.
I think what happened was that some PBVs finished their acceptance tests and through paperwork errors, were never actually drained, dried, and refilled with flight propellants.
They were in turn shipped to PLARF bases where they were weighed and found within acceptable flight mass + had the paperwork saying they were full of hypergols; and were accepted by the PLARF with no tests; b/c draining samples of hypergols is dangerous.
Said PBVs go on combat duty with the PLARF for six to seven years, before being downloaded for inspection as they’re now past the “warranty period”. They’re drained at this point by the PLARF and they find that they’re full of surrogate liquids, not actual hypergols.
As the amount of liquid propellants in these post-boost vehicles are relative small, and these PBVs are sealed inside the ballistic missiles, they are unlikely to be siphoned by corrupt PLARF officers.
However, it does not preclude corruption by high-level PLARF officers to cover up mistakes made by manufacturers, that may have been exposed by external audits on these missiles.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are Chinese students being harassed by US government, with some having their visas revoked and given a 5-year ban?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Chinese Students Are Being Harassed + Banned From US!
CCP supporters, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing and promoting a video, which claims that Chinese students trying to enter the United States are being harassed, with some having their visas revoked and given a 5-year ban!
Here is a transcript of what was said, or posted, in the viral video, which may be AI-generated:
Can China-US Student Exchanges Survive Geopolitics?
Chinese reporter : Do you think Chinese students are spies?
US Ambassador to China : Chinese students are welcome in the United States.
But the harsh reality endured by Chinese students is the opposite of welcoming.
The Chinese embassy in the US has exposed a story illustrating how US border control officials systematically harass Chinese students. Extensive checks on every electronic device.
A Yale PHD candidate recently endured an 8-hour interrogation as authorities probed his study connection with the Chinese government. Despite finding no evidence, they revoked his student visa anyway for five years.
And Canada is not better, as the Canadian Federal Court has stretched the definition of espionage out so far that, in its application, a Chinese student has been barred from entering Canada simply because his field of study is microfluids, a promising high-tech field in health.
If you are a Chinese student who studies abroad in a field of innovation, the sad fact is you risk being called a spy.
Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric that you are entering a “free society”. You are entering an anti-China society.
Truth : US Is Blocking Entry To Chinese Students With PLA Links
This appears to be yet another example of propaganda created or promoted by CCP supporters and/or the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Not All Chinese People Live In China
First, let me just point out that there are people of Chinese ethnicity all over the world, many in Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia; as well as Western countries like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
There are also millions of Chinese people living in the Republic of China – Taiwan, which is not governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that is controlling mainland China.
To be clear – the video is referring only to students from the People’s Republic of China, and not Chinese students from other countries.
Fact #2 : China Still Sends The Most Students To US
I should also point out that, even in 2023, students from China continue to be the largest group of foreign students pursuing education in the United States.
The US State Department granted more than 600,000 international student visas in the 2023 fiscal year, of which 289,526 visas were awarded to students from China (source).
In other words, the statistics belie the claim that the United States isn’t welcoming students from China. The vast majority of students from China do not have any issue entering the United States.
Fact #3 : It Was Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Complaint
Although the video claimed that the Chinese embassy in the US “exposed” the story, I cannot find any evidence of that. Instead, it appears that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin first spoke about it during a regular press conference in Beijing on Thursday, 4 January 2024.
That was later posted (archive) on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affair’s official page on X (formerly Twitter). The Chinese Embassy in US then shared the short statement, with a comment the next day – 5 January 2024 (archive):
The US’ interrogation, harassment and deportation of Chinese students goes against both its promise and the shared desire of Chinese and Americans to have more friendly exchanges. We hope the US can ensure the lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars and take… https://t.co/biHxGGLxkw
Fact #4 : Presidential Proclamation 10043 Blocks PLA-Associated Students
What the viral video does not mention is that these few students were interrogated on entry, and then blocked or banned from entering the United States, because they were deemed to be associated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
On 29 May 2020, then President Donald Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 10043 (PDF), which prohibits students from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from obtaining F visas, or J visas, if they are associated with the People’s Liberation Army.
It was issued at that time because the US government determined that the PRC was using “some Chinese students, mostly post-graduate students and post-doctorate researchers, to operate as non-traditional collectors of intellectual property“, in particular those who “are or have been associated with the PLA“.
In September 2020, more than 1,000 Chinese students had their visas cancelled by Presidential Proclamation 10043. Regardless of the merits of this Presidential Proclamation, it is limited to a relatively small number of students from China, who have been determined to have some association with the PLA.
Fact #5 : Visas Can Be Revoked At Any Time
Even though these postgraduate students have a valid student visa, it can be revoked at any time, even upon entry into the United States, as stated in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act:
After the issuance of a visa or other documentation to any alien, the consular officer or the Secretary of State may at any time, in his discretion, revoke such visa or other documentation. Notice of such revocation shall be communicated to the Attorney General, and such revocation shall invalidate the visa or other documentation from the date of issuance… There shall be no means of judicial review …
This isn’t a uniquely American law either. Other countries, including China, retain the right to revoke any visas they may have issued, at any time they wish.
Brief Introduction of Visa for China (Mainland Only) 2023-05-14 20:19
In accordance with international law and practice, any sovereign state is entitled to decide on whether or not to allow a foreign citizen to enter or exit from its territory, and whether to issue a visa, decline a visa application or to cancel an issued visa in accordance with its national laws.
Chinese consular officials are entitled to decide on the type, number of entries, validity and duration of each stay of a visa to be issued based on Chinese laws and regulations. Consular officials reserve the right to decline a visa application or revoke an issued visa.
Fact #6 : US Conducts Warrantless Search At Border
Sadly, the US constitutional rights against “unreasonable searches and seizures” stops at the border. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has broad authority to search and seize electronic devices at the border.
That’s because the US Supreme Court has concluded that “routine” border searches are “not subject to any requirement of reasonable suspicion, probably cause, or warrant‘ (source).
This isn’t limited to students from China, or even foreigners as a whole. The power to search electronic devices at the border also extends to US citizens and permanent residents!
Fact #7 : West Has More Freedom Than China
The truth is these visa woes affect only a small percentage of students from China, in particular postgraduate students who have some kind of association with the People’s Liberation Army.
This does not mean that Western countries have less freedom than China – a notably authoritarian country with severe censorship and restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly and religion. Never mind the right to criticise their leaders, people in China don’t even have freedom to access YouTube or Facebook or Instagram!
So it is truly laughable that anyone would use this student visa restriction as “evidence” that Western countries are not a “free society”. Being a “free society” does not mean having an “open border”.
This is just ultimately just another example of CCP propaganda, created / spread by pro-CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛). Here are other examples:
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Is seafood in Europe highly radioactive according to the IAEA?! Is that why Europe did not ban the import of Japanese seafood?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Seafood In Europe Is Highly Radioactive According To IAEA
Pro-CCP activists, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing and promoting a video, which claims to show that seafood in Europe is highly radioactive, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The person speaking on the video then suggests that is the reason why Europe did not ban Japanese seafood after the release of treated Fukushima waste water…
European seafood is completely inedible. Why do I say so? Let’s look at this website.
Does the IAEA know about this website? If you don’t know, check it out yourself.
Let’s take a look. There are tests for nuclear contamination in waters around the world.
You know that part of the ocean? It’s called the Sea of Japan. You can see it. The sea pollution around the Japanese islands is very serious.
There are no problems in the waters near Russia. There are no problems in the waters around us [China].
And then we go to the Western Hemisphere. See here? Everyone knows where this is, right?
Did you see it? The entire waters of Europe were wiped out. Almost nothing was spared. Did you see it?
Stop eating Atlantic salmon. Stop eating seafood imported from Europe. Do not eat any seafood. It is absolutely terrifying. So scary.
Now you must know – Why doesn’t Europe ban the import of Japanese seafood? Because the seafood quality and water quality are better than theirs
Truth : AIEA Never Labelled Seafood In Europe As Radioactive!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created or promoted by pro-CCP supporters and/or the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Video Was Recorded Of IAEA MARIS Website
Let me just point out the video was recorded of the IAEA MARIS (Marine Radioactivity Information System) website, specifically its Explore (Beta) feature. You can actually try it out for yourself.
In the IAEA MARIS website, simply click on Explore (Beta) at the top, and you will see a globe with coloured hexagonal markings all over it. By default, it looks at radioactive sampling of seawater across the world, which is precisely what the video shows.
Fact #2 : Coloured Hexagons Show Sample Count
The speaker on that viral video suggests that the larger number and red colour of the markers denote higher radioactivity. That is misleading and completely false.
The truth is – the colour of each hexagon is the indicator of the number of samples taken in the area covered by the hexagon. In fact, it’s clearly stated by the Sample count label at the lower right corner of the map.
In addition, if you hover over any coloured hexagons, you can see the number of samples taken at that site.
In other words – the IAEA MARIS map shows that Europe and Japan are highly monitored for radioactivity, while countries like Russia and China lack monitoring for seawater radioactivity.
Interestingly, the viral video has a large yellow background for the English translation that conveniently covers up the “Sample count” label for most of the video. Coincidence?
What the viral video will also not tell you is that the seawater samples taken for radioactivity tests cover many decades – from as far back as 1957, and as recent as 2021. That means the data shown on that map covers 64 years!
If you click on the Sampling year option on the left, you can select a particular year, and you will see that there are relatively few samples taken each year.
Fact #4 : IAEA MARIS Shows Tritium Radioactivity Too
The IAEA MARIS website actually shows radioactivity measurements for tritium taken by those samples in Bq/m3 units. But interestingly, the video chose to (misleadingly) use the sample count option to “show” radioactivity.
If you want to try it out in the Explore (Beta) section of the IAEA MARIS website, simply click on Measurements under Analysis options.
You will see that several areas in Europe have high levels of tritium – over 10K-50K Bq/m3, but those were taken in the 90s and early 2000s.
More importantly, the IAEA MARIS map shows that radioactivity off the coast of Japan was low. Perhaps that’s why the viral video chose to use the sample count option instead…
Fact #5 : This Is Just CCP Propaganda
This is just ultimately just another example of CCP propaganda, created / spread by pro-CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).Here are other examples:
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Guangzhou appears to have reinstated the Health Code, requiring patients and their caregivers to test negative for COVID-19 before being admitted to a hospital!
Guangzhou Patients Must Be COVID Negative For Admission?!
The city of Guangzhou has apparently reinstated the Chinese COVID-19 Health Code requirements from 2 December 2023 onwards.
In a video translated and posted by Jennifer Zeng (archive), the Deputy Director and Spokesperson for the Guangzhou Health Commission Zhang Yi appears to announce an immediate requirement for patients and their caregivers to present a Green Health Code, in order to enter all types of medical institutions.
Effective immediately, patients visiting all levels and types of medical institutions in Guangzhou City and its districts must present a green health code for entry. Dec 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong.
Zhang Yi : From now on, all levels & types of medical institutions in Guangzhou City & its districts for outpatient and emergency department visits will require a green health code for entry.
Bizarrely, patients and their caregivers are expected to undertake PCR nuclei tests for COVID-19, and show a negative test result within the past 24 hours to gain admission!
Zhang Yi : Newly admitted inpatients and their accompanying personnel must present a negative nucleic acid test result from within the past 24 hours for admission.
Less controversially, she called on fever clinics to operate at their maximum capacity, and conduct nucleic acid (PCR) tests on patients.
Zhang Yi : Fever clinics should operate to their fullest capacity. The role of the previously established 114 standardised fever clinics should be fully utilised.
Strengthen the staffing of medical personnel in fever clinics, optimise the waiting area settings and consultation process.
Conduct nucleic acid testing for visiting patients, and implement graded & categorised diagnosis and treatment.
Not Only Guangzhou Patients Must Be COVID Negative For Admission?
China has been experiencing a surge of respiratory illnesses that have alarmed many people, especially when it appeared to cause pneumonia in many children.
The WHO called on China to provide more information, after health monitoring groups like the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in north China.
China responded within 24 hours, stating that it has not detected any new or usual pathogens causing this surge of respiratory illness, with clusters of pneumonia being blamed on a bacteria – Mycoplasma pneumoniae which has been circulating since May, as well as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus that have been circulating since October.
While the negative COVID-19 test looks really bizarre, it is possible that the Chinese government has instituted this requirement to prevent these patients, who are already suffering from pneumonia, from being infected with COVID-19 as well.
Even so, Jennifer Zeng reported (archive) that the Chinese Health Code requirement is not just being reactivated in Guangzhou, but for the entire Guangdong province, as well as the Beijing, Sichuan, Fujian, Shaanxi, and Zhejiang provinces!
The health code is a mobile app used by the CCP during the three-year COVID pandemic to control people’s movements. If your health code turns red or yellow, you can’t go anywhere.
But it’s not just Guangzhou. From what we know so far, Beijing, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Zhejiang Province are also implementing it.
So it is possible that the Chinese government at least suspects that some of these cases of respiratory illnesses may be due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
To be clear – this reimplementation of the Chinese Health Code appears to be limited to patients attempting to seek medical assistance in clinics and hospitals. It does not appear that the Health Code is being reimplemented to restrict other types of movement in China.
However, reports of a surge in respiratory illnesses, and this (partial) reimplementation of the Health Code requirement will likely put a damper on the revival of the Chinese tourism industry. The Chinese government recently implemented visa-free travel for 6 new countries in an effort to boost tourism.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
From tomorrow onwards, citizens from 6 countries will start enjoying visa-free travel to China for 15 days! Here is what you need to know!
China Offers Visa-Free Travel For 6 New Countries!
China will start offering visa-free travel to 6 additional countries on a trial basis, starting on 1 December 2023.
On Friday, 24 November 2023, China announced that citizens from these 6 countries will enjoy visa-free travel for up to 15 days:
France
Germany
Italy
The Netherlands
Spain
Malaysia
These six countries will join Singapore, Japan, and Brunei, whose citizens already enjoy visa-free travel to China for up to 15 days.
According to Chinese government spokesperson Mao Ning, China has taken this step to help “promote the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world“.
This visa-free travel for those 6 countries, however, is a trial that will last from 1 December 2023 until 30 November 2024. This trial program may or may not be extended after that.
China Visa-Free Travel To Hopefully Revive Tourism
Travellers to China are generally required to apply for a visa. China is hoping that offering visa-free travel to certain favoured countries will help to revive its tourism industry that has been hard-hit by strict COVID-19 measures in the past 3 years.
China had the world’s strictest COVID-19 measures, maintaining them long after the rest of the world reopened. Even when the Chinese government decided to reopen its borders, it required inbound travellers to quarantine, which discouraged travel
It was only in March 2023 that China began issuing all types of travel visas again, and in July that it restored the 15-day visa-free travel for Singapore, Japan and Brunei. In August, China finally scrapped all COVID-19 test requirements for inbound travellers.
With visa-free travel removing the onerous application for a Chinese travel visa, it is likely that there will be tourists and business visitors who will take opportunity of the one-year trial to visit China. The only question is whether it is a surge, or merely a tiny bump.
After all, potential travellers would need to worry about the lack of access to essential apps like Google Maps, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. as well as popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. There is also the risk of being detained in China, and prevented from returning home.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did US President Joe Biden arrogantly snub Chinese President Xi Jinping by pretending to understand Mandarin as he spoke during the China-US Summit?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Joe Biden Ignored Xi Jinping At US-China Summit!
Pro-CCP activists, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing and promoting a CGTN video, together with a message which claims that US President Joe Biden arrogantly ignore Chinese President Xi Jinping as he spoke during the China-US Summit in Woodside, California!
Did you observed that the US delegation wear earphone except Biden and Blinken to listen to the translation. Do they really understand mandarin? Or they are only being arrogant and do not bother to listen to Xi speaking?
This is typical of all angmor sai (Caucasian shit) behaviour and attitude !?
Joe Biden Did Not Ignore Xi Jinping At US-China Summit!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created or promoted by pro-CCP supporters and/or the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Chinese Delegation Did Not Wear Headphones
First, let me just point out that the Chinese delegation, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, did not wear any headphones or earphones during the opening remarks of the China-US summit meeting that was held in Woodside, California on Wednesday, 15 November 2023.
Perhaps the entire Chinese delegation understood English, and did not require translation. Xi Jinping is said to understand English, even though there is no footage of him actually speaking in English.
Former president Donald Trump actually mocked Xi’s command of the English language, recalling that he managed to say the word, “repeat”:
He looked at me, and he goes, “Repeat”. I didn’t know he spoke English actually. <people laughs>
He said, “Repeat”. I said, what did you just say? Repeat?
So he spoke a little more English than I though, cause he never said “Hello”, but he said “Repeat”.
But unlike the thin-skinned CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), Americans don’t seem to care that the Chinese delegation did not wear headphones. They probably have more important things to argue about (like whether Travis Kelce will cheat on Taylor Swift) than petty nonsense like this.
The CGTN video itself only showed President Xi Jinping giving his opening remarks at the 2023 China-US summit at Woodside, with English subtitles.
Most of the US delegation appears to be wearing black wired headphones, to listen to the English translation of his remarks. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were the only ones who did not appear to wear any headphones.
While pro-CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are claiming that the two men were arrogantly pretending to listen to Xi Jinping speaking in Mandarin, the truth is – they were both wearing wireless earphones.
What was not shown in the CGTN video was the portion just before Xi Jinping spoke. It showed both Joe Biden and Antony Blinken each putting on a single wired earphone.
The White House video (link) showed the opening remarks of both President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping opening remarks. After Biden finished speaking, he welcomed President Xi Jinping, and handed “the floor” to him:
I look forward to beginning this discussion, and I welcome you, and the floor is yours, Mr. President, and again, welcome back.
Joe Biden can then be seen plugging a small wired earphone into his right ear. As the view switches to show the Chinese delegation, it also shows Antony Blinken putting a similar wired earphone into his right ear.
At the end of the White House video, Antony Blinken was seen removing his earphone, while Joe Biden still had his earphone on.
To be clear – both President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were listening to the translation of President Xi Jinping’s opening remarks. They certainly did not insult President Xi Jinping or the Chinese delegation by pretending to understand Mandarin.
This is just ultimately just another example of CCP propaganda, created / spread by pro-CCP supporters and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).Here are other examples:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Truth : Video Does Not Prove Japanese Food Is Radioactive At All!
This is yet another example of FAKE VIDEOS circulating on WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : The Viral Video Is Several Months Old
Let me just start by pointing out that the viral video is several months old, coming to our attention in the middle of July 2023. The video was certainly recorded and distributed on WhatsApp, TikTok and other social media platforms in early July, if not earlier.
At that time, Japan had not yet released treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean. So it is impossible for the video to show radioactive food caused by the release of Fukushima nuclear plant’s treated water.
The Fukushima Nuclear Power Station (NPS) only started releasing its ALPS-treated and diluted water into the sea on the afternoon of Thursday, 24 August 2023 – about 6 weeks after the video first went viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms.
The viral English and Chinese messages tied to this video are misleading. The man in the video never once mentioned that this food product was from Fukushima, or mentioned the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
With help from Yuh Hui and Adrian Tung, here is the English translation of what the man actually said in the viral video:
This is a radiation monitoring device.
Now, there is Japanese food that I placed on a bench over there. Now, I will walk towards it, and see how much radiation it has.
As I approach the Japanese food, the radiation reading goes up. Now, I place the device here (on the food). See how the radiation reading is very high. This is food from Japan.
See how the device gives a “beep beep” sound, and the screen turns red. The radiation reading is more than 400.
If you ever go to Japan, try not to eat the food there, or buy any food souvenirs for your relatives and friends. It will be terrible if they get radiation poisoning!
This food was given to me by a friend who bought it from Japan. I’m not going to eat it. I will accept it and will throw it away later.
Fact #3 : That Was An EMF Meter, Not A Geiger Counter
The man claimed in the viral video that he was using a radiation monitoring device. The truth is – he was just the ST1393 EMF Meter, which anyone can buy from Amazon for just $31.39. Here are other purchase options :
The ST1393 EMF meter is designed to detect and measure the electromagnetic radiation produced by magnetic and electric fields. It is not designed to detect nuclear radiation like alpha and beta particles, as well as gamma rays.
To detect ionising radiation from nuclear sources, he needs to use a Geiger counter, not an EMF meter.
As the manufacturer advertises, the ST1393 EMF testers is used to detect “electric field radiation” and “magnetic field emission” from mobile phones, hair dryer, computer, TV, printer, etc. It does NOT detect nuclear radiation!
Fact #3 : EMF Meter Likely Measured Static Electricity
In the video, the EMF meter was seen registering between 292 V/m and 441 V/m. That was the measurement of a static electric field, not nuclear radiation.
If you look closely, the meter says the unit is V/m (volts per meter), and the type is Electric Field. Nuclear radiation is measured in units like Becquerel (Bq) or Curie (Ci) or Sievert (Sv) or Rem (One Sv = 100 rem).
The EMF meter was very likely measuring the static electricity on the Japanese food product’s plastic polymer packaging. If the man tests other plastic packaging, he would likely register similar levels of static electricity.
In case you are worried about the “high” static electricity produced by Japanese food packaging, here are some common static electricity levels:
Natural electric field in atmosphere : 100 V/m
Electric field during thunderstorms : Up to several thousand V/m
Walking on non-conducting carpets : Up to 500,000 V/m
High voltage DC power lines : Up to 20,0000 V/m
Inside DC-powered electric trains : Up to 300 V/m
In other words – you do NOT need to worry about a few hundred volts per meter of static electricity!
Fact #4 : Induction Cooker Not Source Of Electric Field
Some sharp-eyed folks have pointed out that the man placed the Japanese food item on an induction cooker, and posited that the increase in electric field “radiation” was due to EM radiation from the induction cooker.
I have to point out that while it appears to be an induction cooker, it could potentially be a radiant cooker which come in similar designs, with a black glass top. You can only tell them apart when they are operating – the radiant cooker’s heating element will glow red, while induction cookers won’t.
In any case, an induction cooker works by inducing an electromagnetic field to transfer energy to a magnetic pan / pot. So the EMF meter should have registered a magnetic field as well.
Since the video showed no magnetic field, the induction cooker was not powered and would not have affected the results.
Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a form of radiation, but it is not the same as nuclear radiation.
EM radiation is wide-ranging, and includes everything from visible light to radio waves, microwaves, infrared to X-rays. It is emitted by everything from the sun to computers and smartphones.
Nuclear radiation, on the other hand, consists mainly of Alpha particles, Beta particles, and Gamma rays, that are produced as a result of a nuclear reaction, or radioactive decay.
It is like comparing bicycles with cars. They are both vehicles (radiation), but a bicycle (electromagnetic radiation) is different from a car (nuclear radiation). Getting hit by a bicycle is also very different than getting hit by a car!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was the 3rd batch of treated Fukushima water just proven to be radioactive with radionuclides including carbon-14, cobalt 60, strontium-90 & others?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Treated Fukushima Water Is Still Radioactive!
Pro-CCP netizens, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing this message on WhatsApp and social media platforms:
东京都政府公布的排放前测试结果显示，日本第三批福岛核污染水含有碳14、钴60、锶90等放射性核素。日本电力公司（东京电力公司）。
The 3rd batch of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water schedule to be released during Japan’s 3rd round of ocean discharge is reported to contains radionuclides including carbon-14, cobalt 60, strontium-90 & others, according to pre-discharge test results released by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).
第一轮排放时间为8月24日，第二轮排放时间为10月5日。钴60和锶90将对人类健康和环境产生重大影响。
The 1st round of discharge was on August 24 & 2nd round discharge on October 5. cobalt 60 & strontium-90 will significantly impact human health & the environment.
让我们看看西方主流媒体是否会报道这一事实，或者可能像他们一直在做的那样，以隐藏在某处的小字印刷或根本不报道这一事实。尽管CGTN之前也有不少批评中国问题的报道，但声称CGTN是中共的喉舌是这些西方主流媒体的常见说法。
Let’s see whether the western main stream media will report this fact or maybe report this in small print hidden somewhere or none at all as they had been doing. Claims of CGTN being China Communist Party (CCP) China’s mouthpiece are common narrative by these western main stream media despite many reports from CGTN criticizing China’s problems before.
Truth : Treated Fukushima Water Far Below Radioactive Limits
This is yet another example of MISINFORMATION surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station (NPS), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Only Chinese Media Are Reporting A Problem
One of the first things I did was to look up any problems related to the third batch of waste water released by the Fukushima NPS. Interestingly, this topic appears to have been addressed by three Chinese state media outlets:
Xinhua : Multiple radionuclides detected in Fukushima nuke wastewater planned for 3rd round of ocean discharge
China Daily : Multiple radionuclides detected in Fukushima nuke wastewater planned for 3rd round of ocean discharge
CGTN : TEPCO: Multiple radionuclides detected in Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water in third round of ocean discharge
They all appear to have the same content, because they appear to have been syndicated from Xinhua.
No other news media from any other country in the world – not just from Western countries – have reported any problem with the TEPCO report.
Fact #2 : TEPCO Report Showed No Issues
TEPCO actually has a dedicated portal that publishes testing data and other updates on the ALPS-treated water at the Fukushima NPS.
The 10 July 2023 analysis of ALPS-treated water from the K4-A tank mentioned in the Xinhua, China Daily and CGTN articles, is actually available for the public to read in English.
Anyone who reads through it will quickly realise that the report clearly states that:
39 radionuclides were confirmed not to be significantly present.
29 radionuclides were confirmed to be 74% less than discharge standard.
the amount of tritium was 130,000 Bq/L, but dropped to less than 1,500 Bq/L after dilution.
Yes, radionuclides other than tritium were found to be present in the ALPS-treated water. However, they were all found to be insignificant, or far below the discharge standard, and this was before the water was diluted.
In other words – the TEPCO report on the 10 July 2023 analysis showed that it was complying with regulations.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency also conducted an independent analysis of the 10 July 2023 ALPS-treated water sample through its Okuma Analysis and Research Center.
Its separate and independent analysis (PDF download) confirmed that:
nuclides other than tritium which have been purified to below the regulatory limit by ALPS treatment.
the concentrations of 29 nuclides was 26% of regulatory limits
the concentrations of 39 nuclides were “not significantly present”
tritium level was around 130,000 Bq/L in the undiluted water.
That is likely why no other news media has reported on any problems with this report – because it did not reveal any actual problem with the ALPS-treated water…
Yes, the Fukushima water is still radioactive after being filtered and treated, but the amount of radionuclides are far below regulatory limits.
Fact #4 : Fukushima Will Release Less Tritium Than Chinese Nuclear Plants
Perhaps pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) would do well to understand this English idiom – People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
What Chinese citizens and perhaps, most people around the world, may not realise is that Chinese nuclear power stations routinely discharge many times more tritium than the Fukushima NPS.
In fact, an official Chinese government report actually revealed that the Qinshan nuclear power plant discharged over 14X more tritium than what the Fukushima NPS will discharge.
If the release of tritium and other radionuclides are such a danger, perhaps we should all be demanding that the regulatory standards be TIGHTENED for ALL nuclear power plants across the world.
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was there mass looting at London’s Oxford Street, as part of a crime wave in Western countries?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Mass Looting At London’s Oxford Street!
Pro-CCP netizens, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), are sharing a video which appears to show mass looting at London’s Oxford Street, with claims that this is part of a crime wave in Western countries!
Looting London, Oxford St
Also happens in US,France and Australia.Now,also in Sweden.
Truth : There Was No Mass Looting At London’s Oxford Street!
This is yet another example of misinformation and propaganda created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and shared by anti-West netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Video Originated In TikTok
First, the video originated in TikTok, with the poster describing it as a “mass looting stunt” that was planned on social media:
Chaos erupts on Oxford Street amid reports of ‘mass looting stunt’ planned on social media #london #oxfordstreet #clash #chaos #looting #stunt #shopping #shops #uk #news #fyp #foryoupage
Fact #2 : It Only Targeted JD Sports
The so-called looting did not occur at multiple stores at London’s Oxford Street. Rather, it only targeted one store – the JD Sports outlet nearest to Oxford Circus.
There are actually three JD Sports outlets along Oxford Street, but the outlet at 197-203 Oxford Street is the closest to Oxford Circus.
This was not the typical looting that has been going on in certain cities like San Francisco, for example.
The truth is – this was initiated by posts on TikTok and Snapchat calling on users to take part in an “Oxford Circus JD Robbery” at 3 PM on Wednesday, 9 August 2023.
The TikTok and Snapchat posts encouraged yobs (British slang for louts) to follow the dress code of balaclavas and gloves, with the warning – “Don’t come if you can’t run. Don’t come if you’re loud. Don’t come with any weapons“.
London mayor, Sadiq Khan, even issued a warning about the TikTok craze:
I am worried about this nonsense we have seen on TikTok encouraging people to go to Oxford Street.
The viral TikTok and Snapchat posts caught the attention of the Metropolitan Police, which sent dozens of police officers to proactively prevent the “mass looting” event, should it actually take place.
We are aware of online speculation about opportunities to commit crime around Oxford Street. There will be a significant number of our officers in the area over the next 24 hours.
Mounted police officers on horses patrolled Oxford Street, while police officers formed human shields around shops. In the end, hundreds of teenagers gathered outside the JD Sports outlet, but no actual looting took place.
Just after 3 PM, two young men were detained outside McDonald’s near JD Sports. By 8 PM, the Metropolitan police issued 34 dispersal orders and arrested nine people.
Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order, one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one person arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and one person was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.
Earlier in the afternoon, officers arrested two people in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts.
However, no actual looting took place at JD Sports or any other store along Oxford Street that day.
Fact #5 : Most People Were There To Take Photos / Videos
While several people were arrested at the “mass looting” event, it appears that most people were there to take photos or videos of any looting that might actually occur due to the “TikTok craze”.
When British media interviewed people at the scene, many said that they were just there to record the “event”:
Harry, 14, from Islington : I’m not here to steal anything, I’ve been raised better than that. I just want to record it.
CJ, 16, from Hertfordshire : We’re not here to steal stuff – there’s loads of famous people making videos. We just saw loads of police and want to see what it’s about.
Many teenagers shared the photos and videos they took on TikTok and Snapchat, some of which appear in the video above.
Fact #9 : This Is Just CCP Propaganda
This is really nothing more than yet another example of CCP propaganda created / promoted by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).
All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false in most instances. So please watch out for such false claims. Here is just the latest dozen,.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Were the French people just caught urinating on an African child, while filming their vile act?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : French People Were Caught Urinating On African Child!
People are sharing a video on WhatsApp and Facebook, claiming that the French people were just caught urinating on an African child after the French ambassador in Mali was expelled!
On WhatsApp : Lets make this go viral until the people responsible for this human rights abuse are arrested and prosecuted. This is the filth of France, the ugliest scandal of the twenty-first century!!!
The inhuman and shocking scene of two men and a woman urinating on an African child, in one of the French villages, and the child, completely stripped of clothes, lying face down on the ground, while numbers of The French men and women, whose country has always shocked the world with the sophistication of their civilization, are watching this obscene, dirty, and abnormal act, without any sign of intervention from any of them!!!
This was after the state of Mali expelled the French ambassador. The French arrested one of the Malians in a French village and urinated on him publicly. Africa must wake up to see the true, ugly face of France.
We regret the ugliness and horror of the scene, but where are the human rights advocates in this? It is unfortunate that globally Black Africans are associated with misfortune everywhere.
Truth : French People Did Not Urinate On African Child!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms like Facebook, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : This Is An Old Video
First, let me start by pointing out that this incident did not occur in 2023. The video was actually recorded on January 17, 2013. So it is more than ten years old!
Fact #2 : There Was No African Child / Woman
The child / woman who was being peed on in the viral video is not an African child or woman.
That is actually Guatemalan performance artist, Regina José Galindo, who covered her body in black coal.
Born on 27 August 1974, Regina was 39 years old when that video was recorded, and is 49 years old in 2023.
Fact #3 : Video Was Recorded In Brazil
The video was not recorded in Mali, but thousands of kilometres away, in São Paulo, Brazil.
To be specific, the video was recorded at Departamento de Artes Cênicas (CAC) – the Department of Performing Arts, which is part of the School of Communications and Arts (ECA) of the University of São Paulo.
The video is actually a 2013 performance called Piedra (Spanish for stone), which aims to expose the history of violence against Latin American women, and address the exploitation of the female workers of Brazil’s colossal coal mining industry.
In the Piedra performance, Regina painted her body black and crouched into a petrified metal position. Every 10 minutes, a male-bodied “audience member” would approach Galindo, unbutton their pants and pee on her as she remained deathly still.
The obvious nonchalant attitude and ease in which these male-bodied actors could defile the artist’s body parallels the wide-spread apathy regarding the safety and care of women’s bodies. The public aspect of the performance only “further underscores the myopic nature of everyday actions that propel repetitive structural violence.”
In presenting her body as an insignificant piedra (Spanish for stone), Galindo is suggesting a quality of disposability, with the female body vulnerable (like a stone) to violent abuse.
Piedra : The history of humanity has remained inscribed on the bodies of Latin American women. On their bodies— conquered, marked, enslaved, objectified, exploited, and tortured—one can read the terrible stories of power and struggle that shape our past. Bodies are fragile only in their appearance. It is the female body that has survived conquest and slavery. Like a stone, it has stored the hatred and rancor of memory in order to transform it into energy and life.
Fact #4 : This Video Is Being Abused By Different Parties
This video is, unfortunately, being abused by different parties to drive narratives that are contrary to what actually happened.
Some African netizens are sharing it to fan the deeply-rooted anti-French sentiment in West Africa, after a series of military coups in Mali, Niger, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.
On the other hand, pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are using the video to fan anti-West sentiments in Africa (where China is making inroads), and draw attention away from criticisms of their “re-education” activities in Xinjiang.
As you have seen – the truth is they were all lying / misrepresenting the video. Here are other examples you may have seen on WhatsApp or social media platforms recently:
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did former Japanese MP Yasuhiro Sonoda die from cancer, after drinking treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power station?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-09-17 : Some minor updates.
Updated @ 2023-09-13 : Added new fact check video, and other minor updates.
Updated @ 2023-09-10 : Updated article with proof Yasuhiro Sonoda is still alive! Originally posted @ 2023-09-01
Claim : Yasuhiro Sonoda Died After Drinking Fukushima Water!
People are sharing videos and photos of Yasuhiro Sonoda drinking ALPS-filtered water from the Fukushima nuclear power station in WhatsApp groups and social media, claiming that the former Japanese MP eventually died from cancer!
How is Yasuhiro Sonoda, a Japanese official who drank nuclear-contaminated water 12 years ago, now? Why did he disappear?
At the end of October 2011, Yasuhiro Sonoda, the then Japanese cabinet minister, poured half a glass of water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in front of media reporters in order to prove that the treated Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water was “drinkable and no problem”. The treated nuclear-contaminated water of Units 5 and 6 was “drinked twice.”
In December 2014, Yasuhiro Sonoda’s social platform stopped updating; in June 2015 , Sonoda Yasuhiro announced his retirement; at the beginning of 2018, Japanese media said that Sonoda Yasuhiro had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma; in August 2020, Sonoda Yasuhiro died of illness in Melekeok, the capital of Palau.
JERRY GOODE : 🚨☢️ 🇯🇵: Japan MP Yasuhiro Sonoda’s hands shook as he downed a glass of Fukushima Nuclear Contaminated Water in front of reporters and cameras. NOW HE IS MISSING! What happened to him?💀
Finally solved the case, Yasuhiro Sonoda is dead, died of multiple myeloma in 2020.
In June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda announced his retirement. Early 2018.Due to physical discomfort, got checked up in Japan, and diagnosed with multiple myeloma. At the end of 2018, he received treatment at MIT Medical School in the United States, but failed. At the end of 2019, he went to Palau to recuperate (waiting to die). In August 2020, he died in Melekeok, the capital of Palau, due to multiple myeloma and his whole body decomposed.
INF.News : …many years later, the Health Bureau of the Republic of Palau announced a regrettable news: Yasuhiro Sonoda passed away in Palau in 2020 due to his body gradually decomposing due to multiple myeloma.
Why did the Republic of Palau choose to announce such news at such a critical time when Japan discharged nuclear wastewater into the sea? The answer is actually quite simple: Protest.
The Republic of Palau chose to announce the death of Yasuhiro Sonoda at this critical moment, not only to express their dissatisfaction with the Japanese government, but also to alert the global community to the risks associated with nuclear energy.
Truth : Yasuhiro Sonoda Did Not Die After Drinking Fukushima Water!
This appears to be another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Drank Fukushima Water In 2011
First, let me just give you a quick overview of Yasuhiro Sonoda and why he became viral in 2023.
Born on June 9, 1967, Yasuhiro Sonoda (園田 康博 / そのだ やすひろ) was elected to the House of Representatives in the Diet (Japanese Parliament) in 2003, as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.
After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the 44 year-old MP sought to ease concerns over the safety of the treated water. In response to a challenge by freelance journalist Yu Terasawa, he promised to drink the treated waste water.
I don’t want it to be seen as some kind of performance, but if that’s the best way to prove that the water is safe then I would gladly drink it right here, in front of you, any time.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) prepared a bottle of water from Fukushima Daiichi reactors no. 5 and no. 6, which was filtered and treated using its Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove 62 radionuclides from the contaminated water.
Then, at an October 31, 2011 press conference, Yasuhiro Sonoda filled a glass with the ALPS-treated water before polishing it off in two gulps. Even so, he pointed out that the data was more important than the demonstration:
I am aware that just drinking [the treated water] doesn’t in itself mean that safety has been confirmed. The best way to do that is to present data to the public.
The viral messages suggested something nefarious after Yasuhiro Sonoda stopped posting on his Twitter account in 2014. The truth is – he stopped tweeting after he lost elections for the second time.
After that infamous demonstration, Yasuhiro Sonoda lost his seat during the 46th House of Representatives election on December 16, 2012. He subsequently lost again in the 47th House of Representatives election on December 14, 2014.
His last Twitter post was on the night before he lost his election, showing a video of his last campaign speech on December 13.
The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper would later publish a news article (no longer available online) on June 14, 2015, stating that Yasuhiru Sonoda announced his withdrawal from politics.
Fact #3 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Is Still Alive!
After leaving politics in June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda receded from the limelight. However, there is no evidence he is dead.
As a former Member of Parliament, his death would have been announced by the Japanese media. Yet, there is no mention of his passing. The viral messages certainly offered no evidence to back up their claims.
But more importantly, Kyodo News reached out to Yasuhiro Sonoda himself via telephone on 2 September 2023, and confirmed that he is still alive! Mr. Sonoda denied that he died from cancer.
Sonoda said, “I would like to once again apologize to those who experienced the earthquake and the people of Fukushima Prefecture,” regarding the spread of false rumors caused by his actions at the time.
Fact #4 : No Evidence Yasuhiro Sonoda Has Multiple Myeloma
There is also no evidence that Yasuhiro Sonoda was diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a type of white blood cell cancer.
There has been no media report of such a diagnosis. Neither did Yasuhiro Sonoda mention it publicly. In fact, the viral messages also offered no evidence to back up this claim.
Unless Yasuhiro Sonoda or his family publicly reveals that he is suffering from multiple myeloma, or any kind of cancer for the matter, anyone who says that is likely lying to you.
Fact #5 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Was ACD CEO
Yasuhiro Sonoda kept a low profile after leaving politics. However, Taiwanese fact checking website, MyGoPen, discovered that Yasuhiro Sonoda became CEO and the company’s first Representative Director of ACD. Co. Ltd. in March 2018.
ACD Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Japanese airlines, ANA (All Nippon Airways), which focuses on the cross-border e-commerce platform called ANA Overseas Shopping. This was confirmed by a June 17, 2019 CoinON interview with Sonoda as ACD CEO.
It is unlikely for him to be appointed both CEO and the first Representative Director of ACD if he was already dying from multiple myeloma in 2018.
Fact #6 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Retired From ACD In 2020
It appears that the claim that Yasuhiro Sonoda went to Palau at the end of 2019 for palliative care is false. He was still CEO of ACD Co., Ltd until his retirement on 14 March 2020.
On 1 November 2020, ACD Co., Ltd. issued a press release announcing that Yasuhiro Sonoda retired as Representative Director and President on 14 March 2020, and was replaced by Hiromichi Furui.
The fact that ACD announced his retirement in November 2020 also suggests that Yasuhiro Sonoda was still alive at that time. The viral message claimed that he died in August 2020.
The websites promoting this claim did not provide a link to the announcement. Suspicious, isn’t it?
Fact #8 : Ngerulmud Is The Capital Of Palau
I should point out that Melekeok is a state, and not the capital of Palau. The capital of Palau is Ngerulmud. Before 2006, the capital of Palau was Koror City.
Fact #9 : MIT Does Not Have A Hospital / Medical School
MIT – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is one of the top private universities in the United States, with five schools in Science, Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Management, and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
MIT, however, does not have any schools of law or medicine. It also does not run any hospitals. Therefore, it is impossible for Yasuhiro Sonoda to seek medical treatment at the MIT Medical School, or the MIT Hospital as claimed.
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Former Japanese MP Yasuhiro Sonoda did not die from cancer, and is still alive, after drinking ALPS-filtered water from the Fukushima nuclear power station!
Claim : Japan MP Sonoda Died After Drinking Fukushima Water!
People are sharing videos and photos of Yasuhiro Sonoda drinking the treated Fukushima waste water in WhatsApp groups and social media, claiming that the former Japanese MP eventually died from cancer!
How is Yasuhiro Sonoda, a Japanese official who drank nuclear-contaminated water 12 years ago, now? Why did he disappear?
At the end of October 2011, Yasuhiro Sonoda, the then Japanese cabinet minister, poured half a glass of water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in front of media reporters in order to prove that the treated Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water was “drinkable and no problem”. The treated nuclear-contaminated water of Units 5 and 6 was “drinked twice.”
In December 2014, Yasuhiro Sonoda’s social platform stopped updating; in June 2015 , Sonoda Yasuhiro announced his retirement; at the beginning of 2018, Japanese media said that Sonoda Yasuhiro had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma; in August 2020, Sonoda Yasuhiro died of illness in Melekeok, the capital of Palau.
JERRY GOODE : 🚨☢️ 🇯🇵: Japan MP Yasuhiro Sonoda’s hands shook as he downed a glass of Fukushima Nuclear Contaminated Water in front of reporters and cameras. NOW HE IS MISSING! What happened to him?💀
Finally solved the case, Yasuhiro Sonoda is dead, died of multiple myeloma in 2020.
In June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda announced his retirement. Early 2018.Due to physical discomfort, got checked up in Japan, and diagnosed with multiple myeloma. At the end of 2018, he received treatment at MIT Medical School in the United States, but failed. At the end of 2019, he went to Palau to recuperate (waiting to die). In August 2020, he died in Melekeok, the capital of Palau, due to multiple myeloma and his whole body decomposed.
[/su_expand]
INF.News : …many years later, the Health Bureau of the Republic of Palau announced a regrettable news: Yasuhiro Sonoda passed away in Palau in 2020 due to his body gradually decomposing due to multiple myeloma.
Why did the Republic of Palau choose to announce such news at such a critical time when Japan discharged nuclear wastewater into the sea? The answer is actually quite simple: Protest.
The Republic of Palau chose to announce the death of Yasuhiro Sonoda at this critical moment, not only to express their dissatisfaction with the Japanese government, but also to alert the global community to the risks associated with nuclear energy.
Truth : Japan MP Sonoda Did Not Die After Drinking Fukushima Water!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…
Born on June 9, 1967, Yasuhiro Sonoda (園田 康博 / そのだ やすひろ) was elected to the House of Representatives in the Diet (Japanese Parliament) in 2003, as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.
After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the 44 year-old MP sought to ease concerns over the safety of the treated water. In response to a challenge by freelance journalist Yu Terasawa, he promised to drink the treated waste water.
I don’t want it to be seen as some kind of performance, but if that’s the best way to prove that the water is safe then I would gladly drink it right here, in front of you, any time.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) prepared a bottle of water from Fukushima Daiichi reactors no. 5 and no. 6, which was filtered and treated using its Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove 62 radionuclides from the contaminated water.
Then, at an October 31, 2011 press conference, Yasuhiro Sonoda filled a glass with the ALPS-treated water before polishing it off in two gulps.
The viral messages suggested something nefarious after Yasuhiro Sonoda stopped posting on his Twitter account in 2014. The truth is – he stopped tweeting after he lost elections for the second time.
After that infamous demonstration, Yasuhiro Sonoda lost his seat during the 46th House of Representatives election on December 16, 2012. He subsequently lost again in the 47th House of Representatives election on December 14, 2014.
His last Twitter post was on the night before he lost his election, showing a video of his last campaign speech on December 13. The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper would later publish a news article (no longer available online) on June 14, 2015, stating that Yasuhiru Sonoda announced his withdrawal from politics.
After leaving politics in June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda receded from the limelight. However, there is no evidence he is dead. As a former Member of Parliament, his death would have been announced by the Japanese media. Yet, there is no mention of his passing. The viral messages certainly offered no evidence to back up their claims.
In fact, Yasuhiro Sonoda became CEO and the company’s first Representative Director of ACD. Co. Ltd. – a subsidiary of the Japanese airlines, ANA (All Nippon Airways), in March 2018. It is unlikely for him to be appointed both CEO and the first Representative Director of ACD if he was already dying from multiple myeloma in 2018.
Yasuhiro Sonoda remained CEO of ACD Co., Ltd until his retirement on 14 March 2020. On 1 November 2020, ACD Co., Ltd. issued a press release announcing that Yasuhiro Sonoda retired as Representative Director and President on 14 March 2020, and was replaced by Hiromichi Furui.
The fact that ACD announced his retirement in November 2020 also suggests that Yasuhiro Sonoda was still alive at that time. The viral message claimed that he died in August 2020.
But more importantly, Kyodo News reached out to Yasuhiro Sonoda himself via telephone on 2 September 2023, and confirmed that he was still alive! Mr. Sonoda denied that he died from cancer.
Sonoda said, “I would like to once again apologize to those who experienced the earthquake and the people of Fukushima Prefecture,” regarding the spread of false rumors caused by his actions at the time.
Melekeok is a state, and not the capital of Palau. The capital of Palau is Ngerulmud. Before 2006, the capital of Palau was Koror City.
MIT – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, does not have any schools of law or medicine. It also does not run any hospitals. Therefore, it is impossible for Yasuhiro Sonoda to seek medical treatment at the MIT Medical School, or the MIT Hospital as claimed.
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Claim : Singapore Found NEW Radioactive Food From Japan!
This message is being actively promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens on WhatsApp and social media:
Singapore said it found radioactive contamination in four samples of vegetables imported from Japan and has extended the ban to food from two more Japanese prefectures.
Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said radioactive contamination was found in Mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley), Nanohana (rapeseed plant), Mizuna (Japanese mustard) and perilla leaf samples.”
More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food – With more countries detecting radioactive contamination in food imported from Japan, efforts to prevent it spreading through the global food chain have gained a new urgency (Wall Street Journal, 8/24/2023)
Truth : Singapore Did Not Find NEW Radioactive Food From Japan!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created or promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : WSJ Podcast Is Genuine But Outdated
First, let me just confirm that the Wall Street Journal podcast and transcript is genuine, and was posted on 24 August 2023, at 6:42 PM (local time).
However, that was just an audio clip and transcript of an old WSJ article (now removed) that was originally posted on 25 March 2011 – more than 12 years ago!
Fact #2 : Podcast Was Released Same Day As Wastewater Release
It is unknown why the Wall Street Journal chose to publish this podcast and transcript from their old 2011 story, but it was released on the same day the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station started releasing its treated wastewater.
If there was any detection of radioactive food from Japan, it would have happened at least a day or two earlier, and would not have anything to do with the release of the treated wastewater from the Fukushima NPS.
On 3 September 2023, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) issued a public announcement (PDF download) to refute the Wall Street Journal podcast which claimed that it found new samples of radioactive vegetables fin Japan.
SFA stated that it had not found any new contaminated vegetables from Japan. Neither did the SGA ban any food products from any Japanese prefectures recently.
The SFA also stated that it monitors all food imports, and will take action if any food imports were found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.
Clarification on circulating article/podcast regarding import of Japanese food products
In response to media queries regarding a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article/podcast titled “More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food”, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has clarified that it has not found samples of contaminated vegetables from Japan or banned food products from any Japanese prefectures recently. The WSJ podcast has referred to a media release by the former Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in 2011. This has since been overtaken by events.
We wish to reiterate that SFA adopts a science-based approach towards assessing food safety risks. Food imported into Singapore is subjected to SFA’s surveillance and monitoring regime, which includes radiation surveillance and enforcement actions will be taken should any food imports be found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.
Fact #4 : Singapore AVA Announcement Was From 2011
The announcement by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore was not posted in August 2023, but over 12 years ago – on 24 March 2011 (PDF download).
DETECTION OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINANTS IN FOUR SAMPLES OF VEGETABLES FROM JAPAN – AVA SUSPENDS IMPORT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FROM ADDITIONAL TWO PREFECTURES
Radioactive contaminants have been detected in four samples of vegetables from Japan. The contaminated samples were imported from the affected prefectures of Tochigi and Ibaraki, as well as Chiba and Ehime which are outside the affected areas. The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) will extend its suspension on the import of all fruits and vegetables to include Chiba and Ehime with immediate effect.
Issued by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority On 24 Mar 2011
Fact #5 : Singapore Did Not Ban Japanese Food Imports
Despite the release of the Fukushima waste water, Singapore has not initiated any new import ban of food from Japan.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stated that there will be “no immediate ban on seafood from Japan” following the release of the treated Fukushima wastewater.
Fact #6 : Singapore Has Not Detected Radioactive Food From Japan
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stated that its surveillance of the safety of food from Japan has been satisfactory. It has not detected any radioactive contaminant in food imports from Japan since 2013.
In fact, Singapore lifted pre-export tests and Certificate of Origin requirements on approved food imports from the Fukushima prefecture on May 28, 2021.
Even so, the SFA continues to closely monitor food imports from Japan to ensure that they comply with Singapore’s food safety requirements.
Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is the United States staying quiet about the release of Fukushima nuclear waste water because BlackRock is the largest shareholder of TEPCO?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : BlackRock Is The Largest TEPCO Shareholder!
This message is being actively promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens on WhatsApp and social media:
Who is behind the discharge of Fukushima NUCLEAR CONTAMINATED water?
In the war of aggression against China in the year 1900, it was not the Japanese government that first initiated the conflict with China, but a certain company. To put it bluntly, it was a Japanese company now renamed as ‘Tepco‘.
Many people may not know about Tepco, which is responsible for the discharge of nuclear sewage in Japan. Tepco is actually an “American company” like South Korea’s Samsung.
The largest shareholder of Tepco is BlackRock of Wall Street, and the second largest shareholder is also The pioneer of Wall Street, and Japan’s own Nomura Asset Management is only the third largest shareholder…
So can you understand why the Americans are silent in this incident? Because the affairs of Japan are the affairs of the United States. The decisions of the Japanese government and Japanese companies are the decisions of the United States.
The United States launches any form of “war” against China, whether it is a trade war, a technological war, a biological war or an environmental war… Japan They are all loyal lackeys and pawns.
The whole world is already at war.
US is using Japan in a proxy war by getting Japan to dump nuclear wastes near China and then ban all Jap seafood to make US absolutely safe from radiation.
Truth : BlackRock Is Not Even Top 10 TEPCO Shareholder!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created or promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Japanese Company Attacked China In 1900
In the first paragraph, the viral message claimed that an unnamed Japanese company attacked China in a “war of aggression in the year 1900”. That appears to be utter nonsense.
The Qing dynasty and the Empire of Japan fought the First Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895. It was only 42 years later that the Empire of Japan would attack the Republic of China.
However, there is no evidence that any Japanese company ever attacked China in the year 1900.
Fact #2 : TEPCO Was Never Renamed
The viral message also claimed that TEPCO was renamed from that unnamed Japanese company which attacked China in the year 1900.
TEPCO – the Tokyo Electric Power Company, was only established in 1951 when the Allied occupation forces privatised Japan’s electricity sector.
Since its establishment on May 1, 1951, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has never been renamed. So the claim in the viral message that TEPCO was renamed is false.
Fact #3 : Japanese Government Is Largest TEPCO Shareholder
The viral message also claimed that BlackRock is the largest shareholder of TEPCO. That’s not true.
The Japanese government is the largest and majority shareholder of TEPCO, with almost 55% ownership through the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation.
BlackRock isn’t even in the list of top 10 TEPCO shareholders (as of end of FY2021)! Take a look:
Top 10 TEPCO Shareholders
Equity Share
(%)
Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation
54.74
The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd.
6.28
Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd.
1.77
TEPCO Group Employees’
Stock Sharing Organization
1.50
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
1.20
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
1.01
STATE STREET BANK WEST CLIENT
– TREATY 505234
0.75
Nippon Life Insurance Company
0.74
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK 385781
0.56
JP JPMSE LUX RE BARCLAYS
CAPITAL SEC LTD EQ CO
0.55
TOTAL
69.12
Fact #4 : Second Largest Shareholder Is Not Pioneer Of Wall Street
The viral message claimed that the second largest shareholder of TEPCO stock is “The pioneer of Wall Street” but does not mention which American company it was referring to.
In any case, the second largest shareholder is The Master Trust Bank of Japan – a Japanese trust bank. Certainly not an American company.
Fact #5 : Fukushima Is Releasing Waste Water Off Japanese Coast
The viral message also claimed that Japan is dumping its nuclear wastes near China. That’s false.
TEPCO is actually releasing the treated waste water from its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station about 1 km off the coast of Japan.
Fukushima is also located on the east coast of Japan. Not is the waste water being released on the far side of Japan, it is being released AWAY from China.
The viral message also claimed that the United States banned Japanese seafood. That is also false.
In fact, the US FDA deactivated its Import Alert #99-33, which banned certain Japanese food products, in September 2021.
The US FDA has not reactivated that import ban. Neither has it ordered a new ban. That’s because it tested 51 samples for radionuclide contamination, and found no detectable levels of radioactive caesium.
Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is there a secret agreement between the EU and Japan to re-export contaminated seafood to other countries?! Here is what you need to know!
Claim : EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood!
People are sharing this message on WhatsApp and social media, claiming that there is a secret agreement between the EU and Japan to re-export contaminated seafood to other countries!
There is also a secret agreement between EU and the Japs for the EU to re-export the Jap contaminated sea products to other countries eg China, Asia, the Middle East, etc.
Above exposes that just before the Japanese discharges toxic nuclear wastes into the sea, the EU has decided to abolish the checking on imported (contaminated) Japanese seafood products! It’s clear that in the EU there is corruption and it’s also possible that they will secretly re-export the Japanese products to other countries! Thus China has also decided to suspend seafood imports from a number (12) of EU countries!
Thus, in order to ‘con’ the world, the EU simply re-labelled the Jap contaminated products as EU products and re-export them to other countries outside Europe!
It’s obvious that the Japs are paying EU regularly a considerable amount of bribes ( billions of Euros) for this service!
The greed of the whiteman & the evil Japs know no bounds. Do you want to gamble with the lives of your loved ones by consuming these radioactive products from Japan ❓Switch to local fresh fishes.
No Evidence EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : EU Lifted Final Fukushima Food Import Restrictions
This claim appears to be based on a 13 July 2023 decision by the European Union (EU) to lift its remaining restrictions on food imports from Japan after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The EU placed a strict maximum radioactivity level of 100 Bq/kg on food from Japan since June 2011, requiring pre-export testing of food products for radioactivity.
The EU only made this decision after finding that there was not even a single case of non-compliance over 12 years of monitoring food imports from Japan.
No non-compliances at the entry into the Union with those maximum radionuclide levels have been observed at import in the Union since June 2011, providing evidence that the control system put in place and the controls performed by the Japanese authorities are effective.
Let me repeat this – Japan has, not even once, exported any contaminated food items to the EU in the past 12 years.
Fact #2 : EU Progressively Reduced Fukushima Food Import Restrictions
It is also important to point out that the EU has reviewed its food import restrictions on Japan every two years, and has progressively lifted those restrictions .
In its last review on September 2021, the restrictions were only limited to wild mushrooms, some fish species, and wild edible plants from the prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi,, Gunma, Yamanashi, Yamagata, Iwata, Shizuoka, Ibaraki, Nagano, and Niigata.
In other words, the EU had been progressively lifting food import restrictions on Japan, and only lifted its remaining restrictions on 13 July 2023. It was not like they suddenly lifted all food restrictions on that day.
Fact #3 : China Did Not Suspend EU Seafood Imports
On 24 August 2023, China announced an immediate blanket ban on all seafood imports from Japan. However, the import ban does not affect non-seafood food imports from Japan like vegetables, fruits, or canned food.
There is no evidence that China suspended seafood imports from 12 EU countries over fears of radioactive seafood being re-exported from Japan.
Fact #4 : There Is No Evidence Of Any Secret EU + Japan Re-Export Plan
There is also no evidence at all that the European Union (EU) has any secret plan to re-export contaminated seafood from Japan to other countries.
Of course, you may be thinking – how would I know since this is a secret agreement? Well, where is the evidence there is such a secret agreement?
Did the viral message include any evidence of such an agreement between the EU and Japan? No. So why should YOU believe some random claim circulating on WhatsApp / social media, with zero evidence to back it up?
It is easy to claim that the EU is willing to help the Japanese re-export their contaminated seafood to other countries, but it’s really not logical.
For one thing – it is prohibitively expensive to export all those seafood to any European Union country, for re-export to China, Asia and the Middle East. It would also be quite impossible for EU countries to mask the Japan-native seafood species, and claim that they were caught in Europe!
Finally, such activities would be easily exposed by any importing country simply conducting radioactivity screening of imported food products.
Fact #5 : Japan Seafood Exports Are Only Worth €2.4 Billion
The claim that Japan is paying the EU billions of euros every year to re-export radioactive Japanese seafood is also not logical.
For one thing – the global export value of Japanese seafood in 2022 is only 387 billion yen, or about $2.6 billion / €2.4 billion.
Even if Japan exclusively exports ALL of its seafood to the EU to re-export to unsuspecting countries, it does not make financial sense to pay the EU a “bribe” of billions of euros to export only €2.4 billion worth of seafood!
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant caught releasing black radioactive water into the ocean?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Fukushima Released Black Radioactive Water Into Ocean!
A video showing black water being discharged into the ocean has gone viral, with people claiming that it shows nuclear waste being disposed into the Pacific Ocean by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
👆Footage of the release of the Fukushima nuclear waste water into the sea. Apparently more than 7,000 liters are to be discharged from 24/8 and through the next 17 days…. The Japs are evil, look at the blackness of the fluids discharged!!
The Truth About Viral Fukushima Black Radioactive Water Video!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Viral Video Was Not Edited
First, I should confirm that the viral video is genuine, and was not edited, or created by generative AI software.
For one thing – the viral video was recorded on June 25, 2020 – more than 3 years before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing its radioactive waste water on Thursday, August 24, 2023.
Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Recorded In Mexico
On top of that, the viral video was not even recorded in Japan! It was recorded from the balcony of a hotel in the famous beach resort town of Acapulco in Mexico, just off the Icacos Beach.
If you look carefully at the video, you can see leisure boats, beach chairs and the hotel’s swimming pool. This was obviously NOT recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is filled with gigantic water tanks holding radioactive waste water.
The black water being discharged into the ocean was not radioactive water, but rather – smelly sewage!
Mexican state officials said that the high-pressure stream of raw sewage may have come from a broken sewer line, which potentially overflowed due to heavy rainfall in the last few days.
According to a witness, the filthy discharge lasted about 25 minutes, and was extremely smelly:
The constant outflow of black water lasted approximately 25 minutes, which came with a lot of pressure. They were very stinking waters, they made me nauseous.
Fact #5 : Fukushima Waste Water Is Filtered + Treated Before Release
To be clear – TEPCO isn’t going to just release the radioactive water into the ocean. The Fukushima waste water is being filtered using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove most of its radioactivity.
The ALPS uses a series of chemical reactions to remove 62 radionuclides from the contaminated water, leaving only tritium and carbon-14. Tritium and carbon-14 are radioactive forms of hydrogen and carbon, which makes them difficult to separate from water.
The treated waste water is then diluted with seawater to reduce the concentration of tritium and carbon-14 before it is released into the ocean.
The final level of tritium is estimated at 1,500 becquerels per litre, which is lower than what is required by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for release, and even lower than the WHO limit for drinking water.
Fact #6 : Fukushima Waste Water To Be Released Over 30 Years
Most people are not aware that nuclear power plants around the world regularly release waste water containing higher tritium levels than the treated waste water from Fukushima.
Of course, TEPCO will be releasing A LOT MORE waste water than those power plants, having accumulated over 1.3 million tonnes over the last 12 years or so.
That’s why TEPCO will gradually release the treated Fukushima waste water into the Pacific Ocean over an extended period of 30 years.
According to molecular pathology expert Gerry Thomas, who worked with Japanese scientists on radiation research, and advised the IAEA on the Fukushima reports:
The water released will be a drop in the ocean, both in terms of volume and radioactivity. There is no evidence that these extremely low levels of radioisotopes have a detrimental health effect.
This is just another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was Joe Biden confused and stuttering in a viral MSNBC interview with Nicolle Wallace?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Joe Biden Was Confused + Stuttering In Viral Interview!
People are sharing a video of US President Joe Biden looking and sounding confused during an MSNBC interview. It has gone viral in MAGA groups, and is being promoted by pro-Russian and pro-CCP groups, as well as the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) .
OMG! President Of The United States? 🤦🏻♂️🫣🤣🤣
What’s wrong with him? What’s he rumbling about? 🤔😥🤦🏻♂️
Truth : Joe Biden Was Not Confused / Stuttering In Viral Interview!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS about Joe Biden, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Joe Biden Interview Aired On June 30, 2023
First, let me just point out that Nicolle Wallace from MSNBC interviewed Joe Biden in the viral interview on June 30, 2023. You can watch the full MSNBC interview here.
During that interview, Nicolle Wallace asked President Biden about the US Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, as well as his administration’s foreign policy and other plans.
Fact #2 : Viral Video Was Fabricated
While the MSNBC interview did occur, the viral Joe Biden interview that has been circulating in MAGA, pro-CCP and pro-Russian groups is a complete fabrication.
President Joe Biden never spoke like that in the MSNBC interview. The original MSNBC interview proves that beyond doubt.
Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Likely A Deep Fake Video
The viral video appears to have modified using AI deep fake technology to change how and what Joe Biden said in the viral video. It does not appear to be done by editing and splicing parts of the interview.
For one thing, some of the words he said in the viral video do not appear in the original video. The background in the viral video also appear consistent even when Joe Biden was stuttering in the viral video.
All that suggest that AI deep fake technology was used to change what Joe Biden said in the viral interview video, and how he said it.
If President Joe Biden really looked and sounded confused, or stuttered repeatedly during the MSNBC interview, it would have been international news, not just limited to the United States.
All of the mainstream media would have covered it. Even if they didn’t, you can count on right-wing news outlets like Fox News, Newsmax, or One America News Network, to cover his confusion and stuttering 24/7.
Yet, not a single mainstream media outlet reported on this major embarrassment for President Joe Biden? That’s because it never happened.
Fact #5 : This Is Just Fake News About Joe Biden
This is just ultimately just another example of political fake news to smear Joe Biden, and here are other examples:
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Germany just publicly accuse the US of blowing up Nord Stream 2 at the United Nations?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-05 : Updated with a new YouTube channel. Originally posted @ 2023-05-01
Claim : Germany Accuses US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2!
People are sharing a YouTube video which shows the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, publicly accusing the US of blowing up Nord Stream 2 at the United Nations!
Fierce and powerful recent speech of German Chancellor on Americans blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline, the aggressive using of Ukraine to start a war against Russia . ‘ We are the baddies’
BREAKING NEWS!!! Germany Accuses US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2. Bravo – finally 👍👏
How To Be A Hypocrite Show How The Actions Of The West Divides The World Instead Of Bring It Together
Truth : Germany Did Not Accuse US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by pro-Russia activists, and promoted / shared by pro-Russian vatniks, the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Olaf Scholz Was Denouncing Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
I traced the video to a speech German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave at the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session on 20 September 2022
In the original, unedited video, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not accuse the US of blowing up the Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Instead, he denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
There is no justification whatsoever for Russia’s war of occupation against Ukraine. President Putin is waging this war with one single objective: to seize Ukraine. Self-determination, political independence do not count for him.
And there’s only one word for this – this is imperialism, plain and simple. The return of imperialism is not only a disaster for Europe, but also a disaster for our global peaceful order.
If we want this war to end, then we cannot be indifferent to how it ends. Putin will only give up his war and his imperialist ambitions if he realizes that he cannot wi.
This is why we will not accept a peace dictated by Russia. This is why we will not accept any pretentious referenda. And this is why Ukraine must be able to defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
Fact #2 : It Features A Fake “Satire” Voice-Over
The video is real, but the original audio was replaced by a fake male “satire” voice-over. The original, unedited video features a female interpreter, which you can view below.
The fake video creator actually mentioned this in the video’s title, but intentionally made the extra long to reduce visibility of that disclaimer. The fake news creator also mentioned the use of a fake voice-over in the description:
BREAKING NEWS!!! Germany Accuses US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2. (Satire Interpreter Voice)
How To Be A Hypocrite Show How The Actions Of The West Divides The World Instead Of Bring It Together. Satire Interpreter Voice To Show What The Rest Of The World World Prefer.
This goes to show just how many people don’t bother to even read the title. Of course, when it comes to pro-Russia and pro-CCP netizens, who cares? If it is anti-America, it must be true.
Fact #3 : It Was Posted By A New “Parody” YouTube Account
The viral video was posted by a new YouTube account created on March 15, 2023.
So far, this YouTube channel – AlienJacket, posted six anti-Western videos – five of which are fake “parody” videos.
The only non-parody video is of Zambian politician Fred M’membe criticising the United States at China’s recent “democracy forum” – the the Second International Forum on Democracy.
Despite being reported as misinformation, YouTube allowed the video to chalk up over 103,000 views over 3 months… and counting.
Fact #4 : It Was Reposted By MVO Channel
Perhaps impressed by how many views the fake video that AlienJacket created drew, a new YouTube channel called MVO Channel reposted the video in May 2023.
Again, YouTube left the video untouched, despite being reported as misinformation…
Fact #5 : Unknown Who Destroyed Nord Stream 2 Pipelines
It is currently unknown who destroyed the Nord Stream 2 pipelines. As far as plausible reasons go, many countries had plausible reasons to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines:
US : To prevent allies in Europe from being held hostage by their reliance on cheap Russian gas.
UK : To encourage allies in Europe to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Russia : To stop supplying Europe without breaking its gas supply contracts, and/or to divide Europe.
Ukraine : To unite Europe against Russia.
While motive is important, it is not evidence that a country has committed the crime. There has to be actual evidence that the US / UK / Russia / Ukraine did it.
Regardless of what armchair experts may claim, there is simply no conclusive evidence YET that any of those countries are responsible for the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Donald Trump just praise China in his 2024 presidential campaign speech?! Find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Donald Trump Praised China In 2024 Campaign Speech!
Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing this message on WhatsApp and social media, which claims that Donald Trump just praised China in his 2024 presidential campaign speech.
It’s very long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
😂😂😂 Trump put it well as a political speech. He may win the presidency election in 2024, knowing America have many crazy people, especially Republicans in middle of USA!
Trump delivered his next presidential midterm election speech yesterday, which is worth watching by every Chinese!
Trump’s presidential campaign speech yesterday was as follows:
What have we gained from America’s 20-year push for democracy around the world? Over the past two decades, we have vigorously promoted democracy as an international policeman and a democracy fighter. With guns and dollars, we Americans have taken down Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Gaddafi in Libya, Syria, Egypt, Ukraine, Turkey, and Greece in 20 years.
Ask what we Americans got. Our businessmen dare not go to the Middle East and Africa to do business, they dare not fly the national flag in the Brazil Olympics, and as long as they admit that they are Americans in the oil-producing regions of the Middle East, it is a direct act of death. Offended Putin, offended the EU, offended China.
The United States controls high technology, and we can’t do China in international trade. We have to abandon the WTO to engage in TPP. Look at what China has achieved in the past 20 years. Not only did they take away our No. 1 spot in the WTO, they also bought 80 percent of the world’s steel, 40 percent of oil and gas, 70 percent of soybeans, and 80 percent of copper. And gold, bought Ukrainian aircraft carriers, Israeli missiles, German machine tools and French wine. It’s all fucking bought in dollars.
They bought our food, sold us spicy strips and instant noodles, bought our steel, sold us bikini panties. Bought our oil, sold us toys. This is not the main thing. China now uses the US dollar as a guarantee for the internationalization of the renminbi. Even if the renminbi is worthless, it can be exchanged for US dollars immediately. Everyone knows that they have a lot of US dollars, more than us.
Damn, Africa was taken away by them, and that’s what happened to us. I absolutely don’t support Obama’s TPP, I want to make Democratic Obama and Hillary the biggest idiots in American history. I am your next president, please support me, we will be honorable and independent, whoever has the money will do business with whom, and we will live a good life.
In the past 20 years, the suicide rate in rural China has dropped by 90%, the illiteracy rate has dropped to less than 10%, life expectancy has increased by more than 10 years, private cars have never been in traffic jams nationwide, high-speed rail accounts for 70% of the world, and soon 500,000 people All cities have high-speed rail links, and highways are connected to more than 2,000 counties.
The longest bridge in the world, the tallest bridge, the most difficult bridge, and the Chinese people don’t take it seriously. The Chinese people are rich in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. New York, which is about to catch up with ours, is going to get divorced and scrambled. Chinese people are anxious about which country they don’t travel to.
If the Chinese don’t buy it, the world’s iron ore and oil will plummet. What’s even more annoying is that basically no terrorist activities dare to carry out in China. … America has become a hopeless country living on a huge dollar bubble… Vote for me, only I can save this bad America!
Even the President of the United States sees China this way, why do we not love our motherland? Chinese people, unite, fight for the rejuvenation of China, and build the Great Wall of Steel for the motherland!
Forward it to your friends – Chinese people must forward it! Thank you Trump for advertising us in the world for free.
Truth : Donald Trump Praised China In 2024 Campaign Speech!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : This Message First Appeared In Jan. 2022
This viral message does not appear to be new. The first example appeared in a Singapore forum on 19 January 2022, and appears to be a copy and paste of a WhatsApp / social media post.
The message then went viral in August 2023, after the website inf.news reposted it verbatim, with the title Look what Trump thinks of China.
Fact #2 : Trump Only Announced 2024 Presidential Bid In Nov 2022
It is impossible for that speech to be Trump’s presidential campaign speech in January 2022, when Donald Trump only announced his 2024 presidential campaign on 16 November 2022 – 9 months later.
Fact #3 : That Was Not A Donald Trump Speech
Anyone who has ever seen Donald Trump speak would immediately know that he never speaks like that in any speech. Even without looking up the speech online, it is already obvious that the viral Donald Trump speech praising China is fake.
But a quick check online confirmed that that speech was never written or uttered by Donald Trump, whether in 2022, or in 2023.
There is a lot of odd phrasing in the fake Donald Trump speech that suggest that it was really written by a Chinese native, and not a Chinese person who grew up in the US, Singapore, or even Malaysia.
I am your next president, please support me, we will be honorable and independent, whoever has the money will do business with whom, and we will live a good life.
The Chinese people are rich in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. New York, which is about to catch up with ours, is going to get divorced and scrambled.
What’s even more annoying is that basically no terrorist activities dare to carry out in China.
Fact #5 : Donald Trump Would Never Call America Bad
Regardless of what we may think of Donald Trump, he would never call America bad. He is, after all, running to be US President again!
Vote for me, only I can save this bad America!
It would be incredibly stupid to call America bad. In fact, it would have been a political scandal, with his Republican rivals and the Democrats criticising him for being unpatriotic.
Fact #6 : Donald Trump Started Trade War With China
It is also rather absurd to claim that Donald Trump would praise China, when he was the one who initiated a trade war with China.
As US President, Donald Trump ordered the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to investigate Chinese economic practices in August 2017.
When the USTR report was released in March 2018, Trump ordered the imposition of tariffs on Chinese products, filed a WTO case against China, and imposed restrictions on Chinese investments in US high-tech sectors.
All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… in every instance. So please watch out for such false claims. Here are other recent examples:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did an Asian lady shoot dead an American bully who assaulted her at a gas station?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Asian Lady Shot American Bully At Gas Station?!
People are sharing a video showing a man approaching a lady, and opening her car door before hitting her. She drives off a short distance, causing the man to drop two items on the floor. The man catches up with the car again, and opens the door, for the lady to shoot him several times.
Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing this video as evidence of racist Americans targeting Chinese people:
‘Wow… the Chinese in America are no longer taking trash from these American rogues. Good on her!!! l read every Asian American is buying arms to protect himself/herself from these racist gangsters and bullies.
Gun rights supporters are also sharing it as an example of how guns save lives:
Patrick Parsons :Thug attacks woman at a gas station. She shoots him. #SlugsForThugs RT if you believe GUNS SAVE LIVES!
Ironically, Stew Peters believes it was a white person fighting back against black people!
Truth : No Asian Lady Shot That Man At The Gas Station!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : It Was An Old Video
First, let me start by pointing out that this incident did not occur in 2023. The video was actually recorded on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at the Exxon gas station near Honeygo Boulevard and White Marsh Mall in Baltimore, Maryland.
Fact #2 : It Was Not A Drug Deal Gone Bad
Some websites and people are claiming that the lady was a drug dealer who tried to sell drugs (weed / marijuana) to the man’s kids at the gas station, which was why the man confronted her.
That’s not true. The shooter was not attempting to sell drugs to anyone at the gas station.
Fact #3 : That Was Not An Asian Lady
Now, this may surprise you, but that Asian lady in the video isn’t actually a lady. It was a man with long hair tied in a ponytail.
Some websites and people falsely claimed that it was the woman’s boyfriend in the car who fired the gun. That’s not true either. There was only one person in the car.
There is also no indication the shooter was Asian, or that racism had anything to do with the incident.
A witness to the shooting, Daijuan Jett, was 10 feet away when the shooting occurred. He explained that the incident started in the gas station store, while he was queuing up to buy a drink.
The shooter (A), who was actually a man (and not a white / Asian lady), cut in front of people queuing up, causing another man (B) to speak up and ask him to get to the back of the line.
He was trying to cut in front of everyone in the line, and the victim, which was shot at—he was telling the guy that was cutting in front of everyone to get behind everyone.
Jett said that A stepped out of the line after being confronted and returned to his car. B followed him to his car, to give A a piece of his mind. That was when things went sideways.
He opened the driver’s door and let the man know…the guy that was in the car, the suspect, he grabbed a gun and just fired about five or six shots.
Fact #5 : The Victim Was Shot Twice
The victim was shot twice in his upper body, and taken to the hospital. It is unknown how he fared after the shooting.
He also appeared to be the driver of the red car seen across the shooter’s car. His car was removed from the gas station at around 10:50 PM later that night.
Fact #6 : This Video Is Being Abused By Different Parties
This video is, unfortunately, being abused by different parties to drive narratives that are contrary to what actually happened.
Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are using the video to promote the idea that Americans are racist and violent, while gun rights supporters are promoting it as evidence that guns save lives.
As you have seen – the truth is they were all lying / misrepresenting the video. Here are other examples you may have seen on WhatsApp or social media platforms recently:
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Does a viral video show a woman smashing hundreds of bottles of alcohol in lawless US?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Woman Smashed Bottles Of Alcohol In Lawless US!
Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing this video on Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) and WhatsApp, as evidence of a lawless US.
The video shows a woman smashing hundreds of bottles of alcohol, allegedly in a Walmart store in the United States. It’s accompanied by messages like this:
‘Zero dollar shopping’ can only take away all you can grab. This one, just destroy everything on site.
No wonder Walmart will close 21 stores in 12 US states and Washington DC. Four Chicago stores are among the latest to join the list.
Truth : Woman Did Not Smash Bottles Of Alcohol In US!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by pro-CCP netizens, and promoted / shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and its supporters, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : This Video Was Edited
First, let me just point out that the viral video clip was edited, presumably to cast a different light on the story.
The video clip was cut short so you won’t see a security officer leading her away. It was also flipped in half the video to extend the video and make it look like the woman was doing more damage than she really was, and possibly to make it harder for people to locate the source of the video.
Fact #2 : Viral Video Was Recorded In 2020
The viral video isn’t new, even though the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are suggesting it just happened. The video was actually recorded at around 2:30 PM on Thursday, 25 November 2020.
Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Recorded In The United Kingdom
While the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are promoting the video as evidence of a lawless US (as opposed to the glorious security of CCP-controlled China), the viral video was not even recorded in the United States!
The incident also did not occur in a Walmart. The viral video was recorded at an Aldi store, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
While the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are promoting the video as evidence of rampant theft (because no one steals in CCP-controlled China?), the woman did not steal a thing!
The woman – 36 year-old Barbara Stange-Alvarez of Swingate, used her arm to sweep hundreds of bottles of alcohol off the shelves at Aldi the aisle containing bottles of alcohol, and started sweeping bottles off the shelves, before picking them up one by one to smash on the floor.
About 90 seconds into her smashing spree, she slipped and fell onto the broken glass, cutting her hand. A security officer from another store arrived and detained her until police arrived. They then took her to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, where she kicked a security guard in the shin and hurled racial insults at him.
Barbara was charged with criminal damage, racially-motivated common assault, and racially-aggravated public order offence. She was not charged with theft.
Fact #5 : The Woman Was Mentally Unwell
Stange-Alvarez later told the St. Albans Magistrates’ Court that she was “suffering from mental health issues” because she was unable to work during the pandemic. She also said she was not receiving the treatment she thought she should have.
On the day she smashed those bottles, she visited a local mental health clinic seeking help, but was unhappy with the response and “lost the plot”.
On 18 January 2022, Barbara Stange-Alvarez was given a 12-week sentence suspended for 18 months, and required to undergo mental health treatment and rehabilitation, as well as pay Aldi £5,000 in compensation, and court costs of £85.
Fact #6 : Walmart Closing 23 Stores Due To Poor Performance
The fake news creator copied the phrase “Walmart will close 21 stores in 12 states and DC. Four Chicago stores are among the latest to join the list.” from a Business Insider article, without actually reading it properly.
The article actually states that, in addition to those 12 retail stores, Walmart is also closing pick-up only stores in Illinois and Arkansas. That’s a total of 23 stores.
Theft at Walmart stores has always been an issue, as Walmart CEO Doug McMillion pointed out, but it does not mean the stores will close because of it:
Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been. Prices will be higher and/or stores will close.
Walmart has been quietly closing stores every year since 2019, because they were “underperforming” and had “poor financial performance”.
All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… in every instance. So please watch out for such false claims. Here is just the latest dozen,.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
