csmonitor--2020-03-17--Coronavirus puts world cooperation to sharp test

The question now is whether the spiraling effects of the coronavirus could prompt renewed appreciation of international cooperation .
What ’ s striking now is the absence of such steps .
The World Health Organization has attempted to assume the lead .
But its funding and influence have been eroded by the United States and several European countries .
Only gradually did it ramp up its more urgent messaging .
Nor was there coordinated international effort to apply the lessons of successful policies of Singapore , Hong Kong , Taiwan , and South Korea .
In the 2008 economic crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the immediate crisis .
But Britain then used a meeting of the Group of 20 – the world ’ s leading economies – to chart an international response .
To get buy-in for tough measures before a crisis fully hits home , for example , requires widely trusted national leadership .
That ’ s in short supply in many European countries facing escalating COVID-19 cases , including Italy , France , and Britain .
The weakened state of international institutions has also undermined a coordinated strategy .
It ’ s the ultimate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nationally , and above all , internationally .
And it ’ s coming as the international political order , and trust in national institutions , is fragile .
It is the ultimate stress test .
Yet the crisis surrounding COVID-19 is different from the international challenge often cited as a parallel : the viral economic emergency of 2008 .
Then , the stress test involved banks and financial institutions .
Now , it ’ s a political test striking at all levels : local , communal , national .
But above all , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too early to reach definitive judgments , one thing is clear .
Just as major banks and finance groups were woefully unprepared for what hit them in 2008 , COVID-19 has come as the international political order , and trust in national institutions , have been getting ever more fragile .
That ’ s particularly evident in Western Europe , which the World Health Organization ( WHO ) last week identified as the epicenter of its COVID-19 concerns .
The worst-affected countries are now dramatically tightening restrictions on their populations , after long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crisis : so-called “ social distancing.
” Complacency may well have played a part in the delay .
Yet to get buy-in for restrictions on movement before a crisis fully hits home requires credible , widely trusted national leadership .
That ’ s in short supply in a number of the European countries facing sharply escalating COVID-19 cases , including Italy , France , and Britain .
Italy has been in the grip of partisan political feuding .
In France , the initially popular President Emmanuel Macron has been dealing with street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Britain remains divided over Brexit , championed by its polarizing prime minister , Boris Johnson .
Yet the weakened state of international political institutions has also undermined a coordinated strategy to deal with a virus that disregards borders .
WHO has been attempting , at times almost plaintively , to assume the lead .
But its funding has been cut in recent years .
Its influence has eroded , too , amid nationalistic moves to devalue the importance of international institutions by the United States and by a number of countries in Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the response to the 2008 world economic crash .
Individual countries took measures to deal with the immediate crisis .
But Britain ’ s prime minister at the time , Gordon Brown , then used a meeting of the Group of 20 – the world ’ s leading economies – to chart an international response .
The result , which ultimately helped rescue and revive the world economy : coordinated interest rate cuts , fiscal stimuli , and moves away from protectionism by individual states .
What ’ s been striking with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that degree of coordination .
WHO , possibly out of concern of further weakening its influence , initially echoed China in downplaying the severity of the crisis .
Only gradually did it ramp up its messaging .
Nor was there coordinated international effort to apply the lessons from policies adopted by several Asian governments – Singapore , Hong Kong , Taiwan , and South Korea – that have proven relatively successful so far in limiting the effects of the virus .
The U.S. and much of Europe let weeks pass without putting in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who showed signs of exposure , or effective social-separation policies .
And even as the crisis deepened in Europe and America , the response has been limited almost completely to individual national governments .
The European Union has yet to achieve a broadly coordinated approach .
Last week , the president of the European Central Bank , Christine Lagarde , shrugged off suggestions it might intervene directly in support of Italy , whose already struggling economy has been pushed into recession by COVID-19 .
The key question now is whether the spiraling effects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appreciation of the value of international cooperation .
In recent days , there have been indications of that in at least one area : heading off the risk that the world ’ s financial markets could seize up .
The U.S. Federal Reserve coordinated with the central banks of Canada , Britain , Japan , Switzerland , and the EU to cut interest rates and inject liquidity into the markets .
And Saudi Arabia , current chair of the G-20 , has announced plans to convene a “ virtual ” meeting in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less encouraging signs so far in response to the root of the economic concerns – COVID-19 itself – despite the potential benefits of a coordinated international strategy for securing and distributing urgently needed items like face masks and sanitizers , testing kits and respirators .
Even within the EU , Italy was initially limited in getting masks and protective gear from states like Germany and France , which were stockpiling supplies .
That practice has been abandoned .
But the EU as a whole has now effectively barred the export of such items @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stark indication of the fraying bonds between Europe and the U.S. over the past few years , a major controversy has erupted in Germany over newspaper reports alleging that the Trump administration offered a large sum of money in hopes of gaining exclusive access to a COVID-19 vaccine under development by a German company .
A number of senior German politicians said any such move would be blocked .
A prominent member of parliament caught the prevailing mood .
“ A pandemic is a matter for all humanity , ” said Bärbel Bas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is part of the governing coalition , “ not for ‘ America First.
’ ” Editor 's note : As a public service , we 've removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It 's free .

The question now is whether the spiraling effects of the coronavirus could prompt renewed appreciation of international cooperation.
What’s striking now is the absence of such steps. The World Health Organization has attempted to assume the lead. But its funding and influence have been eroded by the United States and several European countries. Only gradually did it ramp up its more urgent messaging. Nor was there coordinated international effort to apply the lessons of successful policies of Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea.
In the 2008 economic crisis, individual countries took measures to deal with the immediate crisis. But Britain then used a meeting of the Group of 20 – the world’s leading economies – to chart an international response.
International cooperation was a key factor in overcoming the 2008 financial crisis. Now that's in short supply, and the consequences for the coronavirus crisis could be significant.
To get buy-in for tough measures before a crisis fully hits home, for example, requires widely trusted national leadership. That’s in short supply in many European countries facing escalating COVID-19 cases, including Italy, France, and Britain. The weakened state of international institutions has also undermined a coordinated strategy.
It’s the ultimate political stress test – striking locally, nationally, and above all, internationally. And it’s coming as the international political order, and trust in national institutions, is fragile.
It is the ultimate stress test.
Yet the crisis surrounding COVID-19 is different from the international challenge often cited as a parallel: the viral economic emergency of 2008. Then, the stress test involved banks and financial institutions. Now, it’s a political test striking at all levels: local, communal, national. But above all, international.
And while it’s too early to reach definitive judgments, one thing is clear. Just as major banks and finance groups were woefully unprepared for what hit them in 2008, COVID-19 has come as the international political order, and trust in national institutions, have been getting ever more fragile.
Why We Wrote This International cooperation was a key factor in overcoming the 2008 financial crisis. Now that's in short supply, and the consequences for the coronavirus crisis could be significant.
That’s particularly evident in Western Europe, which the World Health Organization (WHO) last week identified as the epicenter of its COVID-19 concerns. The worst-affected countries are now dramatically tightening restrictions on their populations, after long delaying the main consensus means of limiting the crisis: so-called “social distancing.”
Complacency may well have played a part in the delay. Yet to get buy-in for restrictions on movement before a crisis fully hits home requires credible, widely trusted national leadership. That’s in short supply in a number of the European countries facing sharply escalating COVID-19 cases, including Italy, France, and Britain.
Italy has been in the grip of partisan political feuding. In France, the initially popular President Emmanuel Macron has been dealing with street protests against his economic reform agenda. Britain remains divided over Brexit, championed by its polarizing prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Yet the weakened state of international political institutions has also undermined a coordinated strategy to deal with a virus that disregards borders.
WHO has been attempting, at times almost plaintively, to assume the lead. But its funding has been cut in recent years. Its influence has eroded, too, amid nationalistic moves to devalue the importance of international institutions by the United States and by a number of countries in Europe.
That’s in striking contrast to the response to the 2008 world economic crash.
Individual countries took measures to deal with the immediate crisis. But Britain’s prime minister at the time, Gordon Brown, then used a meeting of the Group of 20 – the world’s leading economies – to chart an international response. The result, which ultimately helped rescue and revive the world economy: coordinated interest rate cuts, fiscal stimuli, and moves away from protectionism by individual states.
What’s been striking with COVID-19 is the absence of anything like that degree of coordination. WHO, possibly out of concern of further weakening its influence, initially echoed China in downplaying the severity of the crisis. Only gradually did it ramp up its messaging.
Nor was there coordinated international effort to apply the lessons from policies adopted by several Asian governments – Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea – that have proven relatively successful so far in limiting the effects of the virus.
The U.S. and much of Europe let weeks pass without putting in place widespread testing and tracking of those who showed signs of exposure, or effective social-separation policies. And even as the crisis deepened in Europe and America, the response has been limited almost completely to individual national governments.
The European Union has yet to achieve a broadly coordinated approach. Last week, the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, shrugged off suggestions it might intervene directly in support of Italy, whose already struggling economy has been pushed into recession by COVID-19.
The key question now is whether the spiraling effects of the coronavirus could prompt a renewed appreciation of the value of international cooperation.
In recent days, there have been indications of that in at least one area: heading off the risk that the world’s financial markets could seize up. The U.S. Federal Reserve coordinated with the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan, Switzerland, and the EU to cut interest rates and inject liquidity into the markets.
And Saudi Arabia, current chair of the G-20, has announced plans to convene a “virtual” meeting in the coming days.
Yet there have been less encouraging signs so far in response to the root of the economic concerns – COVID-19 itself – despite the potential benefits of a coordinated international strategy for securing and distributing urgently needed items like face masks and sanitizers, testing kits and respirators.
Even within the EU, Italy was initially limited in getting masks and protective gear from states like Germany and France, which were stockpiling supplies. That practice has been abandoned. But the EU as a whole has now effectively barred the export of such items outside the union.
And in a stark indication of the fraying bonds between Europe and the U.S. over the past few years, a major controversy has erupted in Germany over newspaper reports alleging that the Trump administration offered a large sum of money in hopes of gaining exclusive access to a COVID-19 vaccine under development by a German company.
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A number of senior German politicians said any such move would be blocked. A prominent member of parliament caught the prevailing mood. “A pandemic is a matter for all humanity,” said Bärbel Bas of the Social Democratic Party, which is part of the governing coalition, “not for ‘America First.’”
Editor's note: As a public service, we've removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It's free.


csmonitor--2020-06-11--How COVID-19, Floyd protests shape China’s crackdown in Hong Kong

The gist of the Chinese message is that any U.S. objections to a toughened “ law and order ” intervention in Hong Kong – given the administration ’ s response to the protests over Mr. Floyd ’ s killing – will be dismissed as hypocrisy .
Now , Chinese statements following the killing of Mr. Floyd , and the Trump administration ’ s call for a tough response to the protests in U.S. cities , suggest that Beijing is feeling even more confident about going ahead with the crackdown .
Still , there was strong international pushback , especially from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signaled its intentions last month , it was part of a political fightback by the Chinese leadership on the coronavirus , which began its spread in the Chinese city of Wuhan .
While China had by then largely contained the virus , major Western countries were still struggling with large numbers of cases .
The wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd has rattled a world political order already buffeted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic .
And one consequence is being felt thousands of miles away : an increasing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong .
A new jolt to world politics – the wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd – has added to the already seismic effects of COVID-19 .
And one important consequence , thousands of miles away , is an increasing likelihood China will soon crack down on political freedoms in Hong Kong .
There ’ s no direct tie between either upheaval and China ’ s threat to impose tough new security legislation in Hong Kong .
That was made last month , and it prompted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the timing of the initial announcement was affected by the altered politics of the coronavirus , which began its spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan .
It was part of an increasingly self-confident political fightback by China ’ s leadership , which had largely contained the virus while major Western countries were still struggling to deal with large numbers of cases .
Now , China ’ s response to the Floyd killing has suggested it will feel even more confident about going ahead with the crackdown and shrugging off overseas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In much of the world , the response to the protests in American cities has been to sympathize with their declared aim of rooting out racism .
Solidarity marches have been held in dozens of overseas cities : Thousands of protesters took to the streets of London last Sunday , for instance , despite Britain ’ s continuing struggle with COVID-19 .
China ’ s response to Mr. Floyd ’ s death , however , was a major outlier , and not just because there were no public demonstrations of solidarity there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controls on independent expression under leader Xi Jinping .
More striking , and directly relevant to Hong Kong , were China ’ s pointedly critical comments about the Floyd killing , and about the Trump administration ’ s support for strong police and military action to contain unrest .
China ’ s clear message to Washington was this : You are in no position to accuse us of human rights violations , given the killing of Mr. Floyd in police custody and the administration ’ s tough reply to the protests .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s response to a U.S. State Department spokeswoman ’ s tweet a few days after the Floyd killing .
She urged “ freedom-loving people ” everywhere to stand up for the rule of law and oppose Beijing ’ s plan for Hong Kong .
She accused China of breaking its promises – a reference to the 1997 agreement in which Britain handed back Hong Kong to China , guaranteeing its autonomy and distinct legal protections at least until 2047 .
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman tweeted a brief phrase in reply to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breathe , ” the three words caught on video in the final minutes of Mr. Floyd ’ s life .
China ’ s official Xinhua news agency was similarly biting in commenting on incidents of violence in some of the early protests in Washington , D.C. Recalling a remark last year by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong were “ a beautiful sight , ” Xinhua described the Washington unrest as “ Pelosi ’ s beautiful landscape.
” The editor of Global Times , the tabloid published by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Daily , taunted President Donald Trump personally while also drawing a parallel with Hong Kong .
Rather than “ hide behind the Secret Service , ” the editor , Hu Xijin , urged the president to “ negotiate ” with the demonstrators , “ just like you urged Beijing to talk to Hong Kong rioters.
” Even at present , Hong Kong ’ s freedoms are constrained .
During the enormous street protests that began there a year ago this week over a proposed new law that would have allowed extraditions to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was for directly elected local government .
Yet Hong Kong does have an independent judiciary .
Hong Kongers have far greater economic freedom and civil liberties than do Chinese on the mainland , including freedom of expression .
Even last week , thousands ignored a police ban to mark the anniversary of the June 4 , 1989 , massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing ’ s Tiananmen Square – a commemoration unthinkable in mainland China .
For months , until COVID-19 precautions largely ended public protests in Hong Kong , China was getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inability to halt them .
Yet with China also in negotiations with the U.S. to wind down their tariff war , there was no sign that Beijing was ready to intervene directly .
The new security law would represent a dramatic intervention .
It would supersede Hong Kong ’ s post-1997 legal dispensation and criminalize a wide range of political expression , in effect bringing the city into line with the rest of China .
And any chance that Beijing might have reconsidered as a result of international pushback against the prospect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have vanished , given its bullishly defiant political response to the George Floyd protests .
Internal security has become an overriding priority under Mr. Xi .
And while Hong Kong in 1997 was a major contributor to China ’ s gross domestic product , China 's economy has since grown to become the world ’ s second-largest , with Hong Kong ’ s contribution far more negligible .
Even the fact the initial U.S. response has involved not just words but action – a move to end the special economic and trade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its special status inside China – seems unlikely to matter .

The gist of the Chinese message is that any U.S. objections to a toughened “law and order” intervention in Hong Kong – given the administration’s response to the protests over Mr. Floyd’s killing – will be dismissed as hypocrisy.
Now, Chinese statements following the killing of Mr. Floyd, and the Trump administration’s call for a tough response to the protests in U.S. cities, suggest that Beijing is feeling even more confident about going ahead with the crackdown.
Still, there was strong international pushback, especially from the United States.
The killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests in the U.S. appear to have made China more confident about shrugging off any criticism it might get over human rights issues.
When Beijing first signaled its intentions last month, it was part of a political fightback by the Chinese leadership on the coronavirus, which began its spread in the Chinese city of Wuhan. While China had by then largely contained the virus, major Western countries were still struggling with large numbers of cases.
The wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd has rattled a world political order already buffeted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And one consequence is being felt thousands of miles away: an increasing likelihood of a Chinese security crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
A new jolt to world politics – the wave of protests since the killing of George Floyd – has added to the already seismic effects of COVID-19. And one important consequence, thousands of miles away, is an increasing likelihood China will soon crack down on political freedoms in Hong Kong.
There’s no direct tie between either upheaval and China’s threat to impose tough new security legislation in Hong Kong. That was made last month, and it prompted a strong public response from Western governments.
But the timing of the initial announcement was affected by the altered politics of the coronavirus, which began its spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan. It was part of an increasingly self-confident political fightback by China’s leadership, which had largely contained the virus while major Western countries were still struggling to deal with large numbers of cases.
Why We Wrote This The killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests in the U.S. appear to have made China more confident about shrugging off any criticism it might get over human rights issues.
Now, China’s response to the Floyd killing has suggested it will feel even more confident about going ahead with the crackdown and shrugging off overseas objections, especially from the United States.
A major outlier
In much of the world, the response to the protests in American cities has been to sympathize with their declared aim of rooting out racism. Solidarity marches have been held in dozens of overseas cities: Thousands of protesters took to the streets of London last Sunday, for instance, despite Britain’s continuing struggle with COVID-19.
China’s response to Mr. Floyd’s death, however, was a major outlier, and not just because there were no public demonstrations of solidarity there. That was unsurprising given the tight controls on independent expression under leader Xi Jinping. More striking, and directly relevant to Hong Kong, were China’s pointedly critical comments about the Floyd killing, and about the Trump administration’s support for strong police and military action to contain unrest.
China’s clear message to Washington was this: You are in no position to accuse us of human rights violations, given the killing of Mr. Floyd in police custody and the administration’s tough reply to the protests.
This link was made explicit in China’s response to a U.S. State Department spokeswoman’s tweet a few days after the Floyd killing. She urged “freedom-loving people” everywhere to stand up for the rule of law and oppose Beijing’s plan for Hong Kong. She accused China of breaking its promises – a reference to the 1997 agreement in which Britain handed back Hong Kong to China, guaranteeing its autonomy and distinct legal protections at least until 2047.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman tweeted a brief phrase in reply to the statement, “I can’t breathe,” the three words caught on video in the final minutes of Mr. Floyd’s life.
China’s official Xinhua news agency was similarly biting in commenting on incidents of violence in some of the early protests in Washington, D.C. Recalling a remark last year by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong were “a beautiful sight,” Xinhua described the Washington unrest as “Pelosi’s beautiful landscape.”
The editor of Global Times, the tabloid published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, taunted President Donald Trump personally while also drawing a parallel with Hong Kong. Rather than “hide behind the Secret Service,” the editor, Hu Xijin, urged the president to “negotiate” with the demonstrators, “just like you urged Beijing to talk to Hong Kong rioters.”
A dramatic intervention
Even at present, Hong Kong’s freedoms are constrained. During the enormous street protests that began there a year ago this week over a proposed new law that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, one increasingly urgent demand was for directly elected local government.
Yet Hong Kong does have an independent judiciary. Hong Kongers have far greater economic freedom and civil liberties than do Chinese on the mainland, including freedom of expression. Even last week, thousands ignored a police ban to mark the anniversary of the June 4, 1989, massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square – a commemoration unthinkable in mainland China.
For months, until COVID-19 precautions largely ended public protests in Hong Kong, China was getting increasingly impatient with the local authorities’ inability to halt them. Yet with China also in negotiations with the U.S. to wind down their tariff war, there was no sign that Beijing was ready to intervene directly.
The new security law would represent a dramatic intervention. It would supersede Hong Kong’s post-1997 legal dispensation and criminalize a wide range of political expression, in effect bringing the city into line with the rest of China.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
And any chance that Beijing might have reconsidered as a result of international pushback against the prospect of a Hong Kong security crackdown now seems to have vanished, given its bullishly defiant political response to the George Floyd protests.
Internal security has become an overriding priority under Mr. Xi. And while Hong Kong in 1997 was a major contributor to China’s gross domestic product, China's economy has since grown to become the world’s second-largest, with Hong Kong’s contribution far more negligible. Even the fact the initial U.S. response has involved not just words but action – a move to end the special economic and trade disposition extended to Hong Kong due to its special status inside China – seems unlikely to matter.


csmonitor--2020-06-11--Life after COVID-19: Recovered New Yorkers find hope in helping others

Survivor Corps , she says , is the “ epicenter of hope.
” “ What we ’ re seeing on the Survivor Corps group is people who are in the thick of the illness literally counting down the days until they can be part of that solution.
” Their altruism underscores a growing body of research that suggests humans are hard-wired for generosity , and that giving benefits one ’ s health and well-being .
“ When you help , you feel much better , ” says Nima Sherpa , a recovered nurse from Queens .
“ I felt like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we should try our best to participate.
” Pain , frustration , and fear of the unknown are common , but so is transformation .
Several New Yorkers have begun to pour their renewed energies into giving – from volunteerism to donating plasma .
As healing continues , they say serving others also fortifies themselves .
Globally , more than 3 million people have recovered from known cases of COVID-19 .
Yet as medical uncertainty about the virus persists , survivors are defining recovery on their own terms .
On a drizzly May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Burke lugs a cart of groceries through his Jackson Heights neighborhood .
He isn ’ t headed home .
The goods are for neighbors .
He pauses on the sidewalk in his mask and gloves .
“ It ’ s almost kind of selfish , ” he says , to get joy out of giving .
Earlier this spring , Mr. Burke spent 10 days struggling alone in his apartment with COVID-19 .
He ’ d muster all his might to get up and shave , then collapse back into bed for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than ever before in his life .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
Since mid-April , he ’ s found the strength to drop off bags of donated groceries for Covid Care Neighbor Network , a mutual aid group based in Queens .
Used to busy days volunteering as a transportation and LGBTQ activist , he ’ d been itching to rejoin community service once he recovered .
“ It made me feel good for the first time in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Globally , more than 3 million people have recovered from known cases of COVID-19 , according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University .
In New York , more than 68,000 have recovered – more than double the lives lost .
Home to the previous epicenter of the virus , the state reported its lowest daily count of hospitalizations and deaths last Friday , down to 35 deaths from a high of 800 reached one day in April .
The Big Apple began Phase 1 of reopening on Monday .
Yet as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survivors are defining recovery on their own terms .
Pain , frustration , and fear of the unknown are common , but so is transformation .
Several New Yorkers have begun to pour their renewed energies into giving , recognizing that their city ’ s road to recovery persists .
As healing continues , they say serving others also fortifies themselves .
“ When you help , you feel much better , ” says Nima Sherpa , a recovered nurse .
“ I felt like we got a new life , and we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ms. Sherpa found herself in two places at once .
Her mind often traipsed home to Nepal as she healed from symptoms of COVID-19 .
Eyes closed on her bed in Queens , she also stood on a Himalayan peak , lungs filled with azure air .
Unable to get tested as her health declined in early March , the nurse scrambled to find one for her husband , who fared much worse .
It took three tries before he was diagnosed – a frustration shared by many New Yorkers who faced a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ages 10 and 16 , also became sick .
“ I would cry and then I would wipe my tears ” in the bathroom , she says , before returning to her family ’ s side with medicine and soup .
Though not usually religious , she turned to Buddhist mantras she learned as a child .
She coaxed her bedridden husband to recite them , too .
“ I felt like it was helping us to breathe , ” she says .
Ms. Sherpa took particular comfort in a mantra that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ action .
She recalled the image of the goddess ’ unique posture – one foot slightly forward , as if poised to rise .
“ My grandmother used to say she ’ s like that because she ’ s ready for anyone who needs help , ” says Ms. Sherpa .
Fittingly , the Mount Sinai nurse has become a helpline for her own Nepalese community in Queens .
As she awaits a return to work , she has waded through a daily flood of texts , Facebook messages , and phone calls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , often in her native Nepali and Sherpa languages .
She tries her best to soothe the fear and anxiety on the other end of the line .
“ That ’ s the most important part , ” she says .
Though her outreach tapered off mid-May as her family escaped to Colorado , Ms. Sherpa says she remains in touch with several strangers in New York who have received her support .
Some call back with news of their own recovery .
Others have found renewed purpose in returning to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health + Hospitals nurse from Ozone Park , Queens , tested positive for COVID-19 in March .
Now she ’ s back at her hospital in the Bronx , reaching patients via telehealth to respect social distancing .
“ I love what I do , so I love to be back , ” says Ms. Latchman on a lunch break call .
“ I would not [ let ] the COVID virus push me away.
” Mounting evidence suggests humans may be hard-wired for generosity .
Giving to others benefits health , mood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows .
“ There is a strong relationship between resilience and altruism , ” says Steven Southwick , professor emeritus of psychiatry , post-traumatic stress disorder , and resilience at Yale University School of Medicine .
“ It ’ s very well known that giving support increases one ’ s social and emotional well-being , and decreases our stress responses.
” In the wake of World War II aerial bombardments , people who felt satisfied caring for the immediate needs of others developed fewer trauma-related symptoms than expected .
This research introduced the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he notes in his book , “ Resilience : The Science of Mastering Life ’ s Greatest Challenges.
” Research by behavioral scientist Carolyn Schwartz has found that helping others may benefit mental health even more than receiving help .
For both medical patients and nonpatients alike , helping others can lead people to find meaning in their own life challenges , says Dr. Schwartz , president and chief scientist at DeltaQuest Foundation , a medical research nonprofit in Massachusetts .
“ By being able to help other people , it can transform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us a victim to something that gives us agency , ” says Dr. Schwartz , who is seeking participants for a study on psychological resilience during the pandemic .
Yet some recovered volunteers say they are still grappling with what they outlived .
Surviving the virus in a community that is still grieving “ takes a toll , ” says Covid Care volunteer coordinator Dawn Falcone .
“ I feel like it ’ s a good day if I don ’ t know anybody who passed away , ” she told the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also mourning the loss of several friends and acquaintances .
“ I ’ m going to be processing this for a while .
... Part of me feels like I cheated death , ” he says .
Much about the new coronavirus still eludes scientists .
There are no definitive answers yet on immunity and long-term effects of COVID-19 .
“ So far , no studies have answered these important questions , ” according to a World Health Organization statement sent to the Monitor .
In the United States , the Centers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of recovery for symptomatic health care workers looking to return to work : one based on symptoms , the other on testing .
Some doctors are pursuing experimental treatments that involve the blood plasma of those who have recovered – a century-old approach used to treat past viral outbreaks , including coronaviruses SARS and MERS .
Diana Berrent sums up recovery as a “ bizarre , sort of liminal state.
” She ’ s made the most of it by donating plasma six times and founding a grassroots movement , Survivor Corps .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ epicenter of hope ” that aims to hasten the pandemic ’ s end and help develop a cure .
Survivor Corps ’ website gathers research and how-to resources for mobilizing plasma donors , while its 54,000-member Facebook group offers a space for solidarity .
After testing positive for COVID-19 on Long Island in March , Ms. Berrent first envisioned organizing a global group akin to a COVID-19 Peace Corps , even offering hands for the dying to hold without adding risk to hospitals .
But given the unsolved mystery of reinfection , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her own antibody-rich plasma to science and calling on others to participate in the evolving research .
“ To think that I ’ m actively contributing to the research that can bring about a cure to this is such an incredibly empowering idea and motivation , ” she says .
“ What we ’ re seeing on the Survivor Corps group is people who are in the thick of the illness literally counting down the days until they can be part of that solution.
” Dean E. Williams Jr. joined Survivor Corps on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overcome the virus in isolation , he yearns to reunite with others .
Mr. Williams says he didn ’ t fear death .
As he struggled to breathe alone in his Harlem apartment , his greatest fear was disappointing his 5-year-old daughter .
He says he spent more than two months without seeing her as he quarantines in New York and she stays with family in another state .
Online chess games and her reading of “ The Very Hungry Caterpillar ” over Skype has helped .
In her absence , the recovered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community outreach and organizing meal donations .
He says his daughter joined him in community service as early as age 2 , and hopes to bring her along volunteering when they ’ re reunited .
In the meantime , a virtual sandwich-making party to benefit local food banks might soon be in order .
While they continue to live apart , a highlight came in mid-May as he was able to visit her for the first time in weeks – showering promptly after his arrival before they could embrace .
“ It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received from me , ” he says .
“ She had the biggest smile on her face.
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

Survivor Corps, she says, is the “epicenter of hope.” “What we’re seeing on the Survivor Corps group is people who are in the thick of the illness literally counting down the days until they can be part of that solution.”
Their altruism underscores a growing body of research that suggests humans are hard-wired for generosity, and that giving benefits one’s health and well-being.
“When you help, you feel much better,” says Nima Sherpa, a recovered nurse from Queens. “I felt like we got a new life, and we should try our best to participate.”
Known survivors of COVID-19 greatly outnumber lives lost. As buds of resilience begin to grace the previous epicenter of the virus, those who have recovered are moved to serve.
Pain, frustration, and fear of the unknown are common, but so is transformation. Several New Yorkers have begun to pour their renewed energies into giving – from volunteerism to donating plasma. As healing continues, they say serving others also fortifies themselves.
Globally, more than 3 million people have recovered from known cases of COVID-19. Yet as medical uncertainty about the virus persists, survivors are defining recovery on their own terms.
On a drizzly May day in New York City, Jim Burke lugs a cart of groceries through his Jackson Heights neighborhood. He isn’t headed home. The goods are for neighbors.
He pauses on the sidewalk in his mask and gloves. “It’s almost kind of selfish,” he says, to get joy out of giving.
Earlier this spring, Mr. Burke spent 10 days struggling alone in his apartment with COVID-19. He’d muster all his might to get up and shave, then collapse back into bed for the rest of the day, feeling worse than ever before in his life.
Why We Wrote This Known survivors of COVID-19 greatly outnumber lives lost. As buds of resilience begin to grace the previous epicenter of the virus, those who have recovered are moved to serve.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
Since mid-April, he’s found the strength to drop off bags of donated groceries for Covid Care Neighbor Network, a mutual aid group based in Queens. Used to busy days volunteering as a transportation and LGBTQ activist, he’d been itching to rejoin community service once he recovered.
“It made me feel good for the first time in a long time,” he says.
Globally, more than 3 million people have recovered from known cases of COVID-19, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. In New York, more than 68,000 have recovered – more than double the lives lost. Home to the previous epicenter of the virus, the state reported its lowest daily count of hospitalizations and deaths last Friday, down to 35 deaths from a high of 800 reached one day in April. The Big Apple began Phase 1 of reopening on Monday.
Yet as medical uncertainty about the virus persists, survivors are defining recovery on their own terms. Pain, frustration, and fear of the unknown are common, but so is transformation. Several New Yorkers have begun to pour their renewed energies into giving, recognizing that their city’s road to recovery persists. As healing continues, they say serving others also fortifies themselves.
“When you help, you feel much better,” says Nima Sherpa, a recovered nurse. “I felt like we got a new life, and we should try our best to participate.”
Ms. Sherpa found herself in two places at once. Her mind often traipsed home to Nepal as she healed from symptoms of COVID-19. Eyes closed on her bed in Queens, she also stood on a Himalayan peak, lungs filled with azure air.
Courtesy of Nima Sherpa View caption Hide caption Nima Sherpa and her family enjoy a trip to Boulder County, Colorado, in January 2020. After recovering from COVID-19 symptoms earlier this spring, Ms. Sherpa, a registered nurse, has served as a helpline for her New York City Nepalese community as they navigate concerns about the virus.
Unable to get tested as her health declined in early March, the nurse scrambled to find one for her husband, who fared much worse. It took three tries before he was diagnosed – a frustration shared by many New Yorkers who faced a testing shortage early on. Her sons, ages 10 and 16, also became sick.
“I would cry and then I would wipe my tears” in the bathroom, she says, before returning to her family’s side with medicine and soup.
Though not usually religious, she turned to Buddhist mantras she learned as a child. She coaxed her bedridden husband to recite them, too. “I felt like it was helping us to breathe,” she says.
Ms. Sherpa took particular comfort in a mantra that evokes Green Tara, goddess of compassionate action. She recalled the image of the goddess’ unique posture – one foot slightly forward, as if poised to rise.
“My grandmother used to say she’s like that because she’s ready for anyone who needs help,” says Ms. Sherpa.
Fittingly, the Mount Sinai nurse has become a helpline for her own Nepalese community in Queens. As she awaits a return to work, she has waded through a daily flood of texts, Facebook messages, and phone calls from people worried about exposure to the virus, often in her native Nepali and Sherpa languages. She tries her best to soothe the fear and anxiety on the other end of the line.
“That’s the most important part,” she says.
Though her outreach tapered off mid-May as her family escaped to Colorado, Ms. Sherpa says she remains in touch with several strangers in New York who have received her support. Some call back with news of their own recovery.
Others have found renewed purpose in returning to work. Jasoda Latchman, a recovered NYC Health + Hospitals nurse from Ozone Park, Queens, tested positive for COVID-19 in March. Now she’s back at her hospital in the Bronx, reaching patients via telehealth to respect social distancing.
“I love what I do, so I love to be back,” says Ms. Latchman on a lunch break call. “I would not [let] the COVID virus push me away.”
Mounting evidence suggests humans may be hard-wired for generosity. Giving to others benefits health, mood, and even overcoming adversity, research shows.
“There is a strong relationship between resilience and altruism,” says Steven Southwick, professor emeritus of psychiatry, post-traumatic stress disorder, and resilience at Yale University School of Medicine. “It’s very well known that giving support increases one’s social and emotional well-being, and decreases our stress responses.”
Courtesy of Diana Berrent and the Survivor Corps View caption Hide caption Diana Berrent becomes the first participant at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center’s convalescent plasma program in New York City, March 2020. Ms. Berrent, a COVID-19 survivor, is the founder of Survivor Corps.
In the wake of World War II aerial bombardments, people who felt satisfied caring for the immediate needs of others developed fewer trauma-related symptoms than expected. This research introduced the phenomenon called “required helpfulness,” he notes in his book, “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges.”
Research by behavioral scientist Carolyn Schwartz has found that helping others may benefit mental health even more than receiving help. For both medical patients and nonpatients alike, helping others can lead people to find meaning in their own life challenges, says Dr. Schwartz, president and chief scientist at DeltaQuest Foundation, a medical research nonprofit in Massachusetts.
“By being able to help other people, it can transform the experience of something that makes all of us a victim to something that gives us agency,” says Dr. Schwartz, who is seeking participants for a study on psychological resilience during the pandemic.
Yet some recovered volunteers say they are still grappling with what they outlived. Surviving the virus in a community that is still grieving “takes a toll,” says Covid Care volunteer coordinator Dawn Falcone.
“I feel like it’s a good day if I don’t know anybody who passed away,” she told the Monitor in April.
Mr. Burke is also mourning the loss of several friends and acquaintances. “I’m going to be processing this for a while. ... Part of me feels like I cheated death,” he says.
Much about the new coronavirus still eludes scientists. There are no definitive answers yet on immunity and long-term effects of COVID-19. “So far, no studies have answered these important questions,” according to a World Health Organization statement sent to the Monitor.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers two definitions of recovery for symptomatic health care workers looking to return to work: one based on symptoms, the other on testing. Some doctors are pursuing experimental treatments that involve the blood plasma of those who have recovered – a century-old approach used to treat past viral outbreaks, including coronaviruses SARS and MERS.
Diana Berrent sums up recovery as a “bizarre, sort of liminal state.” She’s made the most of it by donating plasma six times and founding a grassroots movement, Survivor Corps.
She calls the virtual community the “epicenter of hope” that aims to hasten the pandemic’s end and help develop a cure. Survivor Corps’ website gathers research and how-to resources for mobilizing plasma donors, while its 54,000-member Facebook group offers a space for solidarity.
After testing positive for COVID-19 on Long Island in March, Ms. Berrent first envisioned organizing a global group akin to a COVID-19 Peace Corps, even offering hands for the dying to hold without adding risk to hospitals. But given the unsolved mystery of reinfection, she’s focused her efforts on donating her own antibody-rich plasma to science and calling on others to participate in the evolving research.
“To think that I’m actively contributing to the research that can bring about a cure to this is such an incredibly empowering idea and motivation,” she says. “What we’re seeing on the Survivor Corps group is people who are in the thick of the illness literally counting down the days until they can be part of that solution.”
Dean E. Williams Jr. joined Survivor Corps on Facebook and recently donated plasma. Having overcome the virus in isolation, he yearns to reunite with others.
Mr. Williams says he didn’t fear death. As he struggled to breathe alone in his Harlem apartment, his greatest fear was disappointing his 5-year-old daughter. He says he spent more than two months without seeing her as he quarantines in New York and she stays with family in another state. Online chess games and her reading of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” over Skype has helped.
In her absence, the recovered Harlem Rotary Club president keeps busy with community outreach and organizing meal donations. He says his daughter joined him in community service as early as age 2, and hopes to bring her along volunteering when they’re reunited. In the meantime, a virtual sandwich-making party to benefit local food banks might soon be in order.
While they continue to live apart, a highlight came in mid-May as he was able to visit her for the first time in weeks – showering promptly after his arrival before they could embrace.
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“It was the biggest hug she’s ever received from me,” he says. “She had the biggest smile on her face.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-04-22--Daily for April 22, 2020

Daily for April 22, 2020

Two weeks ago , Saudi Arabia announced a unilateral cease-fire in Yemen , following months in which it had made clear its desire to disentangle from what has proved a costly and humiliating quagmire for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman .
Coming amid a global pandemic , the announcement was welcome news .
The Saudi military intervention , beginning in 2015 , has been blamed for creating what the United Nations calls the world ’ s worst humanitarian disaster .
But with the cease-fire expiring today , the lack of results – with Houthi rebels continuing to press their military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of airstrikes in reply – is a stark reminder of the challenges to peace that remain .
In announcing the Yemen cease-fire , the Saudis cited both the need to pave the way for peace talks and to cope with the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak in the impoverished and war-weary country .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
Other positive signs followed , including U.N. Special Envoy Martin Griffiths telling the Security Council last week of progress toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saudis and Houthis , with agreement expected in the “ immediate future.
” The catalyst toward peace was the virus , Mr. Griffiths said , noting that Yemen could not “ face two fronts at the same time : a war and a pandemic.
” Yemen announced its first – and so far only – laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 on April 10 .
“ This is the time for hard decisions , ” the envoy said .
But even as the U.S. was reported Tuesday to be preparing a “ substantial contribution ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Yemen was set to receive tens of thousands of test kits donated by a group of multinational companies , the fighting has barely eased .
In return for a Saudi withdrawal , the Houthis would sign a peace deal , analysts say , and the Iran-backed Houthi movement , known as Ansar Allah , produced an eight-page proposal two weeks ago .
But with battlefield momentum now in their favor , the analysts say , the Houthis expect to dictate the terms of any Saudi drawdown – which is unacceptable to Riyadh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are concerned , they don ’ t know what to do , ” says Abdulghani al-Iryani , a senior researcher at the Yemen-based Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies .
“ They ’ ve given one gesture after another , but these gestures are viewed by the Houthis as empty , given the fact that there is no overall understanding of how the relationship between the two sides will be in the future .
The guarantees are not there.
” The fulcrum of any deal needs to be agreement by the Saudis to stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Houthis to protect Saudi borders and limit smuggling and human trafficking , says Mr. Iryani , who was a consultant to the U.N. Development Program in Yemen until the end of 2019 .
“ What stands in the way is this huge gap of confidence between the two sides , ” he says .
The Houthis need guarantees that any deal will be implemented , in order to “ be willing to give up some power ” to the Saudi-backed , internationally recognized government – currently in exile – of President Abed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has barely dented the conflict , nor slowed the Houthi military advance on Marib , an oil- and gas-rich prize and one of the last strongholds of pro-Hadi forces in northern Yemen .
The Saudis face another crisis in the south , where a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates warned this week that “ the outbreak of war is imminent ” as they advance against Saudi-backed government forces .
“ The Saudis want out ; the solution for the Saudis is , ‘ COVID-19 is a wonderful way for us to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the rest of our problems , which are not insignificant , ’ ” says Helen Lackner , a Yemen expert and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations .
“ But the Houthis won ’ t let them go .
The Houthis want this war to go on , they don ’ t want this war to stop .
They need it , ” says Ms. Lackner , noting current rebel advances , and how the conflict and flow of humanitarian aid have boosted Houthi resources .
“ You have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saudis want out , the Houthis don ’ t .
How do you deal with this ?
” asks Ms. Lackner , author of the 2019 book “ Yemen in Crisis : The Road to War.
” Saudi Arabia has been widely accused of elevating Yemen ’ s civil war into a regional proxy conflagration along familiar Middle Eastern fault lines , which pit Iran and its self-declared “ axis of resistance ” against Saudi Arabia and its pro-American allies .
When Saudi officials first intervened in Yemen , leading an Arab coalition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and reinstall the Hadi government , they promised that “ Operation Decisive Storm ” would be over within weeks .
Yet instead of a demonstration of Saudi military prowess ordered by the new and assertive crown prince , the Yemen initiative has turned into a venture that is failing , even after the application of more than 20,000 air raids , according to the Yemen Data Project , and the loss of more than 100,000 lives – nearly all of them Yemeni , and many of them civilians .
“ Why [ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and go home is a question I asked about three years ago , and it would have been a lot easier for them to declare victory [ then ] than it is today , ” says Ms. Lackner .
“ Can they announce the extension of a cease-fire that hasn ’ t actually happened ?
” Overshadowing the battlefield to-and-fro is the looming risk of the coronavirus to one of the most vulnerable populations on earth .
Already with 80 % of Yemen ’ s population reliant on aid relief , and hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the coronavirus “ could spread fast , more widely and with deadlier consequences than in many other countries , ” Mark Lowcock , the top U.N. aid official , warned last week .
The continued fighting and few signs of any diplomatic breakthrough mean it is not yet clear how COVID-19 could affect war calculations .
The U.N. counts 500 Yemenis killed or injured since January , one-third of them children .
“ The big change could be if we see COVID-19 taking hold in Yemen and spreading quite quickly , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says Peter Salisbury , the senior Yemen analyst for the International Crisis Group .
“ Yemen ’ s population is malnourished , undernourished , and it ’ s in very bad shape .
People are already dying from preventable diseases , cholera , dengue fever , and so on .
...
The population ’ s just incredibly vulnerable , ” says Mr. Salisbury .
“ There ’ s a public image aspect to this as well : The Houthis and government of Yemen each seek to be seen as a legitimate governing authority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prioritizing a war over a life-threatening virus , that ’ s not great for your image , ” he says .
“ There is a lot of face to be lost in a COVID-19 outbreak , ” adds Mr. Salisbury .
“ But for the time being , the challenge would appear to be that the Saudi initiative isn ’ t enough for the Houthis.
” “ We ’ re really in a place where it depends on the willingness of one or several of the key parties to take a leap of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confidence from the other side , ” he says .
“ The question right now is : How willing are the parties to really compromise , in any way ?
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

Coronavirus response puts EU solidarity to the test Collapse
The coronavirus crisis hit Spain so fast and hard that within days every ward at the Hospital HM Torrelodones near Madrid was taken over by COVID-19 patients. Single rooms were doubled up until the beds ran out. The quantity and quality of protective gear available to medical staff diminished as days gave way to nights and the cases – and death toll – mounted. Help never came from neighboring countries.
“There is no teamwork,” says Adriana Vinasco, who works as an auxiliary nurse at the hospital. “Each country took decisions on their own and in their own timing.”
The coronavirus crisis revived familiar fault lines within the eurozone, with the public health crisis hitting southern countries earlier and harder. An economic recovery will cost an estimated 10% of the European Union’s GDP, or $1.7 trillion, estimates the EU’s industry chief Thierry Beton. But it is unclear who will pay that bill, whether it will be carried only by the countries most in need, such as Italy and Spain, or if the pain will be spread across the EU to include the more financially fit Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
Margaritis Schinas, the EU’s “European Way of Life” commissioner, sees this as no surprise. Given the unprecedented nature and intensity of the crisis, member states initially tried to organize as best they could – although not always in a coordinated way. Now they have entered what he characterizes as a “convergence phase”: gravitating toward common solutions as the EU responds to the public health crisis while also figuring out how to mitigate its economic impact.
“There is no doubt that our way of life has been greatly affected, but the values that underpin our way of life remain always intact,” he said during an online event organized by the Center for European Analysis. “Member states found out very clearly that they have more in common than they would think – not only the market, but also the interdependence of our economies, the values, the principles, the mobility that shapes our societies in Europe.”
Hard-hit economies and health systems
The economic devastation is intense in Italy, Spain, and France, where death tolls have been high and economic shutdowns persist. Small businesses have been hit particularly hard, says Heloise de Castelnau, a Paris intellectual property and business lawyer. She is working overtime to help her clients apply for government aid so they can pay landlords, workers, and suppliers. “But the system is complicated,” she says, “and it’s about postponing taxes and extending loans but someday we will have to pay the bills. Right now it’s an emergency plan.”
Courtesy of Adriana Vinasco View caption Hide caption Auxiliary nurse Adriana Vinasco (left) and her colleagues pose with a bouquet of flowers at Hospital HM Torrelodones where they are treating COVID-19 patients. Ms. Vinasco laments that European countries have not coordinated to fight the virus.
COVID-19 relief programs offered in France have been uneven. For example, self-employed individuals can access new forms of aid, but the amount is based on sales, which makes it hard for startups or businesses with little to no sales to qualify. Refugee entrepreneurs face additional hurdles; they don’t have the in-country credit history required to qualify for loan guarantee programs, says FAIRE, a Paris-based endowment fund for refugees.
For now, most French are looking to their own government for rescue. “The EU feels really far away,” she says. “Maybe in May, we’ll have more perspective on things.”
In Italy, the public health system suffers from under-investment, with a spending cut of €37 billion ($40 billion) over the past decade, according to the Gimbe Foundation. Now the pandemic has overwhelmed hospital systems and killed more than 25,000 people. It will need reform. “We are at risk of paying the bill of decades of cost-cutting,” says Quirino Piacevoli, who headed up the intensive care unit at a major hospital in Rome for 20 years.
What’s the ideal outcome?
The preferred solution divides cleanly along northern and southern European lines, much as it did following the global financial crisis of 2008. Then, lifelines were offered to hard-hit countries across the eurozone, but lending came with conditions largely set by wealthy countries such as Germany and the Netherlands.
People in the south felt the conditions intervened deeply in their internal affairs, says Anke Hassel, a public policy professor at Berlin’s Hertie School. For example, Greece was required to cut its minimum wage and make drastic spending cuts to get its economic house in order.
“It felt deeply unfair, and the experience of that time left very bad feelings, in particular, among southern European countries – Italy, Spain, Greece, and to some extent Portugal,” says Dr. Hassel.
Here we are 10 years later, she says, facing a similar situation. “Southern European countries are hit harder, and they don’t have the money to pay for fiscal stimuli or for their businesses to survive the crisis. They’re really facing much more hardship.”
Italy and Spain demand “coronabonds,” which would spread the borrowing risk across the European Union. France’s Emmanuel Macron also supports joint debt, saying the future of the European project is at stake.
Charles Platiau/Reuters View caption Hide caption Medical staff from Georges Pompidou European hospital wave to neighbors and residents applauding from their balconies in support of health care workers amid the coronavirus outbreak in Paris on April 21, 2020.
However, leaders of Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria are inclined to say no. Germany, the EU’s economic powerhouse, has so far weathered COVID-19 with relatively low death tolls, and is slowly starting to reopen its economy. It’s carried budget surpluses and has kept its economy afloat with massive spending packages.
Instead, what eurozone finance ministers have so far agreed upon is a €500 billion package of emergency relief measures. “The Eurogroup last week did not close many doors,” says Francesco Nicoli, assistant professor in economics and international governance at the University of Ghent in Belgium. “It forged a short-term agreement but the real crux, the real problem is if and what to do with this recovery fund.”
Still ahead are important decisions about how to structure – and who will pay for – the very expensive economic reconstruction efforts required after the coronavirus subsides.
A make or break moment
European leaders on both sides of the divide recognize this as a make or break moment for Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the crisis the “biggest test” the EU has faced since its foundation, while Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte goes all the way back to World War II for a greater trial.
Dr. Nicoli argues that any agreement which leaves hard-hit countries with the impression that they have been shortchanged risks empowering euroskeptic parties. In Italy, the right-wing League already boasts mass appeal, and Italians across the political spectrum are quick to express feelings of abandonment. They’re troubled that help was quicker to come from countries such as China and Cuba than from within the EU.
“The European Union has not proven to be a real union,” says Vanessa Ferreri, a pediatric nurse at the intensive care unit and neonatal pathology at the Gaslini Hospital in Genoa, Italy. “If there are countries in difficulty, they do not allow each other to sink but they support each other. These difficulties did not stem from a political error, but from a health emergency.”
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently apologized to Italy. She said it is “true that too many were not there on time when Italy needed a helping hand at the very beginning. For that, it is right that Europe as a whole offers a heartfelt apology.”
It will take time
Mr. Schinas, the EU commissioner, says the pandemic exposed an asymmetry between what people expect from the EU and the bloc’s actual competencies. How schools and hospitals are organized in a time of crisis is the prerogative of each state, however, many still turned to the EU for guidance on how to react to the pandemic.
Because Italy faced the worst of the crisis first, it provided valuable lessons for countries in the north, which helped them dampen the pandemic’s impact, notes Dr. Nicoli.
It may take a while, but he believes countries will eventually come together, as they did through the creation of the European Stability Mechanism a few years after the 2008 financial crisis or in the wake of the 2015 migration crisis. “It is a different type of crisis,” he says. “Politics [moves] much faster nowadays. This time it might take up to one year.”
Dr. Hassel, the public policy professor in Berlin, says that it’s very difficult for “both sides” of the EU argument to accept each other’s model. But “it would be really sad if Italy ends up thinking it’s all Germany’s fault.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-03-25--Home theater: Children’s films to delight the whole family

The best children ’ s movies work equally well for grown-ups .
Almost nothing is more inspiriting than seeing a great movie as a wide-eyed youngster and then , years later , rewatching it as an adult and experiencing the same joy all over again .
The experience is validating , as if , despite all we may have lived through , there remains within us that same astonished child .
For this latest column of comfort movies , I thought I would single out three of my favorites , all readily accessible , that both fulfill the children ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
[ Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall . ]
Albert Lamorisse ’ s 1956 “ The Red Balloon ” is so firmly entrenched in the timeless classic category that it may come as a shock to revisit it and realize it ’ s every bit as marvelous as you remembered .
To see the film in the company of a child who has never seen it before is a special blessing .
Few children ’ s movies have elicited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I suspect “ The Red Balloon ” is one of the rare movies that could justifiably lay claim to creating movie lovers for life .
( “ E.T.
” is certainly another one , and I ’ ll get to a few of the others in a moment . )
At a brisk 34 minutes , with almost no dialogue , “ The Red Balloon ” manages to encompass a vast swath of childhood experience without seeming in any way overladen or overblown .
It has the logic , and the lyricism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dream , and yet the film is rooted in the very real world of post-war France – specifically the gray , drab neighborhood of Ménilmontant on the outskirts of Paris .
The plot , at least in the telling , is simple : A little boy of perhaps 6 ( played by the director ’ s son Pascal ) is mysteriously befriended by a big lollipop-red helium balloon that floats above him everywhere .
Its shiny redness rebukes the neighborhood ’ s grayness .
It follows him to school ( the headmaster is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( his mother is even less amused ) , and to church ( where boy , balloon , and mom are shown the door ) .
In one of the film ’ s most magical scenes , the boy passes a little girl on the sidewalk with a big blue balloon and , for a brief , romantic moment , both balloons enact a little midair duet .
( An added grace note : The little girl is played by Lamorisse ’ s daughter , Sabine . )
Lamorisse doesn ’ t deny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gang of schoolyard bullies brings down the balloon , the scene for me was as sorrowful as that moment in “ Cast Away ” when Tom Hanks is irreparably separated from “ Wilson , ” the soccer ball that is also his sole desert island companion .
But all is blissfully righted in the final scene , as thousands of balloons are suddenly released into the air , wafting the little boy high into the sky .
It ’ s a poetically perfect ending to a perfect movie .
( Unrated ) Equal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is Carroll Ballard ’ s 1979 “ The Black Stallion , ” a ravishing rendition of the Walter Farley novel .
Kelly Reno plays Alec , who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with the magnificent Arabian stallion he dubs “ The Black.
” The oceanside scene where they warily warm to each other , shot by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel in glimmering shafts of reflected light , is peerless .
Rescued , brought back home , boy and horse are inseparable .
A retired jockey , played by Mickey Rooney in his finest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heart-pounding big race that closes out the film .
From first image to last , Ballard sustains the story with surpassing grace .
No other film has captured quite so well the transcendent bond that can exist between people and the animals they love .
( Rated G ) I would be remiss if I finished out this column without mentioning “ A Little Princess , ” Alfonso Cuarón ’ s 1995 adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel that had earlier been filmed with Shirley Temple .
On its simplest level , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Victorian gothic girls ’ boarding school in 1914 , but it soon turns into a resplendent fantasia .
I championed the film when it came out , writing that “ the filmmakers want us to perceive the fundament of magic in the everyday , and how that magic can sustain one ’ s spirit.
” For children of all ages , there is no better time for this film than now .
( Rated G ) These films are available for rent from Amazon ’ s Prime Video and iTunes .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Little Princess ” can also be rented from Google Play .
“ The Red Balloon ” may also be borrowed through some public library systems with Kanopy .

The best children’s movies work equally well for grown-ups. Almost nothing is more inspiriting than seeing a great movie as a wide-eyed youngster and then, years later, rewatching it as an adult and experiencing the same joy all over again. The experience is validating, as if, despite all we may have lived through, there remains within us that same astonished child. For this latest column of comfort movies, I thought I would single out three of my favorites, all readily accessible, that both fulfill the children’s movie genre and triumphantly transcend it.
[Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.]
“The Red Balloon”
Why We Wrote This Sharing more screen time with family these days? Film critic Peter Rainer offers his latest list of comfort flicks sure to please everyone on the couch. After all, movies meant for kids can also charm the young at heart. They remind us, he says, “there remains within us that same astonished child.”
Albert Lamorisse’s 1956 “The Red Balloon” is so firmly entrenched in the timeless classic category that it may come as a shock to revisit it and realize it’s every bit as marvelous as you remembered. To see the film in the company of a child who has never seen it before is a special blessing. Few children’s movies have elicited as much instant love. In fact, I suspect “The Red Balloon” is one of the rare movies that could justifiably lay claim to creating movie lovers for life. (“E.T.” is certainly another one, and I’ll get to a few of the others in a moment.)
At a brisk 34 minutes, with almost no dialogue, “The Red Balloon” manages to encompass a vast swath of childhood experience without seeming in any way overladen or overblown. It has the logic, and the lyricism, of a fanciful child’s dream, and yet the film is rooted in the very real world of post-war France – specifically the gray, drab neighborhood of Ménilmontant on the outskirts of Paris.
The plot, at least in the telling, is simple: A little boy of perhaps 6 (played by the director’s son Pascal) is mysteriously befriended by a big lollipop-red helium balloon that floats above him everywhere. Its shiny redness rebukes the neighborhood’s grayness. It follows him to school (the headmaster is not amused), to his home (his mother is even less amused), and to church (where boy, balloon, and mom are shown the door). In one of the film’s most magical scenes, the boy passes a little girl on the sidewalk with a big blue balloon and, for a brief, romantic moment, both balloons enact a little midair duet. (An added grace note: The little girl is played by Lamorisse’s daughter, Sabine.)
Lamorisse doesn’t deny the frights of childhood. When a gang of schoolyard bullies brings down the balloon, the scene for me was as sorrowful as that moment in “Cast Away” when Tom Hanks is irreparably separated from “Wilson,” the soccer ball that is also his sole desert island companion. But all is blissfully righted in the final scene, as thousands of balloons are suddenly released into the air, wafting the little boy high into the sky. It’s a poetically perfect ending to a perfect movie. (Unrated)
“The Black Stallion”
Equal in entrancement to Lamorisse’s masterpiece is Carroll Ballard’s 1979 “The Black Stallion,” a ravishing rendition of the Walter Farley novel. Kelly Reno plays Alec, who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with the magnificent Arabian stallion he dubs “The Black.” The oceanside scene where they warily warm to each other, shot by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel in glimmering shafts of reflected light, is peerless. Rescued, brought back home, boy and horse are inseparable. A retired jockey, played by Mickey Rooney in his finest performance, sets them up for the heart-pounding big race that closes out the film. From first image to last, Ballard sustains the story with surpassing grace. No other film has captured quite so well the transcendent bond that can exist between people and the animals they love. (Rated G)
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“A Little Princess”
I would be remiss if I finished out this column without mentioning “A Little Princess,” Alfonso Cuarón’s 1995 adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel that had earlier been filmed with Shirley Temple. On its simplest level, it’s about little darlings in a Victorian gothic girls’ boarding school in 1914, but it soon turns into a resplendent fantasia. I championed the film when it came out, writing that “the filmmakers want us to perceive the fundament of magic in the everyday, and how that magic can sustain one’s spirit.” For children of all ages, there is no better time for this film than now. (Rated G)
These films are available for rent from Amazon’s Prime Video and iTunes. “The Black Stallion” and “A Little Princess” can also be rented from Google Play. “The Red Balloon” may also be borrowed through some public library systems with Kanopy.


csmonitor--2020-04-21--Netanyahu to lead Israel's 'national emergency' government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival announced Monday that they have forged a deal to form a coalition government , ending months of political paralysis and averting what would have been a fourth consecutive election in just over a year .
Mr. Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz , leader of the Blue and White party , signed the power-sharing agreement after weeks of negotiations for what they termed a “ national emergency ” government meant to steer the country through the coronavirus outbreak .
Although Mr. Netanyahu repeatedly came up short in three elections over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returns the long-serving leader to the premiership , defying critics who predicted his downfall and restoring his reputation as a political wizard .
It means that Mr. Netanyahu will almost certainly remain in office for the duration of his upcoming trial on corruption charges .
The deal calls for a three-year period , with Mr. Netanyahu serving as prime minister for the first half , and Mr. Gantz taking the job for the second half .
Mr. Gantz 's party will take control of a number of senior government ministries , including defense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant boost as he fights to hold on to power while fending off corruption charges .
His party will gain influence over judicial appointments .
The deal also requires the approval of both parties on key appointments including the attorney general and the state prosecutor – granting Mr. Netanyahu veto power over the officials who hold sway over his legal fate .
“ I promised the state of Israel a national emergency government that will work to save the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of Israel , ” Mr. Netanyahu tweeted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ short of a required parliamentary majority , Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz agreed to try to form a unity government because of the burgeoning coronavirus crisis .
The talks stalled several times , reportedly over Mr. Netanyahu ’ s personal legal problems , sparking concern that they would plunge the country into new elections .
The deal required major compromise by both men .
During three bitter campaigns over the past year , Mr. Gantz and his Blue and White party vowed never to serve in a government under Mr. Netanyahu so long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charges .
After 11 years as prime minister , Mr. Netanyahu agreed to step aside and allow Mr. Gantz to take the job , if the coalition manages to survive long enough .
“ We prevented a fourth election , ” Mr. Gantz tweeted .
“ We will protect democracy .
We will battle corona and we will worry about all the citizens of Israel.
” While the government was ostensibly formed to deal with the coronavirus pandemic , which has killed over 170 Israelis and ravaged the economy , negotiations revolved largely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set to start next month .
Main sticking points included a demand by the prime minister to have more say on judicial appointments , which could play a role if his case eventually reaches the Supreme Court .
Political analyst Avraham Diskin , who was involved in crafting some of the coalition deal , said guarantees by both sides were critical .
Mr. Netanyahu wanted a guarantee he would not be forced to resign after Mr. Gantz takes over as prime minister .
Israeli law requires all public officials , with the exception @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down if charged with a crime .
For Blue and White , that meant assurances that Mr. Netanyahu wouldn ’ t topple the government before Mr. Gantz becomes prime minister , Mr. Diskin said .
“ There was a total lack of trust , ” he said .
“ I pray that the government will hold up and wo n't miss the opportunity with fights over nonsense.
” In a joint statement , the parties said they would form a six-month “ emergency ” government focused on the coronavirus crisis .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ policy outline ” for a long-term unity government .
The deal could clear the way for Mr. Netanyahu 's campaign promise to annex large parts of the West Bank after July 1 .
Mr. Gantz has raised concerns about the plan , which is bitterly opposed by the Palestinians and much of the international community , saying it could only take place with broad international support .
Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the new government would have two options : “ to either open the doors for a meaningful peace process or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Last month ’ s election , just like the campaigns last September and April , ended with no clear winner .
But with a slight majority of lawmakers endorsing him , Mr. Gantz was chosen first by the country 's figurehead president to try to build a coalition government .
The glue holding together Mr. Gantz 's different backers was their shared animosity toward Mr. Netanyahu .
Mr. Gantz began to move forward with legislation that would have disqualified the indicted Mr. Netanyahu from serving as prime minister in the future .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his own shaky alliance fraying , Mr. Gantz made an about-face late last month and accepted an offer from Mr. Netanyahu to pursue a joint government to deal with the pandemic .
The move drew heavy criticism from Mr. Gantz ’ s supporters and tore apart his Blue and White alliance .
Negotiations continued even after Mr. Gantz ’ allotted time to build a coalition ended last week .
The Knesset , or parliament , had been given until May 7 to select a candidate for prime minister .
Otherwise , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new elections .
On Sunday night , several thousand demonstrators , including Mr. Gantz ’ s former political partner Yair Lapid , gathered in Tel Aviv to protest the emerging deal .
Protesters accused Mr. Netanyahu of using the coronavirus crisis to shield himself from prosecution and accused Mr. Gantz of abandoning his central campaign promises .
“ You don ’ t fight corruption from within .
If you ’ re inside , you ’ re part of it , ” Mr. Lapid said .
Mr. Netanyahu is desperate to remain in office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lash out at his enemies and rally public opposition to his prosecutors .
Mr. Netanyahu is awaiting trial on charges of accepting bribes , breach of trust , and fraud .
He has denied any wrongdoing and portrays himself as a victim of a media and judicial witch hunt .
Citing the coronavirus crisis , Mr. Netanyahu ’ s hand-picked justice minister has already delayed the trial by two months by shuttering most of the court system .
Israel has identified more than 13,000 cases of the coronavirus , with 172 deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relaxing some of its health restrictions , hundreds of thousands are out of work and the economy has come to a standstill .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival announced Monday that they have forged a deal to form a coalition government, ending months of political paralysis and averting what would have been a fourth consecutive election in just over a year.
Mr. Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, signed the power-sharing agreement after weeks of negotiations for what they termed a “national emergency” government meant to steer the country through the coronavirus outbreak.
Although Mr. Netanyahu repeatedly came up short in three elections over the past year, the coalition agreement returns the long-serving leader to the premiership, defying critics who predicted his downfall and restoring his reputation as a political wizard. It means that Mr. Netanyahu will almost certainly remain in office for the duration of his upcoming trial on corruption charges.
The deal calls for a three-year period, with Mr. Netanyahu serving as prime minister for the first half, and Mr. Gantz taking the job for the second half.
Mr. Gantz's party will take control of a number of senior government ministries, including defense.
The agreement delivers Mr. Netanyahu a significant boost as he fights to hold on to power while fending off corruption charges. His party will gain influence over judicial appointments. The deal also requires the approval of both parties on key appointments including the attorney general and the state prosecutor – granting Mr. Netanyahu veto power over the officials who hold sway over his legal fate.
“I promised the state of Israel a national emergency government that will work to save the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu tweeted.
After March 2 elections left both men short of a required parliamentary majority, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz agreed to try to form a unity government because of the burgeoning coronavirus crisis. The talks stalled several times, reportedly over Mr. Netanyahu’s personal legal problems, sparking concern that they would plunge the country into new elections.
The deal required major compromise by both men. During three bitter campaigns over the past year, Mr. Gantz and his Blue and White party vowed never to serve in a government under Mr. Netanyahu so long as he faces a slew of corruption charges. After 11 years as prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu agreed to step aside and allow Mr. Gantz to take the job, if the coalition manages to survive long enough.
“We prevented a fourth election,” Mr. Gantz tweeted. “We will protect democracy. We will battle corona and we will worry about all the citizens of Israel.”
While the government was ostensibly formed to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 170 Israelis and ravaged the economy, negotiations revolved largely around Mr. Netanyahu's corruption trial, set to start next month. Main sticking points included a demand by the prime minister to have more say on judicial appointments, which could play a role if his case eventually reaches the Supreme Court.
Political analyst Avraham Diskin, who was involved in crafting some of the coalition deal, said guarantees by both sides were critical. Mr. Netanyahu wanted a guarantee he would not be forced to resign after Mr. Gantz takes over as prime minister. Israeli law requires all public officials, with the exception of the prime minister, to step down if charged with a crime.
For Blue and White, that meant assurances that Mr. Netanyahu wouldn’t topple the government before Mr. Gantz becomes prime minister, Mr. Diskin said.
“There was a total lack of trust,” he said. “I pray that the government will hold up and won't miss the opportunity with fights over nonsense.”
In a joint statement, the parties said they would form a six-month “emergency” government focused on the coronavirus crisis. In the meantime, they will work on a “policy outline” for a long-term unity government.
The deal could clear the way for Mr. Netanyahu's campaign promise to annex large parts of the West Bank after July 1. Mr. Gantz has raised concerns about the plan, which is bitterly opposed by the Palestinians and much of the international community, saying it could only take place with broad international support.
Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the new government would have two options: “to either open the doors for a meaningful peace process or to further jeaopardize any hope for peace.”
Last month’s election, just like the campaigns last September and April, ended with no clear winner. But with a slight majority of lawmakers endorsing him, Mr. Gantz was chosen first by the country's figurehead president to try to build a coalition government.
The glue holding together Mr. Gantz's different backers was their shared animosity toward Mr. Netanyahu. Mr. Gantz began to move forward with legislation that would have disqualified the indicted Mr. Netanyahu from serving as prime minister in the future.
But with the virus crisis worsening, and his own shaky alliance fraying, Mr. Gantz made an about-face late last month and accepted an offer from Mr. Netanyahu to pursue a joint government to deal with the pandemic. The move drew heavy criticism from Mr. Gantz’s supporters and tore apart his Blue and White alliance.
Negotiations continued even after Mr. Gantz’ allotted time to build a coalition ended last week. The Knesset, or parliament, had been given until May 7 to select a candidate for prime minister. Otherwise, it would automatically have been dissolved and triggered new elections.
On Sunday night, several thousand demonstrators, including Mr. Gantz’s former political partner Yair Lapid, gathered in Tel Aviv to protest the emerging deal. Protesters accused Mr. Netanyahu of using the coronavirus crisis to shield himself from prosecution and accused Mr. Gantz of abandoning his central campaign promises.
“You don’t fight corruption from within. If you’re inside, you’re part of it,” Mr. Lapid said.
Mr. Netanyahu is desperate to remain in office throughout the trial, using his position to lash out at his enemies and rally public opposition to his prosecutors.
Mr. Netanyahu is awaiting trial on charges of accepting bribes, breach of trust, and fraud. He has denied any wrongdoing and portrays himself as a victim of a media and judicial witch hunt. Citing the coronavirus crisis, Mr. Netanyahu’s hand-picked justice minister has already delayed the trial by two months by shuttering most of the court system.
Israel has identified more than 13,000 cases of the coronavirus, with 172 deaths. While this week the country began relaxing some of its health restrictions, hundreds of thousands are out of work and the economy has come to a standstill.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-04-20--U.S. condemns arrests of top Hong Kong democracy advocates

The United States condemned the arrests of at least 14 veteran pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on charges of joining massive anti-government protests last year , saying the police action jeopardizes a high degree of autonomy guaranteed the southern Chinese city .
Among those arrested Saturday were 81-year-old activist and former lawmaker Martin Lee and democracy advocates Albert Ho , Lee Cheuk-yan , and Au Nok-hin .
Police also arrested media tycoon Jimmy Lai , who founded the local newspaper Apple Daily .
The sweeping crackdown amid a coronavirus pandemic is based on charges of unlawful assembly stemming from huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposed deep divisions between democracy-minded Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing .
The bill – which would have allowed the residents of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory to be sent to mainland to stand trial – has been withdrawn , but the protests continued for more than seven months , centered around demands for voting rights and an independent inquiry into police conduct .
While the protests began peacefully , they increasingly descended into violence after demonstrators became frustrated with the government ’ s response .
They feel that Hong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demands and used the police to suppress them .
`` This is not the rule of law .
This is what authoritarian governments do , '' former Hong Kong governor Chris Paten said in a statement , adding that it is becoming clearer each day that `` Beijing is determined to throttle Hong Kong '' .
Mr. Patten also addressed the ongoing row over Beijing officials openly criticizing pro-democracy lawmakers and accusing them of misconduct in public office with their filibustering in Legco , reported RTIHK in Hong Kong .
`` This assault @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the heels of ludicrous attempts in the last few days by Beijing 's officials to argue that the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office , and the liaison office in Hong Kong , are not the same as the rest of the Beijing government and can interfere in Hong Kong 's affairs without breaching the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law , '' Mr. Patten said .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the arrests in a statement .
“ Beijing and its representatives in Hong Kong continue to take actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joint Declaration that include transparency , the rule of law , and guarantees that Hong Kong will continue to ‘ enjoy a high degree of autonomy , ' '' Mr. Pompeo said .
He was referring to the 1997 handover of the former British colony to China , which promised the city would enjoy political freedoms not afforded mainland China .
Attorney General William Barr also weighed in with a statement saying these events show how `` antithetical the values of the Chinese Communist Party are to those we share in Western liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their malign influence activity and industrial espionage here in the United States – demonstrate once again that the Chinese Communist Party can not be trusted.
” Britain 's Foreign Office also criticized the arrests , saying “ the right to peaceful protest is fundamental to Hong Kong ’ s way of life and as such is protected in both the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.
” Beijing has accused the U.S. and other Western countries of instigating the protests and insists they 're China 's internal affairs .
The Office of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hong Kong said police were enforcing the law against those suspected of organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies , and foreign countries have no right to interfere , China 's official Xinhua News Agency reported .
“ It is completely wrong that the U.K. Foreign Office spokesperson has distorted the truth by painting unauthorized assemblies as ‘ peaceful protests , ' in a bid to whitewash , condone , and exonerate the anti-China troublemakers in Hong Kong , '' the statement said .
Lai , Lee Cheuk-yan , and Yeung Sum – a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was also arrested – were charged in February over their involvement in a rally on Aug. 31 last year .
The Hong Kong authorities had denied permission for most of the rallies and police increasingly used tear gas and pepper spray against demonstrators , arresting hundreds .
The League of Social Democrats wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday that its leaders were among those arrested , including chairman Raphael Wong .
They were accused of participating in two unauthorized protests on Aug. 18 and Oct. 1 last year .
This story was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

The United States condemned the arrests of at least 14 veteran pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on charges of joining massive anti-government protests last year, saying the police action jeopardizes a high degree of autonomy guaranteed the southern Chinese city.
Among those arrested Saturday were 81-year-old activist and former lawmaker Martin Lee and democracy advocates Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Au Nok-hin. Police also arrested media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who founded the local newspaper Apple Daily.
The sweeping crackdown amid a coronavirus pandemic is based on charges of unlawful assembly stemming from huge rallies against proposed China extradition legislation that exposed deep divisions between democracy-minded Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing.
The bill – which would have allowed the residents of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory to be sent to mainland to stand trial – has been withdrawn, but the protests continued for more than seven months, centered around demands for voting rights and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
While the protests began peacefully, they increasingly descended into violence after demonstrators became frustrated with the government’s response. They feel that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has ignored their demands and used the police to suppress them.
"This is not the rule of law. This is what authoritarian governments do," former Hong Kong governor Chris Paten said in a statement, adding that it is becoming clearer each day that "Beijing is determined to throttle Hong Kong".
Mr. Patten also addressed the ongoing row over Beijing officials openly criticizing pro-democracy lawmakers and accusing them of misconduct in public office with their filibustering in Legco, reported RTIHK in Hong Kong.
"This assault on Hong Kong's freedoms comes hard on the heels of ludicrous attempts in the last few days by Beijing's officials to argue that the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and the liaison office in Hong Kong, are not the same as the rest of the Beijing government and can interfere in Hong Kong's affairs without breaching the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law," Mr. Patten said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the arrests in a statement.
“Beijing and its representatives in Hong Kong continue to take actions inconsistent with commitments made under the Sino-British Joint Declaration that include transparency, the rule of law, and guarantees that Hong Kong will continue to ‘enjoy a high degree of autonomy,'" Mr. Pompeo said. He was referring to the 1997 handover of the former British colony to China, which promised the city would enjoy political freedoms not afforded mainland China.
Attorney General William Barr also weighed in with a statement saying these events show how "antithetical the values of the Chinese Communist Party are to those we share in Western liberal democracies. These actions – along with their malign influence activity and industrial espionage here in the United States – demonstrate once again that the Chinese Communist Party cannot be trusted.”
Britain's Foreign Office also criticized the arrests, saying “the right to peaceful protest is fundamental to Hong Kong’s way of life and as such is protected in both the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.”
Beijing has accused the U.S. and other Western countries of instigating the protests and insists they're China's internal affairs.
The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said police were enforcing the law against those suspected of organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies, and foreign countries have no right to interfere, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
“It is completely wrong that the U.K. Foreign Office spokesperson has distorted the truth by painting unauthorized assemblies as ‘peaceful protests,' in a bid to whitewash, condone, and exonerate the anti-China troublemakers in Hong Kong," the statement said.
Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Yeung Sum – a former lawmaker from the Democratic Party who was also arrested – were charged in February over their involvement in a rally on Aug. 31 last year.
The Hong Kong authorities had denied permission for most of the rallies and police increasingly used tear gas and pepper spray against demonstrators, arresting hundreds.
The League of Social Democrats wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday that its leaders were among those arrested, including chairman Raphael Wong. They were accused of participating in two unauthorized protests on Aug. 18 and Oct. 1 last year.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.