China Awards Coronavirus ‘Heroes'
Published Date: 9/8/2020
Source: Bloomberg QuickTake News
In a pomp-filled ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping personally conferred medals on citizens deemed to have played instrumental roles in China’s fight against the coronavirus identified in December in Wuhan.  At the event Tuesday, China honored about 1,500 individuals for their contribution in the virus fight, including medical personnel, military workers, state media workers and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. Respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan -- a senior medical adviser to the Chinese government who confirmed the risk of human-to-human infection on Jan. 20 -- and vaccine researcher Chen Wei were among four medical experts bestowed with national awards by Xi. None of the participants who shared the stage with Xi wore masks and the president shook hands with several people while leaving, a striking display of China’s progress. Xi hailed China’s success in suppressing the deadly pandemic first discovered on its soil, even as confirmed infections globally raced toward the 30 million mark. The president seized on China’s relative success to tout the merits of one-party rule, as leaders in democratically run countries grapple with protests against mask-mandates and extended lockdowns. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL: Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ Email us at [email protected] QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.