In the winter of 2019, a disease originated from Wuhan. In the following spring, there were outbreaks in Hubei province. At least 80,000 were infected in China, and about 3,000 of them died. Although the situation in China brought under control after initiating home quarantine for more than a month, the epidemic already spilled across the border, resulted in the Pandemic in March 2020. World Health Organization (WHO) was unresponsive and failed to alarm the world, and nations were unprepared and unable to obtain adequate resources. While the disease roared around the globe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (Republic of China) keep the situation under control, apart from sporadic cases from overseas transmissions and small groups.
The cause of this disease is a virus, which is called Coronavirus as it shaped like a crown. Since 2015, WHO avoided calling disease by the names of persons, geographical regions, animals, food, cultures, occupation or other similar entities, and decided to name disease according to the year of discovery. So they called the disease Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19. International Committee on Taxonomy of Virus (ICTV), on the other hand, analyzed the genome of viruses and give names according their sequence, without any other considerations. As the genome sequence of the virus causing COVID-19 were mostly identical to that which caused SARS, ICTV considered the new coronavirus as an variant of SARS virus, and so called it SARS coronavirus 2.0, or SARS-CoV-2. Civil society and international media may avoid these academic terms for clarity and understanding, and called the disease as Wuhan Pneumonia caused by Wuhan Coronavirus. It is nothing wrong in this colloquial setting.
Public opinion were mixed regarding these academic nomenclature. In the existing system, WHO named the disease and ICTV named the viral pathogen. While scientist are required to use the term COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 for researches and academic discussions, there is nothing to do with colloquial names used by the civil society and mass media, as long as they are easy enough to facilitate public discussions.
Wuhan is the Ground Zero of this Pandemic
Among all newly discovered infectious disease, around three-fourth of them originated from wildlife. The ancestral viruses of Coronavirus infectious to mammals typically hosted in bats and birds. As these host could carry the viruses across thousands of kilometers, these ancestral viruses were typically named by the place of discovery. The only objective and accurate way to trace of origin of the virus is to isolate it from its animal host. However, while investigators in Wuhan tried to collect samples from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, the venue had already been cleaned up. Those wild animals which were kept as game meat could no longer be found. As evidence destroyed, the natural host and intermediate host of the virus would remain a mystery. According to local residents, The wildlife sold in Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market came from all parts of China, some were imports from nearby Southeast Asian nations, and there were even smuggled wild animals from Africa. Investigators did not know which of these was the origin of Wuhan Coronavirus.
What researchers could do is to search for the origin through genome sequencing. They discovered a strain of Coronavirus, named RaTG13, which hosted in bats. As 96% of its genome sequence is identical with that of Wuhan Coronavirus, it‘s believed to be the ancestral virus. This virus strain was isolated from Rhinolophus Sinicus, a bat living in Yunnan province, illustrated that bats are natural host of Wuhan Coronavirus. According to epidemiological studies, the Huanan Seafood Wholesale market was definitely an amplification epicenter during the initial stage of the epidemic. It is likely that the ancestral virus resulted in cross-infections among animals kept in the market, and became contagious to human after mutations in some intermediate host, resulted in human-to-human transmission.
We cannot confirm the intermediate host at the moment. However, according to the result of genome sequencing, The similarity between the Spike Receptor-binding domain of Wuhan Coronavirus and Coronavirus strains in Pangolin is as high as 90%. We still could not be sure whether Pangolin was an intermediate host. However, it is possible that the Coronavirus strains in Pangolin may donate its gene of Spike Receptor-binding domain to RaTG13, and recombined into a new strain of Coronavirus.
Game meat consumption is the cause
The SARS epidemic in 2003 was originated inHeyuan, China, and resulted in outbreaks in Guangdong Province. Eventually it crossed the border and affect Hong Kong. The Coronavirus strain causing SARS were discovered in Masked Palm Civet (note: a common source of game meat in Guangdong). China banned the sale of wild animal after the incident, and yet in 17 years after SARS epidemic, black markets for game meat flourished despite the official ban. Chinese people forget the lesson of SARS, and allowed these markets to set foot, selling, cooking and eating living wild animals in downtowns of modern metropolis. The environ of these markets are crowded and unhygienic, there are various kind of wild animals flocking together, and their excrement contain abundance of bacteria and viruses. Game Meat market is an ideal environment for viruses to exchange genes and mutate, and therefore they should have banned straightaway.
The improvement of wet markets should be the top priority disease prevention measure. Governments in China and Hong Kong should promptly improve the environment of wet markets: the place should be well ventilated with proper pest control. Before we could remove living poultry from wet markets, we should clean up their excrement properly, so as to reduce the chance for viruses to exchange genes.
Some discussions in the internet insisted Wuhan Coronavirus was originated in the United States. These claims are not supported by evidences, and should be considered as plain lies. Avoid spreading these fake information as they are just laughable. In face of such a severe pandemic, it‘s important to stay calm. Maintaining the transparency of information is of utmost importance, and we have to keep the cool head and analyze the information rationally. Beware of rumors, and not to share anything unconfirmed. It is China who made the gravest mistake, as they failed to close those game meat markets: to combat the pandemic, one must face the reality. Mistakes should never be repeated, and don‘t try to point the finger at others. Wuhan Coronavirus was produced by the dark side of Chinese culture: abusing and consuming wildlife, treating animals in inhumane manners, and failing to pay respect to life. Chinese people insisted in eating game meat to fulfill a variety of desires, and this kind of bad habits and poor attitudes is the source of disease-causing viruses. With such an attitude, something similar to SARS would definitely recur in around a decade.
Yuen, Kwok Yung Henry Fok Professor in Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong
Lung, David Christopher Honorary Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong
Ming Pao, 18th March 2020.
The article was retracted in the evening. Professor Yuen said while he wished to speak the truth, he knew nothing about politics, and therefore he would retract the article and apologize amid of controversies.
他們頑固地相信只要再努力一點點,中國未來就會變成更好的民主中國,使一切問題迎刃而解。雖然中國的而且確是問題的根源,而爭取香港的民主自治也無可避免會被視為反共反華,但這對在韓港僑來說卻是 elephant in the room,是說不得的真相:說了,就是否定中國未來會變好的可能。所謂特殊政治生態,不過是遁詞而已。
延伸閲讀
Churchman, Catherine (2016). The People between the Rivers: The Rise and Fall of a Bronze Drum Culture, 200–750 CE. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
曾華滿(1973)。《唐代嶺南發展的核心性》。香港:香港中文大學。
Faure, David (2007). Emperor and Ancestor: State and Lineage in South China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
中國問題專家白魯恂(Lucian W. Pye)曾指出,中國只是「一個偽裝成(國族)國家的文明(帝國)」。他的意思是:中國只是為了保全帝國,才將自己裝扮成國族國家的模樣,期盼能以國族主義的動員力重現帝國的榮光。中國的國族主義,雖然以受害者的姿態披上「國族解放」的迷彩,其本質卻是意欲稱霸世界的帝國主義。
也許更重要的是,資本主義並不必然排斥國家主義和威權主義:雖然英美模式的資本主義一直與自由民主並駕齊驅,但德國模式早已證明兩者之關並無必然的關連。這情況在東亞尤其明顯:在戰前日本和戰後的臺灣和韓國,其資本主義發展最初也伴隨着高壓的威權主義。與共產黨系出同源的國民黨,在1987年解嚴前就是靠黨國之力推動資本主義發展,並藉「拼經濟」的成果鞏固其在臺灣的遷佔者政權。我們切莫忘記漢學家史華慈(Benjamin I. Schwartz)的忠告:若是為了富強而追求自由,心不正、劍則邪,最終只會為富強而丟棄自由。自由理當是絕對的終極關懷,它本身毋須任何道德證成,更不能被當成追求財富及權勢的工具。
難道在近幾十年,政治學界再沒有值得世人景仰的大人物?不,五年前往生的民主研究大師 Juan J. Linz,就是一期一會的殿堂級政治學家。雖然他只曾遙遠地觀察香港,但大師就是大師,其洞見自然不能與那些半桶水混飯吃的所謂「學人」相提並論。他在與 Alfred Stepan 合撰的 Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation,就以香港的案例指出一個國家若然缺乏獨立主權,就難以享有民主。若然宗主國是民主國家,那屬地還有點機會(卻不一定能夠)步向民主;若宗主國是威權國家,屬地則肯定會與民主絕緣。按此推論,香港若要達成民主,要麼是獨立、要麼就要讓中國民主化。
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