China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Sept. 8 on the number of monkeypox virus infections for the month of August. For the first time, infections in women appeared to be among the cases. The notice stated that 501 newly confirmed cases of monkeypox infections were reported in mainland China last month. Cases were from across 25 of 31 provinces and regions in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Henan, Chongqing, and others. The notice said that 98.9 percent of the monkeypox cases were in males, and 92.5 percent were identified as affecting men who have sex with men. However, five of the cases were infections in women, all of whom had a history of heterosexual contact within 21 days from onset of the illness. Among their heterosexual partners, three were also infected with monkeypox, one recently had a rash, and one had no symptoms related to monkeypox....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/monkeypox-cases-surge-in-china-infections-in-women-reported-5488912
World’s largest money manager BlackRock is shutting a China-focused offshore fund amid congressional scrutiny over its alleged role in directing U.S. dollars to blacklisted Chinese firms. In a recent letter to shareholders, BlackRock Global Funds’ chairwoman Denise Voss said they will close the China Flexible Equity Fund over a “lack of shareholder interest” and the investment cost to keep the fund running, which she noted is “not in the best interests of shareholders.” BlackRock intends to liquidate all assets under the fund and redeem any outstanding shares by Nov. 7. Existing shareholders have the options to switch their investments into another fund, sell back their shares ahead of the liquidation date, or receive automatic payments for the shares when the fund closes down....
A New York-based research group became the target of malicious cyberattacks almost immediately after publishing testimony of a whistleblower doctor’s encounter with a Falun Gong practitioner who had her kidney removed against her will in China. The woman was a victim of the communist regime’s forced organ harvesting and perished not long after her conversation with the doctor, according to the whistleblower. In April 2019, Zhang Xiuqin, 46, briefly survived an operation to remove one of her kidneys and relayed her experience to a doctor at a key military hospital in Harbin, the capital of China’s northernmost province Heilongjiang. The whistleblower doctor, who is unnamed to protect her safety, provided a video recording of this conversation to the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to tracking the regime’s forced organ harvesting abuse. The organization published a transcript of the recording, as well as a transcript of the doctor’s testimony on July 17....
A Canadian warship has navigated the contested Taiwan Strait as part of a joint exercise with allied naval forces, an action that showcased its commitment to safeguarding the international status of the waterway in response to China’s territorial assertions. The Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate, HMCS Ottawa, transited the disputed waters alongside the USS Ralph Johnson, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, in what both parties have characterized as a freedom-of-navigation exercise, as reported by CBC News. During their 17-hour crossing on Sept. 6, the ships were closely shadowed by Chinese warships. “Moving through the Taiwan Strait is to demonstrate a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Sam Patchell, the commanding officer of the Canadian warship, told CBC News. “The only way we can do that is to come here and signal it.”...