In this post, Kōkyō Henkel offers an insightful preface and then his and Yashu Zhang s enormously important translation of the section of the Record of
People wait their turn to get tested for COVID-19 in Hyderabad, India, April 25, 2021. After having largely tamed the virus last year, the country is in the throes of the world’s worst coronavirus surge, and many of the country’s hospitals are struggling to cope with shortages of beds, medicines and oxygen. Credit:
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As India faces a devastating coronavirus surge, most hospitals and pharmacies in New Delhi, the capital, have run out of stocks. Now, people are turning to social media with desperate pleas for ICU beds, medicine and oxygen tanks to keep their loved ones alive. And, millions of people around the world are involved in forced labor. US Customs and Border Patrol has started to seize goods made through forced labor, but critics say they are not transparent enough. Also, an audio postcard about vaccine skepticism in China, by Shanghai author and resident Yashu Zhang.
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At Yu Gardens, a popular Shanghai tourist spot, visitors are doing a bit of Chinese New Year shopping and taking in the sights.
Even with face masks, health codes and temperature checks, the atmosphere here is festive, with red lanterns, red door posters red everything.
Huang Yun, who sells New Year’s decorations at an open-air market here, says it’s nowhere near as crowded as in years past.
“In a normal year, you’d really have to push to get through the crowds. I think tourists are down by two-thirds this year.”
Huang Yun, Shanghai vendor
“In a normal year, you’d really have to push to get through the crowds,” she said. “I think tourists are down by two-thirds this year.”