title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: Referring to the government's charge that Slahi gave "purposeful and material support" to al Qaeda, Judge Robertson wrote:


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: Salahi may very well have been an al-Qaida sympathizer, and the evidence does show that he provided some support to al-Qaida, or to people he knew to be al-Qaida. Such support was sporadic, however, and, at the time of his capture, non-existent. In any event, what the standard approved in Al-Bihani actually covers is "those who purposefully and materially supported such forces in hostilities against U.S. Coalition partners." 530 F.3d at 872 (emphasis added). The evidence in this record cannot possibly be stretched far enough to fit that test.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: Judge Robertson addressed the other government allegation, that Slahi was "part of" al Qaeda at the time of his capture. He said the law was not as clear in this instance:


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: neither Al-Bihani nor any other case provides a bright-line test for determining who was and who was not "part of" al-Qaida at the time of capture. The decision, in other words, depends on the sufficiency of the evidence. The question of when a detainee must have been a "part of" al-Qaida to be detainable is at the center of this case, because it is clear that Salahi was at one point a sworn al-Qaida member.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: Judge Robertson discusses other factors in his decision, including which side had the burden of proof and considering the reliability of coerced or hearsay testimony. In conclusion, Judge Robertson stated:


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: The government had to adduce evidence – which is different from intelligence – showing that it was more likely than not that Salahi was "part of" al-Qaida. To do so, it had to show that the support Salahi undoubtedly did provide from time to time was provided within al-Qaida's command structure. The government has not done so.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: The Department of Justice appealed the decision. Oral arguments were heard on September 17, 2010, by a three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In oral arguments, Judge David S. Tatel questioned whether swearing "bayat" in 1991 is evidence of actions a decade and more later against the United States. He noted, "When he swore bayat, the United States and al-Qaeda had a common goal. Both the United States and al-Qaeda were opposing a communist government of Afghanistan." The panel discussed sending the case back to the District Court or over-ruling the decision, based on other recent D.C. Circuit rulings on the criteria that justify detention, which were still being developed.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: On November 5, 2010, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the decision and remanded the case to the D.C. District Court for further factual findings, based on guidance it had given to the D.C. District Court about review of such habeas corpus cases of detainees.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: In 2005, Slahi wrote a memoir while held in detention. The 466-page manuscript was in English, a language Slahi learned at Guantánamo. After litigation and negotiation, the US government declassified the memoir six years later, making numerous redactions. Excerpts were published by "Slate" magazine as a three-part series beginning April 30, 2013. On May 1, 2013, "Slate" also published a related interview with Col. Morris Davis, the military's chief prosecutor at Guantánamo from September 2005 to October 2007.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: The book, "Guantánamo Diary", was published in January 2015. It is the first work by a still-imprisoned detainee at Guantánamo. It provides details of Slahi's harsh interrogations and torture, including being "force-fed seawater, sexually molested, subjected to a mock execution and repeatedly beaten, kicked and smashed across the face, all spiced with threats that his mother will be brought to Guantánamo and gang-raped." It has become an international bestseller. Prison officials prevented Slahi from receiving a copy of his published book.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: A film adaption of the memoir titled "The Mauritanian" directed by Kevin Macdonald, and starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley was released on February 12, 2021.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: Salahi had his first Periodic Review Board review on June 2, 2016. A month later, the board recommended that Slahi be released. On October 17, 2016, Slahi was freed and returned to Mauritania, after being detained without charge for over 14 years.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: "CBS News" flagship news show, "60 Minutes", broadcast the story on March 12, 2017. "CBS News" described it as Slahi's first television interview since his repatriation. In this interview Mohamedou said he "wholeheartedly [forgives] everyone who wronged [him] during [his] detention." Slahi filed in April 2022 a legal claim against the Canadian government on the grounds that "faulty intelligence provided by Canadian authorities contributed to his detention" in 2002, seeking $35 million in compensation.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: In May 2018, Slahi's former guard at Guantanamo, Steve Wood, visited him in Mauritania during Ramadan.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: Slahi's passport has not been returned to him as was promised during his release. He is not able to leave Mauritania to treat his health condition or see his newborn son in Germany. After his academic graduation in Germany in 1999 Salahi had registered himself as unemployed while also being involved in commercial activities which he failed to declare to the authorities, resulting in a suspended sentence for social fraud and an unlimited entry ban.


title: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

text: On January 29, 2021 the "New York Review of Books" published an open letter from Slahi, and six other individuals who were formerly held in Guantanamo, to newly inaugurated President Biden, appealing to him to close the detention camp.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Commodore is a senior naval rank used in many navies which is equivalent to brigadier and air commodore. It is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. It is either regarded as the most junior of the flag officers rank or may not hold the jurisdiction of a flag officer at all depending on the officer's appointment. Non-English-speaking nations commonly use the rank of flotilla admiral, counter admiral, or senior captain as an equivalent, although counter admiral may also correspond to "rear admiral lower half" abbreviated as RDML.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Traditionally, "commodore" is the title for any officer assigned to command more than one ship, even temporarily, much as "captain" is the traditional title for the commanding officer of a single ship even if the officer's official title in the service is a lower rank. As an official rank, a commodore typically commands a flotilla or squadron of ships as part of a larger task force or naval fleet commanded by an admiral. A commodore's ship is typically designated by the flying of a broad pennant, as compared to an admiral's flag.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: "Commodore" is typically regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, known in the U.S. as "rear admiral (lower half)", but whether it is regarded as a flag rank varies among countries.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: It is sometimes abbreviated as "Cdre" in British Royal Navy, "CDRE" in the US Navy, "Cmdre" in the Royal Canadian Navy, "COMO" in the Spanish Navy and in some navies speaking the Spanish language, or "CMDE" as used in the Indian Navy and in navies of several other countries.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: The rank of commodore derives from the French "commandeur", which was one of the highest ranks in the orders of knighthood, and in military orders the title of the knight in charge of a "commande" (a local part of the order's territorial possessions).


title: Commodore (rank)

text: The Dutch Navy also used the rank of "commandeur" from the end of the 16th century for a variety of temporary positions, until it became a conventional permanent rank in 1955. The Royal Netherlands Air Force has adopted the English spelling of "commodore" for an equivalent rank.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: In the Royal Navy, the position was introduced in the 17th Century to combat the cost of appointing more admirals—a costly business with a fleet as large as the Royal Navy's at that time.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: The rank of commodore was at first a position created as a temporary title to be bestowed upon captains who commanded squadrons of more than one vessel. In many navies, the rank of commodore was merely viewed as a senior captain position, whereas other naval services bestowed upon the rank of commodore the prestige of flag officer status.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: In 1899, the substantive rank of commodore was discontinued in the United States Navy, but revived during World War II in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. It was discontinued as a rank in these services during the postwar period, but as an appointment, the title "commodore" was then used to identify senior U.S. Navy captains who commanded squadrons of more than one vessel or functional air wings or air groups that were not part of a carrier air wing or carrier air group. Concurrently, until the early 1980s, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard captains selected for promotion to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), would wear the same insignia as rear admiral (upper half), i.e., two silver stars for collar insignia or sleeve braid of one wide and one narrow gold stripe, even though they were actually only equivalent to one-star officers and paid at the one-star rate.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: To correct this inequity, the rank of commodore as a single star flag officer was reinstated by both services in the early 1980s. This immediately caused confusion with those senior U.S. Navy captains commanding destroyer squadrons, submarine squadrons, functional air wings and air groups, and so on, who held the temporary "title" of commodore while in their major command billet. As a result of this confusion, the services soon renamed the new one-star rank as commodore admiral (CADM) within the first six months following the rank's reintroduction. However, this was considered an awkward title and the one-star flag rank was renamed a few months later to its current title of rear admiral (lower half), later abbreviated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard as RDML.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: The "title" of commodore continues to be used in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard for those senior captains in command of organizations consisting of groups of ships or submarines organized into squadrons; air wings or air groups of multiple aviation squadrons other than carrier air wings (the latter whose commanders still use the title "CAG"); explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), mine warfare and special warfare (SEAL) groups; Mobile Inshore Underwater Warfare (MIUW) groups; and construction (SeaBee) regiments. Although not flag officers, modern day commodores in the U.S. Navy rate a blue and white command pennant, also known as a broad pennant, that is normally flown at their headquarters facilities ashore or from ships that they are embarked aboard when they are the senior officer present afloat (SOPA).


title: Commodore (rank)

text: In the Argentine Navy, the position of commodore was created in the late 1990s, and is usually, but not always, issued to senior captains holding rear-admirals' positions. It is not a rank but a distinction and, as such, can be issued by the chief of staff without congressional approval. Its equivalents are colonel-major in the Army and commodore-major in the Air Force. It is usually—but incorrectly—referred to as "navy commodore", to avoid confusion with the "air force commodore", which is equivalent to the navy's captain and army's colonel. The sleeve lace is identical to that of the Royal Navy, and wears one star on the epaulette.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Commodore, in Spanish "comodoro", is a rank in the Argentine Air Force. This rank is the equivalent of a colonel in the Argentine Army, and a colonel or group captain in other air forces of the world. The Argentine rank below commodore is the rank of vice-commodore (Spanish "vicecomodoro") equivalent to a lieutenant-colonel in the Argentine Army, and a lieutenant-colonel or wing commander in other air forces.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Commodore is a rank in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. It is a one-star rank and has essentially the same rank insignia as the British air commodore.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Many air forces use the rank of air commodore. This rank was first used by the Royal Air Force and is now used in many countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Greece, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand and Zimbabwe. It is the equivalent rank to the navy rank of "commodore", and the army ranks of brigadier and brigadier general.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: The German air force used the concept of a unit commodore for the commander of a wing, usually in the rank of colonel (OF-5).


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Commodore is also a title held by many captains as recognition of exceptional navigation ability and seagoing seniority in the Merchant Service, and by the directors of a few yacht clubs and boating associations. Commodores 'in command' as Master aboard Merchant Marine ships wear distinctive rank and cap insignia denoting their honorific high rank position. Traditionally, commodore is the title of the president of a yacht club.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: During wartime, a shipping convoy will have a ranking officer—sometimes an active-duty naval officer, at other times a civilian master or retired naval officer—designated as the "convoy commodore". This title is not related to the individuals military rank (if any), but instead is the title of the senior individual responsible for the overall operation of the merchant ships and naval auxiliary ships that make up the convoy. The convoy commodore does not command the convoy escort forces (if any), which are commanded by a naval officer who serves as escort commander.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Civilian yacht clubs, yachting associations and fellowships with formal hierarchical structures, began to use the title "commodore" in countries around the world for their presidents in the early twentieth century along with "vice commodore" in the same manner as "vice president,"and "rear-commodore" and "port captain' or "international bridge member" in the same manner as board members.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Commodores, vice-commodores and rear-commodores are also known as civilian flag officers because they have an epaulettes, regalia and maritime flags with designated symbols and number of stars for their ranks. Many of the clubs that are more than a century old, such as the Los Angeles Yacht Club have formal ceremonies, where commodores from more than 100 surrounding yacht clubs, flag officers of the US Navy and Coast Guard attend a ceremony at the beginning of the year. The ceremony includes a bagpipe entrance, a presentation of the country flag by commissioned officers of the country's navy and a cannon shot upon the raising of each individual officer's flags on a flag staff, (also known as flagpoles) for each flag officer (commodore, vice commodore, rear commodore) as their term of office officially begins. Sometimes a trumpet fanfare is also include for special occasions like ribbon cutting in 2019 for the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race. Salutes are given to commodores for special ceremonies, including opening days of the racing season.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary also employs variants of the "title" of commodore. Members of the Auxiliary serve in the Coast Guard's uniformed auxiliary service and they do not have military rank, but who do wear modified U.S. Coast Guard uniforms and U.S. military-style officer rank insignia to indicate office. Auxiliary members who have been elected or appointed to positions in the highest levels of the organization, similar in nature to active and reserve rear admirals and vice admirals use the term commodore (e.g., district commodore, assistant national commodore, deputy national commodore, national commodore, etc.). These Coast Guard auxiliarists may permanently append the title commodore, sometimes abbreviated COMO, to their names (e.g., Commodore James A. Smith, National Commodore; or COMO Jim Smith, (NACO)).


title: Commodore (rank)

text: In the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary—PCGA—each of the directors in command of the ten Coast Guard Auxiliary districts are commodores, as well as most of the Deputy National Directors (some may be rear admirals). Commodore is abbreviated to COMMO in the PCGA.


title: Commodore (rank)

text: Vanderbilt University's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the "Commodores", a reference to Cornelius Vanderbilt's self-appointed title (he was the master of a large shipping fleet).


title: Commodore (rank)

text: In the U.S. Sea Scouting program (which is part of the Boy Scouts of America), all National, Regional, Area, and Council committee chairs are titled as commodore, while senior committee members are addressed as vice commodore. Ship committee chairs do not hold this recognition.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film "Gangs of New York" (2002), and wrote and directed "You Can Count on Me" (2000), "Margaret" (2011), and "Manchester by the Sea" (2016). Lonergan is also known for his work as a playwright. His most noted plays include "This Is Our Youth", "Lobby Hero" and "The Waverly Gallery". Each also had a successful revival engagement on Broadway, which resulted in each play receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Manchester by the Sea", for which he was also nominated for Best Director; he also earned Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for "You Can Count on Me" and "Gangs of New York." He also won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Manchester by the Sea" at the 70th British Academy Film Awards.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan was born in The Bronx, New York City to a psychiatrist mother and physician father. His mother is Jewish, and his father was of Irish descent.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan began writing in high school at the Walden School, a now defunct, highly progressive private school in Manhattan with a strong drama program.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: His first play, "The Rennings Children", was chosen for the Stephen Sondheim-founded Young Playwrights, Inc. Young Playwright's Festival in 1982 while he was still an undergraduate. Lonergan matriculated to Wesleyan University, where he trained as a playwright and director. He graduated from the NYU Playwriting Program. He is an alumnus of HB Studio in New York City.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: After graduating from NYU, Lonergan worked as a speechwriter for the Environmental Protection Agency. He also wrote industrial shows (long-play commercials) for clients such as Weight Watchers.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan's first theatrical success came with the play "This Is Our Youth" (1996); it was followed by "The Waverly Gallery" (1999), based on his grandmother's Greenwich Village gallery, and later "Lobby Hero" (2002). His play "The Starry Messenger" premiered Off-Broadway in 2009 and starred his wife J. Smith-Cameron and Matthew Broderick.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: In August 2014, "This Is Our Youth" was revived on Broadway starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, and Tavi Gevinson at the Cort Theatre. The play received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: In March 2018, "Lobby Hero" was revived on Broadway starring Chris Evans, Michael Cera, Brian Tyree Henry, and Bel Powley at the Helen Hayes Theatre. The play received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Cera and Tyree Henry were also nominated for their performances.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: In September 2018, "The Waverly Gallery" was revived on Broadway starring Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, Joan Allen, David Cromer, and Michael Cera at the John Golden Theatre. The show received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Elaine May won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan's film career began with his screenplay for the gangland comedy "Analyze This" (1999). He was subsequently offered a job writing "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" (2000).


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan directed his own screenplay for "You Can Count on Me" (2000); the film, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, went on to receive and be nominated for numerous writing awards. He contributed to the screenplay for "Gangs of New York" (2002). In 2005, filming took place for his second film as writer/director, "Margaret", starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, and J. Smith-Cameron. The film spent over five years in post-production, with Lonergan, the producers and various editors unable to agree on its final cut, resulting in multiple legal disputes. It was finally released in 2011. "Margaret" ranked 31st in a 2016 BBC poll of the 21st century's greatest films.


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Lonergan wrote and directed "Manchester by the Sea", which was released in 2016 to critical acclaim. He also had a small part in the film, as a pedestrian. David Fear of "Rolling Stone" said the film proves that Lonergan is "practically peerless in portraying loss as a living, breathing thing without resorting to the vocabulary of griefporn."


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: Justin Chang of "Variety" noted that Lonergan is "always a superb director of actresses," particularly in "Manchester by the Sea" where the director "gives the women in his ensemble their due."


title: Kenneth Lonergan

text: In January 2020, Lonergan was appointed Visiting Fellow and Artist in Residence at Kellogg College of the University of Oxford.


The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; ) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to promote and protect intellectual property (IP) across the world by cooperating with countries as well as international organizations. It began operations on 26 April 1970 when the convention entered into force. The current Director General is Singaporean Daren Tang, former head of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, who began his term on 1 October 2020.


title: World Intellectual Property Organization

text: WIPO's activities include hosting forums to discuss and shape international IP rules and policies, providing global services that register and protect IP in different countries, resolving transboundary IP disputes, helping connect IP systems through uniform standards and infrastructure, and serving as a general reference database on all IP matters; this includes providing reports and statistics on the state of IP protection or innovation both globally and in specific countries. WIPO also works with governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals to utilize IP for socioeconomic development.


text: WIPO administers 26 that concern a wide variety of intellectual property issues, ranging from the protection of audiovisual works to establishing international patent classification. It is governed by the General Assembly and the Coordination Committee, which together set policy and serve as the main decision making bodies. The General Assembly also elects WIPO's chief administrator, the Director General, currently Daren Tang of Singapore, who took office on 1 October 2020. WIPO is administered by a Secretariat that helps carry out its day-to-day activities.


text: Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO has "external offices" around the world, including in Algiers (Algeria); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan); Abuja (Nigeria); Moscow (Russia); and Singapore (Singapore). Unlike most UN organizations, WIPO does not rely heavily on assessed or voluntary contributions from member states; 95 percent of its budget comes from fees related to its global services.


text: WIPO currently has 193 member states, including 190 UN member states and the Cook Islands, Holy See and Niue; Palestine has permanent observer status. The only non-members, among the countries recognised by the UN are the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and South Sudan.


text: The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was adopted in 1883 and was one of the first intellectual property treaties. It established a Union for the protection of industrial property. It applies to a wide range of industrial property including patents, trademarks, utility models, industrial designs, trade names, service marks, geographical indications as well as the "repression of unfair competition". The Paris Convention was the first international agreement to protect the works of creators in other countries.


text: The Convention was adopted in diplomatic conferences held in Paris, France in 1880 and 1883, it was then signed on 20 March 1883, on behalf of Brazil, France, Guatemala, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and El Salvador. It consisted of the Convention proper, which contains 19 articles, and the "Protocole de clôture" (Final Protocol), which is almost the same length as the Convention proper.


text: The "International Bureau" established by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property later became part of BIRPI and later WIPO.


text: The Berne Convention was adopted in 1886, it deals with copyright, the protection of works and rights of authors and rights holders. It provides creators including writers, poets, painters, musicians with ways to control how and by who their works are used and the terms of use. It also contains provisions on minimum protections and special provisions for developing countries. The Convention follows three basic principles; that works originating in one of the Contracting States must be given the same protection in each of the other Contracting States (principle of "national treatment"), that there is automatic protection and no formal process is required and that protection under the convention is independent of protection in the country of origin of the work (principle of "independence" of protection). The "International Bureau" was created to oversee the Berne Convention and later became part of BIRPI and later WIPO.


text: In 1891 nine of the 14 States to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property created the first "special arrangements for the protection of industrial property". Along with the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement (1989) it created the Madrid System, the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world.


text: The Bureaus created to administer the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property were under "the high supervision" ("haute surveillance") of the Government of the Swiss Confederation. In 1893 the Swiss government combined them with the same director and same staff as United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, "Bureaux internationaux réunis pour la protection de la propriété intellectuelle" (BIRPI). BIRPI was the predecessor of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which superseded it 87 years later, in 1970.


text: WIPO was formally created by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, which entered into force on 26 April 1970. WIPO allowed members who were part of the Berne Convention, Paris Convention or a member of the United Nations system including the United Nations, any of its specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency or the International Court of Justice.


text: That date is commemorated annually as World Intellectual Property Day, which raises awareness of the importance of IP. Under Article 3 of this convention, WIPO seeks to "promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world". WIPO became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974. The Agreement between the United Nations and the World Intellectual Property Organization notes in Article 1 that WIPO is responsible:


text: The Agreement marked a transition for WIPO from the mandate it inherited in 1967 from BIRPI, to promote the protection of intellectual property, to one that involved the more complex task of promoting technology transfer and economic development.


text: In 1974 WIPO became a specialized agency of the United Nations through a bilateral agreement between WIPO and the United Nations.This was approved by the General Assembly of WIPO on 27 September 1974, and by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 17 December 1974. A protocol was signed by Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim and Director General of WIPO Árpád Bogsch, on 21 January 1975, with the Agreement starting on 17 December 1974.


text: In October 2004, WIPO agreed to adopt a proposal offered by Argentina and Brazil, the "Proposal for the Establishment of a Development Agenda for WIPO"—from the Geneva Declaration on the Future of the World Intellectual Property Organization. This proposal was well supported by developing countries. The agreed "WIPO Development Agenda" (composed of over 45 recommendations) was the culmination of a long process of transformation for the organization from one that had historically been primarily aimed at protecting the interests of rightholders, to one that has increasingly incorporated the interests of other stakeholders in the international intellectual property system as well as integrating into the broader corpus of international law on human rights, environment and economic cooperation.


text: A number of civil society bodies have been working on a draft Access to Knowledge (A2K) treaty which they would like to see introduced.


text: In 2009, WIPO started drafting future treaties on intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore in relation with indigenous peoples and local communities.


text: In December 2011, WIPO published its first World Intellectual Property Report on the Changing Face of Innovation, the first such report of the new Office of the Chief Economist. WIPO is also a co-publisher of the Global Innovation Index.


text: In September 2020 China blocked the Wikimedia Foundation from observer status at WIPO citing the existence of a Wikimedia affiliate in Taiwan. According to the Chinese statement "there is reason to believe that this foundation has been carrying out political activities through its member organizations which could undermine the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity." China again rejected Wikimedia's bid, for the same reason, in October 2021.


text: WIPO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WTO launched on 11 April 2022 their new Trilateral COVID-19 Technical Assistance Platform. This new tool aims to help members and WTO accession candidates address their capacity building needs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Platform provides members and accession candidates with a single contact form which they can use to reach out to the trilateral organizations.


text: The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (1970) established a service which assists individuals, companies, and institutions in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions. It also helps patent offices with their patent granting decisions and facilitates public access to technical information relating to those inventions. 153 countries are currently party to the PCT.


text: Under the PCT, an applicant can file one PCT application in one language, at one patent office, within 12 months from the date of the earliest patent application which has been filed for the same invention (the "priority date"). This one PCT application has the same legal effect as filing separate regional or national patent applications in all PCT member countries.


text: PCT applications are processed in a standardized manner as provided in the Treaty and Regulations, including an international search for documents relevant to the potential patentability of the invention and international publication. Granting patents remains under the control of the regional or national patent Offices in the "national phase".


text: Using the PCT, patent applicants can postpone paying national and regional patent-related fees while they learn about the likelihood of obtaining a patent, benefitting from the additional time and information to help them decide whether, and in which countries, to pursue patents.


text: The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks serves as a means to seek protection for trademarks worldwide, in over 120 countries. Created in 1891, the Madrid System is now governed by the Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1989). In order to become a member of the Madrid System, a state or intergovernmental organization must already be a party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883).


text: The Madrid System is a centralized trademark registration system: through a single application, in one language and with one set of fees (in one currency, the Swiss franc), protection can be obtained in member states and intergovernmental organizations. International registrations can then be modified, renewed or expanded, centrally through WIPO (rather than through each separate IP Office).


text: The Madrid System can only be used by a natural person or a legal entity, which is a national, is domiciled or has a company in the territory of a member of the Madrid System.


text: The Lisbon System for the International Registration of Appellations of Origin and Geographical indications provides a means of obtaining international protection for a geographical indication or an appellation of origin. Geographical indications and appellations of origin are intellectual property rights which identify a product that originates from a specific geographical area and that has characteristics that are attributable to its geographical origin. Comté cheese (France), Chulucanas pottery (Peru), Tequila (Mexico), Porto (Portugal), Herend porcelain (Hungary), and Kampot pepper (Cambodia) are examples of appellations of origin and geographical indications registered under the Lisbon System. Through a single registration and one set of fees, protection can be obtained in the other countries (and intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union) covered by the Lisbon System.


text: The Lisbon System includes the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration of 1958 ('the Lisbon Agreement') and, its latest revision, the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications of 2015 ('the Geneva Act') form the Lisbon System. Registrations under the Lisbon System are published in the official bulletin and can be searched through the Lisbon Express Database.


text: The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center was established in 1994 as an international resource for alternatives to court litigation of intellectual property and technology disputes. It offers alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options including mediation, arbitration, and expert determination to resolve international commercial disputes between private parties. It is an administrator of cases and a provider of legal and policy expertise. The Center also provides domain name dispute resolution services under the WIPO-designed UDRP. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland and since 2010 the Center has had an office at Maxwell Chambers in Singapore.


text: The WIPO Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs provides an international mechanism for securing protection of up to 100 designs in multiple countries or regions, through a single international application, filed in one language and using one currency (Swiss francs).


text: International design applications are filed directly through WIPO, according to the requirements and procedures established by the Hague Agreement. The domestic legal framework of each designated contracting party governs the design protection provided by the resulting international registrations.


text: According to the rules laid out by the Hague Agreement, anyone who is a national of, or who has a domicile, habitual residence or real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in any Hague System contracting party – including any country of the European Union or the African Intellectual Property Organization – can use the Hague System. The Hague System does not require the applicant to file a national or regional design application.


text: On February 5, 2020, China officially deposited its accession documents for entering the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs and the Marrakesh Treaty (which increases the accessibility of publications to people with visual impairment), before the commencement of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games. The accession will take effect on May 5, 2022.


text: China became the 68th contracting party to the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement and, therefore, the 77th member of the Hague System.


text: WIPO, unlike other UN agencies, derives most of its income from fees for the Global IP services it provides as opposed to Member States contributions. In 2020, WIPO's revenue amounted to CHF 468.3 million. In 2020 WIPO generated over 94.3% of its revenue from fees that are paid by users of its intellectual property services for patents, trademarks and industrial designs due to international demand for intellectual property titles. These services are provided through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (providing 76.6% of revenue), Madrid System (providing 16.3% of revenue) and Hague System (providing 1.4% of revenue).


text: WIPO Assemblies develop global intellectual property agreements through bringing stakeholders together. The main policy and decision making bodies of WIPO are the Coordination Committee and the General Assembly. Twenty-two Assemblies, the Unions administered by WIPO, and other bodies of the Member States of WIPO meet in ordinary or extraordinary sessions in autumn. The General Assembly appoints the Director General through nomination by the Coordination Committee. Any of the policy and decision making bodies can constitute Permanent Committees or Standing Committees.


text: Standing committees are ad hoc groups of experts established for a given purpose and acting as a place for policy discussions and negotiations on the future development of intellectual property. Any WIPO Standing Committee or other bodies also decide to establish a working group to examine a question in more detail, make suggestions or give advice on any subject within the competence of the Organization.


text: Intellectual property protection treaties define internationally agreed basic standards of intellectual property (IP) protection in each country.


text: Global protection system treaties govern WIPO's services, ensuring that one international registration or filing will have effect in any of the relevant signatory States.


text: Classification treaties that create classification systems that organize information concerning inventions, trademarks and industrial designs.


text: For years, many local communities, Indigenous peoples and governments have sought effective intellectual property (IP) protection for traditional cultural expressions (folklore) and traditional knowledge as tradition-based forms of ingenuity and creativity. As a living body of knowledge developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, it is not easily protected under the current IP system, which typically grants protection for a limited period to new inventions and original works as private rights. Some genetic resources, too, are linked to traditional knowledge and related  practices through their use and conservation by Indigenous peoples and local communities. Although genetic resources, as encountered in nature, are not eligible for IP protection, inventions based on or developed with the use of genetic resources may be patentable. Since 2010, the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) has been negotiating the text of one or several legal instruments on the matter.


text: WIPO Re:Search is a public-private partnership between WIPO and the non-profit BIO Ventures for Global Health focused on early-stage medical research and development against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), malaria and tuberculosis. It has 150 members, including eight of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. WIPO Re:Search supports collaborations between scientific institutions and pharmaceutical companies all over the world with the goal to advance research for medicines, treatment methods and diagnostic techniques against the neglected tropical diseases that affect over 1 billion people worldwide. Through these collaborations as well as its fellowship program, WIPO Re:Search provides shared compound libraries, repurposing methods, capacity building and works on the growth of international scientific networks.


text: WIPO GREEN is a free to access online marketplace for sustainable technology. It consists of three main elements: WIPO GREEN online database of green technologies and needs, WIPO GREEN Acceleration Projects, and WIPO GREEN partners network. It has a network of 146 partners and aims to bring together organizations in green technology help the implementation and diffusion of green technologies around the world. The WIPO GREEN database is an online platform where green technology inventors can promote their products and businesses, organizations, governments who are looking for green technologies can explain their needs and seek collaboration with providers. WIPO GREEN 'acceleration projects' are organized annually in different countries or regions of the world, in collaboration with local organizations. These projects usually address a particular field and connect providers and seekers of green technologies.


text: The WIPO Judicial Institute was established in 2019 to coordinate and lead WIPO's work with national and regional judiciaries. This work includes convening international meetings between judges, implementing judicial capacity building activities, producing resources and publications for use by judges, and administering the WIPO Lex database that provides free public access to intellectual property (IP) laws, treaties and judicial decisions from around the world. WIPO has also established an advisory board of Judges, currently comprising 12 members who serve in their personal capacity.


text: The WIPO Academy is the training arm of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), it was established in 1998. It offers intellectual property (IP) education, training and IP skills-building to government officials, inventors, creators, business professionals, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), academics, students and individuals interested in IP. The Academy hosts IP courses through its four programs: the Professional Development Program, University Partnerships, Distance Learning and WIPO Summer Schools.


text: The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) was created in the 1998 to examine issues in the field of copyright and related rights on substantive law and harmonization. The Committee includes all member states of WIPO, some member states of the United Nations who are not members of WIPO, and a number of non-governmental and intergovernmental observers. The Committee meets twice per year and formulates recommendations for consideration by the WIPO General Assembly. The main topics currently under discussion are the protection of broadcasting organizations and limitations and exceptions. Copyright in the digital environment, the resale royalty right and the rights of theater directors are also being discussed within the Committee.


text: World Intellectual Property Day is an annual global public awareness campaign to "highlight the role and contribution of intellectual property in the economic, cultural and social development of all countries as well as to raise public awareness and understanding in this field of human endeavor." In 2000, WIPO's Member States formally designated 26 April – the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970 – as World Intellectual Property Day. The first World Intellectual Property Day was held in 2001.


text: WIPO's Economics and Statistics Division gathers data on intellectual property activity worldwide and publishes statistics to the public. The Division also conducts economic analysis on how government IP and innovation policies affect economic performance.


text: The Infrastructure and Platforms sector develops, implements and maintains the various databases, tools and platforms of the Organization that are targeted at and used by intellectual property offices, legal professionals, researchers, and other specialized users. The sector also covers the use of 'frontier technologies' such as artificial intelligence and coordinates WIPO's overall customer goals, strategies and tools.


text: The Diplomatic Engagement and Assemblies Affairs Division is directly under the supervision of the Director General, it focuses on engagement with the diplomatic community in Geneva through events, meetings and overseeing the administrative, logistical and other aspects of key meetings including the Assemblies of WIPO. The Division is also responsible for supervising the full range of protocol services across the Organization. Specifically, the Division is responsible for meeting all the Director General's representation and hospitality protocol-related needs and protocol-related needs for meetings and events.


text: The Traditional Knowledge Division carries out WIPO’s work on genetic resources, traditional cultural expressions and traditional knowledge through its seven service areas. These include supporting indigenous and local community entrepreneurship in making strategic and effective use of intellectual property tools in their businesses; providing intellectual property advice on the documentation of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions; organizing hands-on training, mentoring and distance learning programs; and acting as a global reference of information resources on the intersection of IP and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as maintaining a repository of regional, national and community experiences. The Traditional Knowledge Division is also responsible for facilitating multilateral negotiations in the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.


text: WIPO publishes around 40 new titles a year, which are translated and published in the official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The WIPO Knowledge Repository holds the archive of WIPO publications and documentations since 1885, as well as a library of academic research literature on intellectual property. WIPO adopted an Open Access Policy in 2016. Its publications are free to reuse and modify, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.


text: Since 2009, WIPO has published the annual World Intellectual Property Indicators, providing a wide range of indicators covering the areas of intellectual property. It draws on data from national and regional IP offices, the WIPO, the World Bank, and UNESCO.


text: The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and "World Business", a British magazine. Until 2021 it was published by WIPO, in partnership with Cornell University, INSEAD, and other organisations and institutions, . It is based on both subjective and objective data derived from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.


text: WIPO Lex is an online global database launched in 2010, which provides free public access to intellectual property laws, treaties and judicial decisions from around the world. In 2022, the WIPO Lex database contained 48,000 national, regional and international legal documents relating to intellectual property, with access in the six UN languages.


text: PATENTSCOPE is a public patent database provided by WIPO that serves as an official publication source for patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and covers numerous national and regional patent collections. In 2021 it held over 100 million patent documents including 4.2 million published international patent applications.


text: On 1 October 2020, Daren Tang of Singapore succeeded Gurry as Director General. His candidacy was backed by the United States and 54 other countries over China's preferred candidate, Wang Binying, who received 28 votes out of the 83 voting members.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). China was the first country to experience an outbreak of the disease, the first to impose drastic measures in response (including lockdowns and face mask mandates), and one of the first countries to bring the outbreak under control.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The 2019–2020 COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China was the first wave of the disease, and was first manifested as a cluster of mysterious pneumonia cases, mostly related to the Huanan Seafood Market, in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. It was first reported to the local government on 27 December 2019 and published on 31 December. On 8 January 2020, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the cause of the pneumonia by Chinese scientists. By 29 January, the virus was found to have spread to all provinces of mainland China.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: By late February, the pandemic had been brought under control in most Chinese provinces. On 25 February, the reported number of newly confirmed cases outside mainland China exceeded those reported from within for the first time. By the Summer of 2020, widespread community transmission in China had been ended, and restrictions were significantly eased.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The Chinese government response has included a zero-COVID strategy, which aims to eliminate transmission of the virus within the country and allow resumption of normal economic and social activity, making it one of few countries to pursue this approach.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: By late 2020, China's economy continued to broaden recovery from the recession during the pandemic, with stable job creation and record international trade growth, although retail consumption was still slower than predicted.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Infection rates increased in 2022, and on 3 April 2022, China reported 13,146 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which was the highest single-day total of new cases since the height of the 2020 outbreak.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: New infectious diseases impose a serious threat to the health of the general public. Their origins are often mysterious despite intensive research efforts. Although human coronaviruses (CoVs) had been known as major pathogens to cause the common cold, a new species of coronavirus, namely SARS-CoV caused an epidemic involving 29 countries during 2002–03 which infected 8098 persons and killed 774 of them. The evidence shows that the virus might have originated from an animal coronavirus, but somehow entered the human population. Its outbreak also implies that animal coronaviruses could be a potential danger to humans.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Since the 2003 SARS outbreak, the general public and the scientific community in China have been worried about the potential return of the deadly virus which motivated the Chinese government to reform its public health system to handle the next public health crisis. As part of the reform, China expanded the laboratory networks to handle the pathogens of the infectious diseases which included a newly built BSL-4 laboratory in Wuhan and a national key laboratory to investigate into pneumonia with unclear causes. Zeng Guang, the Chief Scientist at China CDC believed that a quicker publication of the epidemic information was a lesson that China learned from the SARS outbreak as the lack of information release worsened the outbreak.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: With the improved public health system, China managed to handle several public health emergencies. In coping with the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak starting from Mexico, China developed and distributed vaccines to 100 million people within months as an active prevention. During the 2013 H7N9 outbreak in East China, the country's health system identified the pathogen 5 days after the outbreak. Test kits for diagnosis were designed and distributed to all mainland provinces 3 days after the identification. Within months, effective vaccines were developed. Besides, Chinese academic Li Lanjuan and her group was the first to reveal the virus's transmission methods, molecular mechanisms and effective treatment.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: However, "Southern Metropolis Daily" stated that although people paid more attention to public health, the government's funding to the health system was far from enough as CDCs in smaller municipalities had to reduce their staff. 10 years after the SARS outbreak, few people wore a face mask when they had respiratory symptoms and the hospitals were cutting the fever clinics off. Despite confidence in winning the next battle against SARS, Zhong Nanshan who earned fame in fighting the SARS outbreak in 2003 still held a conservative attitude to whether the Chinese officials would lie to the people about a disease outbreak. As of 2017, mainland China had only 36 critical care beds per million people; in comparison, South Korea had 106, and Taiwan 285, beds per million people.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Early cases surrounding the animal market suggested potential animal-to-human transmission while later the virus was found to be able to transmit from ill people to others. There have been cases where asymptomatic patients transmitted the virus to others. According to China NHC, the virus transmits by droplets or close contact while some proposed that feces could also be where the virus hides and transmits from. The typical symptoms of the viral infection included fever, dry cough, dyspnea, headache and pneumonia which are usually developed after an incubation time lasting as long as 2 weeks. The existence of mild but infectious cases complicated the epidemic control efforts. It is also noticed that patients might be able to transmit the virus even during the incubation period.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: "Financial Times" described the outbreak as China's Chernobyl moment, increasing the pressure on its leader, Xi Jinping. A trade war with the US, Hong Kong protests, and an African swine fever outbreak that led to a pork shortage already placed pressure on the current government.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: At the end of December 2019, Henan announced the suspension of passenger trains to and from Wuhan. In early January 2020, the local government of Henan Province with its complete disinfection measures, effective and intensive publicity, a strong awareness of epidemic prevention and quarantine among the people, the setting up of return spots at the village entrance and even the use of garbage trucks, the digging of trenches to block roads connecting Hubei and the hanging of slogans such as "return home with sickness is to dishonor your parents." () became a trending Weibo topic hashtag.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: However, cutting the roads off without authorization is illegal in mainland China as Xinhua and the Public Security Ministry pointed out. The Ministry of Transport asked the local governments to take the principle of "block one, not three ()", that is, to block the virus from spreading, but not to block roads, traffic and Internet access, the transportation of emergency supplies and the transportation of essential goods.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Based on retrospective analysis published in "The Lancet" in late January, the first confirmed patient started experiencing symptoms on 1 December 2019, though the "South China Morning Post" later reported that a retrospective analysis showed the first case may have been a 55-year-old patient from Hubei province as early as 17 November.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The outbreak went unnoticed until 26 December 2019, when Zhang Jixian, director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Hubei Xinhua Hospital, noticed a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown origin, several of whom had connections to the Huanan Seafood Market. She subsequently alerted the hospital, as well as municipal and provincial health authorities, which issued an alert on 30 December. Results from patient samples obtained on 29–30 December indicated the presence of a novel coronavirus, related to SARS.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Semi-log graph of 3-day rolling average of new cases and deaths in China during COVID-19 epidemic showing the lockdown on 23 January and partial lifting on 19 March.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 22 January, Hubei launched a Class 2 Response to Public Health Emergency. Ahead of the Hubei authorities, a Class 1 Response to Public Health Emergency, the highest response level was announced by the mainland province of Zhejiang on 23. Stringent measures such as lockdown of Wuhan and the wider Hubei province and face mask mandates were introduced around 23 January, which significantly lowered and delayed the epidemic peak according to epidemiology modelling. Guangdong and Hunan followed suit later on the day. On the following day, Hubei and other 13 mainland provinces also launched a Class 1 Response. By 29, all parts of mainland initiated a Class 1 Response after Tibet upgraded its response level on that day.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Yet, by 29 January, the virus was found to have spread to all provinces of mainland China. On 31 January, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. A severe shortage of face masks and other protective gear led several countries to send international aid, including medical supplies, to China.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Multiple countries evacuated their citizens from Wuhan including South Korea, Japan, the US, the UK, Kazakhstan, Germany, Spain, Canada, Russia, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, France, Switzerland and Thailand.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 2 April 2020, the government ordered a Hubei-like lockdown in Jia County, Henan, after a woman tested positive for the COVID-19. It is suspected that she may have been infected when she visited a hospital where three doctors tested positive for the virus, despite showing no symptoms.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 9 April, a COVID-19 cluster was detected in Heilongjiang Province, which started with an asymptomatic patient returning from the United States and quarantining at home. The US CDC reported that the infections were initially spread through a shared elevator used at different times, and led to at least 71 cases by 22 April.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In June, an outbreak with 45 people testing positive at Xinfadi Market in Beijing caused some alarm. Authorities closed the market and nearby schools; eleven neighborhoods in the Fengtai District started requiring temperature checks and were closed to visitors. By this time, public health technology included special leaf blower backpacks designed to vent hot air onto outdoor surfaces. By the evening of 23 June, Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan declared that the situation had been brought under control. China's traffic authorities vowed to strictly guard traffic out of Beijing: those with abnormal health QR codes or without recently-taken negative PCR test proof would not be allowed to take public transportation or drive out of the capital.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 26 July, China saw its highest number of daily cases since March, mostly from outbreaks in Xinjiang and Liaoning. with 61 new cases, up from 46 cases a day earlier, This increased to 127 daily COVID cases on 30 July. The daily reported cases subsequently went down, to 16 on 23 August.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In July, Xinjiang province and its capital Ürümqi were locked down in the wake of the discovery of new cases in the city.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 11 October, officials in Qingdao urged to carry out contact tracing and mass testing after 12 new cases were found connected to the Qingdao Chest Hospital. On 12 October, it was announced that Qingdao would test all 9 million of its residents.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In October, 137 asymptomatic cases were detected in Kashgar, Xinjiang and were linked to a garment factory.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 18 December, a local case was reported in Beijing. It was the first local infection in 152 days in Beijing. As of 27 December, thirteen more cases have been detected. Another outbreak linked to a traveler from South Korea was reported in Liaoning late December.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In January 2021, many cities and districts in the province of Hebei, Jilin and Heilongjiang were put into lockdown to contain a new outbreak in the region.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 6 January, after reporting 63 new cases in the northern province of Hebei, of which 20 were infections and 43 asymptomatic cases locally transmitted, the local Government decided to lockdown the provincial capital city of Shijiazhuang, as most of the cases were detected there. On 9 January, the cities of Shijiazhuang and Xingtai with total population of 19 million, were placed under lockdown measures, with passenger trains suspended, as well as flights and coach service to Beijing at 300 km distance in north east direction.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 14 January, Wangkui County of Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province moved into lockdown after reporting 40 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The virus sample taken from the cases in Suihua is reported to be similar to the strain identified in Dalian.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Also on 14 January, China reported the first death from the virus after eight months, a patient from Hebei. A team of experts from the WHO visited Wuhan to conduct investigations into the origin of the pandemic. They were also supposed to quarantine for two weeks prior to starting their inquiry. On 15 January, the city of Langfang of Hebei was put into lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: By 18 January 11 regions in China were under "de facto" lockdown, including five districts in Heilongjiang and the cities of Gongzhuling and Tonghua in Jilin province. On 20 January, residents of Daxing District of Beijing were banned from leaving the capital region.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 4 April, China saw the largest number of reported COVID-19 cases in over two months, with 15 new reported cases of local transmission in the city of Ruili on the Burmese border. This followed a previous outbreak in Ruili in September 2020. Unauthorized border crossings from Myanmar remain a concern, and the local government has started vaccinating Ruili residents to work towards herd immunity.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 29 May, authorities shut down some streets in Liwan District in Guangzhou due to an outbreak in Guangdong province. Foshan's Shadi Airport has cancelled all flights and suspended operations from 12 June.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 6 June, Ruili was again put into lockdown after three local infections associated with the Delta variant.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 10 July, it was reported that the new outbreak has spread to 13 cities in five provinces including the capital Beijing. The cases were linked to cleaners who worked on a flight from Russia that arrived in Nanjing on 10 July 2021 who did not follow strict hygiene measures. Officials added that the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus was behind these new infections and there are worries about whether the Chinese vaccines would work against the Delta variant.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 21 July, another local cluster was identified in Nanjing after 17 airport workers have tested positive during a routine check up. By 2 August, the outbreak, caused by fast-spreading Delta variant, has reached more than 20 cities. Zhuzhou, Zhangjiajie and Yangzhou were forced into lockdowns. Some flights, trains and buses to Beijing have been cancelled to guard the capital against the new surge.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 11 September, another cluster of infections was found in Xianyou county of Putian, Fujian province. Multiple clusters have also emerged in Bayan county of Harbin, Heilongjiang, the source of infections remains unclear.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 23 October, China reported the highest number of new cases since the September outbreak in Fujian, with domestic infections reported in Ejin Banner of Inner Mongolia and in Lanzhou, Gansu and new cases reported in Beijing, Ningxia, Jiangxi and Yunnan. Another outbreak by imported case was reported in the northern border town of Heihe, Heilongjiang province.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In early November, Dalian reported more than 80 cases of COVID-19, the first of which occurred in a warehouse worker in the Zhuanghe district of the city on 4 November. In response, on 8 November local authorities ordered all businesses handling imported chilled and frozen foods to suspend operations.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In mid-December, the outbreak in the cities of Ningbo, Shaoxing and Hangzhou was developing at a "relatively rapid" speed, forcing closure of flights and venues. The outbreak began to subside from mid December, with Hangzhou resuming low-risk status as of 21 December.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 22 December, the border city of Dongxing next to Vietnam has ordered residents to stay at home due to one COVID-19 case. The strict measures resulted in severe backlog of trucks at the border crossings and disrupted trade, prompting the Vietnam government to complain.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: From 23 December 2021, the city of Xi'an with 13 million people was put into strict lockdown after local authorities reported more than 250 cases, traced to the Delta variant by authorities. The lockdown led to stressed healthcare and delayed or insufficient food deliveries to some parts of the city.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 26 December 155 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms were reported from Xi'an, contributing the largest part to the countrywide highest daily count since the outbreak in Wuhan, of 158 cases. The city was placed into strict lockdown until 24 January 2022.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The city of Ruili bordering Myanmar was reported to have endured four lockdowns with 200 days in total in 2021.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 4 January 2022, 1.1 million people in Yuzhou, Henan received stay at home order after three asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported. In the evening of the same day, Zhengzhou told its residents in risky areas that they could not leave the city without approval from health control authorities. The Xi'an outbreak appeared to ease, with 35 local symptomatic cases reported that day.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 11 January, the city of Zhengzhou has upgraded measures and closed down non-essential services during a citywide mass testing campaign while Anyang has been placed under lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 24 January, lockdown restrictions were lifted in Xi'an while 2 million residents of Fengtai district of Beijing underwent mass testing. On 25 January, the border city of Suifenhe was placed into lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 7 February, the city of Baise in Guangxi province has been placed under lockdown after 37 symptomatic cases were reported on the day before.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 11 March, the city of Changchun of Jilin Province was placed into lockdown after the highest single day spike in cases since the Wuhan outbreak was reported. Food shortages related to shutdown measures were reported. Sporadic outbreaks have been reported in Laixi and Huangdao of Shandong province.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 14 March, the city of Shenzhen was placed on lockdown, with factories halting production after new virus cases doubled nationwide to almost 3,400. The neighboring city of Hong Kong was also battling a severe outbreak since January. Schools and public transport were closed in Shanghai and people were forbidden to enter or exit Jilin as the entire province is closed to curb the virus spread.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 15 March, the whole area of Langfang city, Hebei and the factory center of Dongguan in Guangdong were put into lockdown. The earlier shutdown of Shenzhen has forced manufacturers such as Toyota, Volkswagen and Apple's supplier Foxconn to suspend operations. The Shenzhen lockdowns ended on 23 March.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 20 March, China reported its first COVID-19 deaths since January 2021 and the first double daily toll since May 2020, with both fatalities coming from Jilin.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 28 March, China announced the largest city-wide lockdown since the outbreak began in which Shanghai will be locked down in two stages. The city of Shanghai became the country's COVID-19 epicenter after a surge in cases. Shanghai's lockdowns has hit operations at the city's ports, causing disruptions on the logistical chain to the manufacturing hubs nearby. There were reports of panic buying to stock up supplies in the city.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 3 April, China reported 13,146 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which was the highest single-day total of new cases since the height of the pandemic in Wuhan in February 2020.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 4 April, officials in Suzhou announced a new mutation of the Omicron variant was detected in Changshu. The city of Baicheng in Inner Mongolia was put into lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: By 9 April, it is estimated that 23 Chinese cities, home to an estimated 193 million people and contribute 22% of China's GDP, have been implementing either full or partial lockdowns. In Shanghai, residents have reported food shortages due to lockdown measures The city's health system has shown signs of strain as patients were turned away from hospitals as wards were closed and medical staff have been deployed to quarantine hospitals. A series of deaths were reported at the Shanghai Donghai Elderly Care hospital, which their relatives blame on lack of care due to hospital staff being taken away for quarantine. Videos have emerged on social media showing Shanghai residents engaging in protests and clashes with police over quarantine policies.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 11 April, authorities in Guangzhou closed the city to most arrivals and only allowed citizens with a "definite need" to leave. Lockdown measures continue to spread to other cities in China as restrictions on movement were reported in Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Taiyuan and Ningde.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 16 April, a temporary partial lockdown was again imposed in Xi'an after dozens of infections were reported. On 19 April, Tangshan re-enforced partial lockdowns in some of its districts.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 26 April, Baotou in Inner Mongolia announced it will lock down for a week while Beijing begins mass testing of nearly all of its 21 million residents. On 28 April, Hangzhou started mass testing while the wholesale hub of Yiwu and the port city of Qinhuangdao were put into lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 30 April, China recorded 47 deaths from Covid within 24 hours, bringing the total toll above 5,000. A Caixin media report cited that Handan, Lu'an, Quanzhou, Suqian, Wuhu, Xining, Xuzhou along with many cities in Jilin, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu and Shaanxi was locked down in April, with more than 30 million people affected.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The province of Jilin began to gradually lift COVID-19 control measures from the end of April. It reported a GDP shrinkage of 7.9% during the first quarter of 2022.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 3 May, the city of Zhengzhou imposed new movement restrictions, which halts all activities and only allows each household to one person with a negative test result to go out once a day to purchase basic supplies.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 13 May, Beijing authorities announced that parts of Chaoyang, Fangshan and Shunyi districts would be subject to tighter curbs. On 22 May, lockdowns have been imposed on those three districts along with Haidian and Fengtai.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 24 May, the city of Tianjin locked down its central district, causing delays and blank sailings at its ports.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 31 May, Shanghai began to start lifting its strict lockdown measures, allowing people to return to work and malls and shops to re-open in "low-risk" areas. In some neighborhoods and districts, residents were ordered to stay home until mid-June after completion of rounds of rigorous testing.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 6 June, Beijing authorities further relaxed curbs by allowing indoor dining while the city of Erenhot and the Sonid Right Banner of Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia have imposed lockdowns.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 13 June, an outbreak linked to a nightclub forced Beijing authorities to shut down the Workers' Stadium and Sanlitun leisure and nightlife districts. Despite the flare up, Beijing declared an "initial victory" over COVID-19 on 16 June and allowed schools to resume in-class teaching on 27 June.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 29 June, the county of Sixian of Anhui was put into lockdown. On July 1, Anhui put a second county, Lingbi, under lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 6 July, Shanghai reported the most virus infections since late May, with sporadic cases also propped up in Xuzhou and Wuxi. On 9 July, the city of Haikou on Hainan Island imposed seven-day restrictions that shut down businesses and public venues.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 10 July, Qinyang in Henan province almost completely locked down its residents while Xi'an and Lanzhou moved to tighter curbs. On 12 July, Wugang, Zhumadian and Pingdingshan in Henan implemented a three days implementation of strict closed control.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 13 July, Huaiyuan of Anhui and Lanzhou of Gansu were reported to have shifted into full lockdown. On 14 July, China reported an increase in cases tally as a new cluster emerged around Beihai, Guangxi. On 17 July, lockdown was imposed in Beihai and the tourist island of Weizhou, trapping more than 2,000 holidaymakers. Dandong's mayor has apologised for an over 50-day lockdown that the North Korea-bordering city had to endure.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 27 July, authorities in Wuhan shut down Jiangxia District of almost a million people after detecting four asymptomatic cases.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Throughout July, Shenzhen's biggest manufacturers including Foxconn, Huawei and BYD were forced to operate within a "closed loop" restricted system as the manufacturing hub was battling its latest Covid outbreak.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 3 August, the export hub of Yiwu in Zhejiang suspended public gatherings and locked down some areas to cope with COVID-19 flare ups.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 6 August, authorities in the resort city of Sanya of Hainan announced movement restrictions after hundreds of cases were reported, leaving around 80,000 tourists stranded. Danzhou, Qionghai and other cities on the island also enforced lockdown measures.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 8 August, Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet recorded one symptomatic patient and seventeen asymptomatic cases while Shigatse, Tibet's second biggest city imposed three days of curbs. The region reported only one infection in 2020, and had remained clear of cases since then. On 10 August, Ürümqi in Xinjiang started a five-day lockdown of its key districts. Other cities in Xinjiang including Yining, Korla, Aksu and Turpan were also hit by circuit breaking mechanism.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 21 August, Taigu and Pingyao of Shanxi and Nanchong of Sichuan went into lockdown. On 28 August, Hebei authorities issued a stay-at-home order for residents of Xianghe, Zhuozhou and all urban districts of Shijiazhuang. On 31 August, Daqing in Heilongjiang was put into lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 1 September, Chengdu announced a lockdown of its 21.2 million residents, the most populous city to be locked down since Shanghai in earlier 2022. Other major cities including Shenzhen and Dalian also stepped up COVID restrictions. On 5 September, Guiyang sealed off six of its districts to contain Covid outbreak. On 15 September, lockdowns were mostly lifted in Chengdu.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 5 October, Xishuangbanna of Yunnan province went into full lockdown, leaving travellers stranded at its airport. On the same day, residents were banned from leaving Xinjiang over an outbreak, weeks after the region had been relaxing restrictions following a stringent lockdown.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 26 October, hundreds of migrant workers in Tibetan capital of Lhasa took to the streets to protest harsh lockdown measures, which had been lasting for 74 days.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In late October, dozens of cities across China have again ramped up their lockdowns, including districts of Shanghai, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Datong and Xining, affecting more than 200 million people. In Heilongjiang province, Suihua and Mudanjiang were also experiencing outbreaks. In Zhengzhou, workers at the Foxconn factory have turned to social media for help and to voice their anger about inadequate food and lack of medical care amid strict control measures implemented on the campus. The complex employs more than 200,000 workers, thousands of them chose to escape the campus en masse, trekking across fields to return to their home.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 2 November, the death of a 3-year-old boy to a gas leak in Lanzhou, reportedly after delay in receiving treatment due to movement restriction has triggered a wave of public anger. Videos on social media show residents taking to the streets demanding answer from authorities and buses containing SWAT teams arriving at the scene. Local authorities issued apologised the next day.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 9 November, movement restriction measures were placed in the urban districts of Chongqing. It was reported that the city has been struggling to contain spread of virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In Guangzhou, a surge in cases has spurred blanket lockdowns in the city. On 5 November, Haizhu District was locked down and transport systems were suspended. On 9 November, the city reported more than 3,000 cases and locked down its central district of Liwan. On 14 November, it has been reported that residents in several districts have taken to the streets to protest against restriction policies. Videos posted online showed crowds crashed through lockdown barriers and marched down streets.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 21 November, Beijing authorities shut most non-essential business and issued stay home order in the city's largest district of Chaoyang. The city reported three Covid-related deaths on the weekends before, the first deaths in mainland China since the Shanghai outbreak in May.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 23 November, China reported 31,444 new locally transmitted Covid cases, the highest daily figure since the virus was first detected in 2019 and surpassing figures during the Shanghai outbreak. The government responded by tightening Covid restrictions in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Government of Changchun urged the public to halt non-essential movement and avoid going outside. In Zhengzhou, protests have erupted at the Foxconn iPhone manufacturing factory campus over poor pay and restriction conditions after authorities attempted to lock down the facility following an outbreak.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 24 November, a building fire in under-lockdown Ürümqi killed 10 people and wounded 9. This sparked widespread protests against lockdowns and COVID-19 policies across many large cities China.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The protests and public dismay prompted the Chinese government to signal plans to ease restrictions. On 30 November, vice premier Sun Chunlan announced that pandemic controls are entering a "new stage and mission", adding that the Omicron variant is less virulent and that rectification of control methods are underway. Sun said local governments should "respond to and resolve the reasonable demands of the masses".


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 7 December, China announced a nationwide loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in which PCR testing will be reduced and lockdown will also be limited. Among the changes, the health pass application will no longer be required for entry to most public spaces and patients with mild symptoms may quarantine at home rather than in the facilities.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Following the easing of stringent restrictions, Beijing has reported a surge in Covid infections. Restaurants and food delivery services were reported to have closed due to too many workers being infected and pharmacies have been emptied of medicine and disinfectant solution. The Central Economic Work Conference, a key economic policy meeting have been postponed due to Covid spike. On 15 December, the National Health Commission has stopped reporting asymptomatic cases as it was "impossible to accurately grasp" the actual number of asymptomatic infections.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: On 27 January, the Chinese Ministry of Education advised all higher education institutions to postpone the spring semester, with all local education departments to determine the starting time of the new semester for K-12 education and local colleges according to the decision of the local governments. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security also decided to put the new semester off for all vocational education facilities.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The Chinese government, which upholds a policy of state atheism, used the pandemic to continue its antireligious campaigns, demolishing Xiangbaishu Church in Yixing and removing a Christian cross from the steeple of a church in Guiyang County.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: China is one of a small number of countries that have pursued an elimination strategy, sustaining a low case numbers between the 2020 outbreak until early 2022.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: China's response to the initial Wuhan COVID-19 outbreak has been both praised and criticised. Some have criticised the censorship of information that might be unfavorable for local officials. Observers have attributed this to a culture of institutional censorship affecting the country's press and Internet. The government censored whistleblowers, journalists, and social media posts about the outbreak. During the beginning of the pandemic, the Chinese government made efforts to clamp down on discussion and hide reporting about it. Efforts to fund and control research into the virus's origins and to promote fringe theories about the virus have continued up to the present. In October 2020, "The Lancet Infectious Diseases" reported: "While the world is struggling to control COVID-19, China has managed to control the pandemic rapidly and effectively."


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: During the early phase of the pandemic, Hubei suspended the processing of applications from mainland Chinese residents for entry and exit of mainland China. For those with a valid visa to enter Hong Kong and Macau, but fail to enter the areas due to the outbreak, the Chinese Immigration Administration will issue a new visa for free on request of the visa holder after the outbreak is lifted. Some of automated border clearance systems will be shut down according to the needs of the epidemic prevention. After Wuhan declared lockdown on 23 January, the Tianhe Airport and Hankou River ports have been without passengers for several days.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Since 25 January 2020, Taiwan's government banned anyone from mainland China entering the country with the ban extended to mainland Chinese overseas. On 24 August 2022, the Chinese government began to ease restrictions for foreign students, allowing them to enter the country for the first time in more than two years.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: China has provided vaccines to other countries. In November 2021, the Chinese government pledged to provide 1 billion vaccine doses to African countries, including 600 million donated doses and 400 million other doses, in addition to the 200 million doses it had already provided. In the same announcement, Xi pledged additional investment in Africa and promised to send 1,500 public health experts.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Ever since Hubei's lockdown, areas bordering Hubei including Yueyang in Hunan and Xinyang in Henan set up checkpoints on roads connecting to Hubei to monitor cars and people coming from Hubei. Between 24 and 25 January, the local governments of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hainan and other areas announced to quarantine passengers from "key areas" of Hubei for 14 days. Chongqing also announced mandatory screening of every person who arrived from Wuhan since 1 January, and set up 3 treatment centers.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: During the 2019–2020 COVID-19 outbreak, factories were closed or reduced production for a few weeks. When they opened again, measures were implemented to reduce risk.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Fear, regional discrimination in China, and racial discrimination within and beyond China increased with the growing number of reported cases of infections despite calls for stopping the discrimination by many governments. Some rumors circulated across Chinese social media, along with endorsements and counter-rumor efforts by media and governments. The Chinese government has worked to censor and counter reporting and criticism about the crisiswhich included the prosecution of several citizen journalistsand portray the official response to the outbreak in a positive light. They have also provided humanitarian assistance to other countries dealing with the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: There were conspiracy theories about COVID-19 being the CIA's creation to keep China down on China's Internet, according to London-based "The Economist".


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: Multiple conspiracy articles in Chinese from the SARS era resurfaced during the outbreak with altered details, claiming that SARS is biological warfare conducted by the US against China. Some of these articles claim that BGI Group from China sold genetic information of the Chinese people to the US, with the US then being able to deploy the virus specifically targeting the genome of Chinese individuals.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In July 2020, the government granted an emergency use authorization for two COVID-19 vaccines. It has also pledged or provided humanitarian assistance to other countries dealing with the virus.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: By June 2021, a billion doses of domestically produced vaccine had been administered in China, giving a dose rate similar to many European countries. A further billion doses had been administered by late August of the same year. Another 1 billion doses were administered by the end of January 2022. In February 2022, Pfizer's Covid therapy tablet Paxlovid has received conditional approval in China. It is the first oral pill created exclusively to treat the disease in the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: While public authorities have mandated lockdowns and mandatory mass testing for areas with infection, there has not been any rule to making vaccination mandatory. Some facilities within China have made vaccination mandatory for entry, including things like movie theatres, fitness centres, internet bars, museums and libraries.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: In July 2022, according to official figures, while 89% had received 2 doses, only 56% of eligible people had received a booster dose. Furthermore, this was even lower among vulnerable elderly age groups, with only 19.7% of people over the age of 80 having received a booster dose. According to BBC reporting, this may have been attributed to public confidence in the ability of authorities to control outbreaks, the narrative presented by public authorities within China that the virus was mainly an overseas problem as well as some doctors within China who warned vulnerable people of the health risks of the vaccine.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China

text: The confirmed case count in mainland China only includes symptomatic cases; asymptomatic infections are reported separately.


title: Rod Temperton

text: Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English songwriter, producer and musician.


title: Rod Temperton

text: Temperton was the keyboardist and main songwriter for the 1970s pop music, disco and funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "Star of a Story", "Always and Forever", "Boogie Nights", and "The Groove Line". After he was recruited by record producer Quincy Jones, he wrote several successful singles for Michael Jackson, including "Thriller", "Off the Wall", and "Rock with You". He also wrote songs for George Benson, including "Give Me the Night" and "Love X Love", along with Patti Austin and James Ingram's United States number-one single "Baby, Come to Me", among many others.


title: Rod Temperton

text: Temperton wrote the soundtrack for the 1986 film "Running Scared". In 1990 he won a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for "Birdland".


title: Rod Temperton

text: Rodney Lynn Temperton was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, on 9 October 1949. Interviewed for the BBC Radio 2 documentary "The Invisible Man: the Rod Temperton Story", Temperton said that he was a musician from an early age: "My father wasn't the kind of person who would read you a story before you went off to sleep. He used to put a transistor radio in the crib, right on the pillow, and I'd go to sleep listening to Radio Luxembourg, and I think that had an influence."


title: Rod Temperton

text: Temperton attended De Aston Grammar School, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, and he formed a group for the school's music competitions. He was a drummer at this time. "I'd get in the living room with my snare drum and my cymbal and play along to the BBC test card, which was all kinds of music they'd be playing continuously." On leaving school, he started working as a fish filleter for Ross Frozen Foods in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.


title: Rod Temperton

text: Temperton soon became a full-time musician as a keyboard player, and played in several dance bands. This took him to Worms in Germany. In 1974, he answered an advert in "Melody Maker" for a keyboardist, placed by Johnnie Wilder Jr., and as a result, became a member of the pop, disco, and funk band: Heatwave, which Wilder was putting together at the time. "He was the first British guy that I had ever met personally. He spoke kind of funny but he had a good sense of humour and he was a very friendly guy. After meeting him and then seeing him play I kind of determined he was a good enough player and entertainer and I just knew he would fit in the group", said Wilder. Temperton played Wilder tunes he had been composing: "I was very interested because we were doing a lot of cover tunes – we weren't doing a lot of original material – I was really interested." The songs provided material for 1976's "Too Hot to Handle" including "Boogie Nights", which broke the band in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the ballad "Always and Forever"; both tracks were million-sellers in the USA.


title: Rod Temperton

text: Despite the slick American sound, Temperton's working surroundings were still far from glamorous. Alan Kirk, a Yorkshire musician with Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, who toured with Heatwave in the mid 1970s, remembered: "The "Always and Forever" track was written on a Wurlitzer piano at the side of a pile of pungent washing – sorry to disappoint all the romantics". And producer Barry Blue recalled: "He had a very small flat, so everything had to be done within one room and he had piles of washing, and had the T.V. on top of the organ. It was a nightmare <nowiki>[...]</nowiki> he had trams running outside <nowiki>[...]</nowiki> but he made it, he just absorbed himself in the music and Rod seemed to come up with these amazing songs." In 1977, Heatwave followed up the success of its first album with its second, "Central Heating", with Barry Blue again producing, and Temperton behind the majority of the songs. It included "The Groove Line", another international hit single. In 1978, Temperton decided to concentrate on writing, and left Heatwave, though he continued to write for the band.


title: Rod Temperton

text: Rod Temperton's work attracted the attention of Quincy Jones, and he asked his engineer Bruce Swedien to check out the Heatwave album. "Holy cow! I simply loved Rod's musical feeling – everything about it – Rod's arrangements, his tunes, his songs – was exceedingly hip", recalled Swedien, also calling Temperton: "the most disciplined pop music composer I've ever met. When he comes to the studio, every musical detail is written down or accounted for in Rod's mind. He never stops until he feels confident that the music we're working on is able to stand on its own." In 1979, Temperton was recruited by Quincy Jones to write for what became Michael Jackson's first solo album in four years, and his first full-fledged solo release for Epic Records, titled "Off the Wall". Temperton wrote three songs for the album, including "Rock with You", which became the second US number 1 single from the album.


title: Rod Temperton

text: In the early 1980s, Temperton left Germany and moved to Beverly Hills, California. In 1982, Temperton wrote three songs, including the title track, for Jackson's next LP, "Thriller", which became the biggest-selling album of all time in the United States, selling 32 million copies. Temperton also wrote the spoken word section of the song for the actor Vincent Price. On coming up with the title "Thriller", Temperton once said:


title: Rod Temperton

text: Temperton wrote successfully for other musicians, his hits including disco classic "Stomp!" for The Brothers Johnson; George Benson's "Give Me the Night"; "Baby, Come to Me" for Patti Austin and James Ingram; "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" for Donna Summer; and "Yah Mo B There" for James Ingram and Michael McDonald. He also wrote for Herbie Hancock, The Manhattan Transfer, Mica Paris, Rufus and Chaka Khan, and many others.


title: Rod Temperton

text: In 1982, Temperton wrote the music to "Someone in the Dark", recorded by Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones, for the movie "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.