A year after Wuhan’s coronavirus lockdown, China has premiered a documentary film to mark the anniversary and continue the government’s efforts to cast its Covid-19 response in a positive light.
Titled Days and Nights in Wuhan, the film opened to the public exactly a year after Wuhan went into an unexpected 76-day lockdown in the early hours of January 23, 2020.
A co-production between Chinese state media and the Hubei Propaganda Department, the film was released in theatres around the country. In Beijing, small numbers of viewers gathered to watch the premiere.
“I wanted to learn how China got through the hardship,” said a woman surnamed Li, 32, who was one of the first people to see the film in Beijing. “We’ve been through a year of struggle and hard work, and now there are new cases in many places.”
Scenes from Days and Nights in Wuhan include shots of empty streets, as well as tearful moments inside Wuhan's hospitals as medical staff tended to patients.
“It is using life to record life, and create a heroic hymn of the people,” said a state media article posted on the Wuhan government website, following an early viewing for medical workers in the city Wuhan.
State media have described the film as the first major documentary on China’s outbreak.
The capital of China's Hubei province, Wuhan is believed to be the epicentre of the global pandemic that has spread around the world over the last year. It has since infected about 100 million people and killed more than two million people so far.
In China, strict control measures from the beginning of 2020 have allowed Wuhan to return to normal, but the government's early response drew widespread public criticism. This includes the outpouring of public anger and grief over the death of a Chinese doctor who had been reprimanded for issuing an early warning about Covid-19. He died after contracting the virus from one of his patients.
Dozens of patriotic documentaries have been released by local propaganda authorities and government-backed media on China’s Covid-19 outbreak, evoking wartime analogies to describe the actions of medical workers and policymakers, including President Xi Jinping.
The film’s release comes as China faces a new wave of infections after months of containing the virus. Authorities are discouraging travel during the Lunar New Year holiday in February and have begun to impose fresh lockdowns in some cities.
Wuhan has officially recorded 46,483 cases of the disease and 3,869 deaths.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Match info
Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')
West Ham United 0
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets