Asian Insider, May 15: China denies coronavirus cover-up, Hong Kong watchdog releases report on police brutality, Rohingya brace for coronavirus spread

Asian Insider brings you insights into a fast-changing region from our network of correspondents.

Hi all,

In today's bulletin:

China denies coronavirus cover-up, India's cities struggle to contain coronavirus, Hong Kong watchdog reports on police brutality, Indians abroad lose jobs over bigotry, Hong Kong in worst recession on record, Rohingya brace for coronavirus nightmare and more...

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CHINA DENIES COVER-UP, INDIA'S CITIES STRUGGLE TO CONTAIN THE VIRUS, JAPAN EASES STATE OF EMERGENCY

China said it didn't know until Jan 19 how infectious the coronavirus is, pushing back against accusations that it intentionally withheld information about the severity of the outbreak in Wuhan from the world.

Giving a rundown of events since the crisis began, China concluded on Jan 9 that it was dealing with a novel coronavirus and began developing test kits the next day. On Jan 12, it informed the World Health Organisation about the outbreak.

The country urged the United States to meet it halfway and strengthen cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic after President Donald Trump threatened to sever bilateral ties.

Meanwhile, India is struggling to contain the coronavirus in its major cities, India Bureau Chief Nirmala Ganapathy reports. The sprawling commercial and economic centres around the country are recording most of the new infections, and despite this, Covid-19 restrictions are slowly being lifted. Experts warn that economic recovery can only happen if this urban spread is contained.

On Friday most of Japan emerged from a state of emergency even as new testing suggested that the spread of coronavirus in Tokyo is far wider than the official figures claim. Major cities remain under coronavirus restrictions, but more than half the population will now see life start to return to normal.

See also: Indian states dilute labour laws in hopes of economic revival

Read more: Here's how Wuhan plans to test all 11 million of its people for coronavirus

HONG KONG WATCHDOG SAYS CLAIMS OF POLICE BRUTALITY SHOULD NOT BE USED AS 'POLITICAL WEAPON'

On Friday, Hong Kong's police watchdog released a report into police actions during last year's violent pro-democracy demonstrations. The report warned that accusations of police brutality must not be used as a "weapon of political protest" and added that the city was being dragged into an era of "terrorism".

In one of the most controversial clashes last year, when police were accused of reacting slowly to an attack on demonstrators by a mob in Yuen Long district, the report found no evidence of collusion between gangs and police.

While the report did not address the individual accountability of police officers, it did recommend a review of guidelines for using tear gas and training. Rights groups have accused Hong Kong's police of using disproportionate force during the demonstrations.

Must read from Hong Kong Correspondent Claire Huang: Summer of dissent bubbling in Hong Kong as fears over the coronavirus subside

See also: No calm in Hong Kong unless violent protesters are removed: China

And: First Hong Kong protester to admit rioting gets four years' jail

ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY DISPLAYED BY SOME INDIANS ABROAD COSTS THEM THEIR JOBS

Indians living abroad are losing their jobs after posting anti-Muslim bigotry on their social media accounts, India Correspondent Debarshi Dasgupta writes.

Anti-Muslim bigotry saw a surge in India after a Tablighi Jamaat meeting emerged as one of the country's coronavirus hotspots in March. Some media commentaries sought to blame the entire Muslim community for the pandemic in India.

The rise in anti-Muslim sentiment led India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tweet that Covid-19 "does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking".

Read more: Coronavirus misinformation fuels hatred against India's Muslims

And: US panel wants India on religious freedom blacklist

HONG KONG IN WORST RECESSION ON RECORD

Hong Kong's economy shrank 8.9 per cent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the government said on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the city following months of social unrest.

It is the third straight quarter of year-on-year contractions for the Asian financial hub, and its worst quarterly drop since records began in 1974.

The first quarter's pace compares with a decline of 3 per cent in the previous quarter, and an advance estimate of negative 8.9 per cent.

Must read: Be cautious of markets' disconnect with reality

And: Long-term returns reveal stocks worth holding amid volatility

RACE TO PREVENT CORONAVIRUS 'NIGHTMARE' IN ROHINGYA CAMPS

Emergency teams in Bangladesh raced on Friday to prevent a coronavirus "nightmare" in the world's largest refugee settlement after the first confirmed cases in a sprawling city of shacks housing nearly a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

There have long been warnings that the virus could race like wildfire through the cramped, sewage-soaked alleys of the network of 34 camps in the Cox's Bazar district of south-east Bangladesh.

Most of the Muslim refugees have been there since around 750,000 fled a 2017 military offensive in neighbouring Myanmar for which its government faces genocide charges at the UN's top court.

Must see: Inside Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee camp

Indochina Bureau Chief Tan Hui Yee writes that the pandemic offers the opportunity to do better by marginalised groups

IN OTHER NEWS

THAILAND TO REOPEN MALLS AND MORE BUSINESSES AS CORONAVIRUS EASES: Thailand will begin allowing department stores, shopping malls and other businesses to reopen from Sunday as new coronavirus cases dwindle, the government said.

Stores selling electronics, furniture and office supplies will be among the businesses allowed to resume operations.

AUSTRALIANS EMERGE FROM LOCKDOWN TO BEERS AND LATTES: Restaurants, cafes and bars in Australia's most populous state reopened on Friday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown, boosting the federal government's bid to get people back in work and the economy back on track.

MYTHICAL MONSTER GOES VIRAL AS JAPAN PRAYS FOR END OF PANDEMIC: Move over Pokemon and Hello Kitty, in coronavirus-hit Japan, a new character has captured hearts and hopes: Amabie, a beak-nosed, long-locked mythical mermaid monster said to repel plagues. In recent weeks, the mash-up monster has become the unlikely mascot of hopes for an end to the pandemic.

That's it for today, thanks for reading and stay safe.

Tom

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