(Minghui.org) Once a poster child for a modern-day community in China, Baibuting, which is in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, has been abandoned by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials.
Although it was already known in December 2019 that the virus could spread from human to human, Baibuting residents were required to attend an annual feast on January 18, 2020. More than 40,000 families prepared a total of 14,000 dishes to share. Days later, many in the community began to show symptoms of coronavirus infection. On January 23, the city of Wuhan was locked down.
To reduce the number of reported cases of the coronavirus, officials have now abandoned Baibuting. A netizen wrote on a blogging site, “I am a resident of Baibuting Garden in Wuhan. I write this in despair. At present, Baibuting Garden is in an unmanned situation, with no one in charge. Many people have been infected with this virus. But the leaders in Wuhan gave us only one testing kit per day per grid, which contains about 4,000 families.” The post was soon deleted.
A “National Civilized Community”
Located in the Jiang'an District of Wuhan, Baibuting covers an area of 4 square kilometers (about 1.5 square miles) and is home to about 180,000 residents. Baibuting has a Party Committee under the direct control of the Jiang’an District Party Committee, along with 15 Party sub-committees, and 9 neighborhood committees.
The Baibuting Party Committee is headed by Mao Yonghong, chairman of the board of directors of the Baibuting Group, the developer of Baibuting community.
Baibuting has received over 50 national awards, including one for “National Civilized Community.” It’s been praised for having epitomized modern Chinese society and for showcasing Wuhan.
Li Changchun from the Politburo Standing Committee visited the community in May 2003, and former premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit in June 2004. Very few villages or communities in China have been so honored and recognized.
Four central government agencies, including the Publicity Department of the CCP, the Office of the Central Committee for the Construction of Spiritual Civilization, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Culture, once issued a joint statement promoting the Baibuting community to the rest of the country.
Hubei Province and Wuhan City authorities followed suit to further market the community. Other provinces organized tours to Baibuting to learn how to build similar communities.
A “Must-Attend” Banquet
Baibuting has hosted an annual wanjiayan (10,000-family feast) around the Chinese New Year for the past 20 years. It has become a branding event for the community and a propaganda tool for the government.
The 2020 feast was held on January 18, one week before the Chinese New Year. About 14,000 dishes were prepared by 40,000 families, and residents were assigned to either the main venue or one of the nine sub-venues.
According to social media posts, many of the dishes had messages singing praises of the CCP. For instance, “Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of China” was written on some of the cakes.
A volunteer working at the event revealed that he and some community staff members received insider news that Wuhan was to be locked down, but they were told the feast had to go on.
One resident in Baibuting wrote on social media that she tried three times to get out of attending the banquet, but to no avail. Her mother had to cook three dishes for the event.
Out-of-Control Spread of the Virus
Shortly after the feast, incidents of fever were reported in Baibuting. Caixin reported on February 5 that more than a dozen suspected cases and two confirmed cases were found in Baibuting as early as February 1. On February 7, the BBC reported that there were residents with coronavirus symptoms in at least 50 buildings.
One neighborhood committee staff member said they had heard about the virus in early January. After being notified on January 15 that the disease could spread from person-to-person, he and others suggested canceling the banquet. But their request was denied.
He said that as of February 4, there were 42 patients under the jurisdiction of his neighborhood committee who had yet to be hospitalized, but, “This number does not include the seven who have been quarantined, the three hospitalized, or the three who have died. And there could be many who are ill that we are unaware of.”
Abandoned Community
The CCP has been actively covering up the coronavirus ever since it broke out. Eight physicians were punished by the Wuhan police on January 1 for alerting others about the escalating epidemic. One of them, Dr. Li Wenliang from Wuhan Central Hospital, was later infected and died of the virus on February 6, 2020.
Baibuting residents obeyed the order to attend the annual feast, only to fall victim to the epidemic and then get no help from government officials.
A Wuhan resident surnamed Zhang wrote on social media: “Officials have deserted Baibuting, fearing that reporting high numbers of infections could cost them their jobs.” He also said that only one test kit per day was given to each subdivision of about 4,000 families, which means only one confirmed case is allowed to be reported per day for each subdivision.
A Baituting resident using the pseudonym “Wild child hanniblo” said in a February 9 post on Sina Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website), “A large number of suspected cases with fever are still at home. Some critically ill patients are running around looking for help. We’ve heard that the authorities in Wuhan have given up on Baibuting for fear of being fired from their posts. People on Houhu Street next to us are receiving supplies and other support, but nothing has been given to the Baibuting community. The residents here are desperate.”
“This is the price we pay for believing in the CCP,” wrote another internet user, Chen Jue.
One Thought Makes All the Difference
While Baibuting residents and many others are hoping for a quick cure for the coronavirus, Falun Dafa practitioners have been encouraging everyone to take a cue from those who have recovered from illnesses by quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and reciting, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
Falun Dafa is a mind-body practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that has been persecuted by the CCP since July 1999.
One may wonder why reciting something as simple as “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” can have such a remarkable effect. We refer the reader to the following articles:
Fighting the Epidemic: The Amazing Power of Believing “Falun Dafa is Good”
Some Thoughts on Why Reciting “Falun Dafa is Good” Can Cure Coronavirus Infection
Coronavirus Patients in Wuhan Thank Practitioners for Life-Saving Advice
Man Recovers From Coronavirus in Seven Days After Reciting “Falun Dafa is Good”
