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SCMP Series
Top 10 most-read Letters to the Editor 2020
1 of 10
1
China’s coronavirus numbers just don’t seem to add up
A worker walks among beds in a convention centre that has been converted into a temporary hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, on February 4. Photo: AP
2
What is China not telling us about the novel coronavirus?
A woman walks past statues wearing face masks, as the snow falls in Beijing on February 5. Photo: AP
3
Singapore deserves to be blamed for failing migrant workers
Migrant workers wear masks while queuing at a meal distribution point in the Little India district of Singapore on May 6. Photo: EPA-EFE
4
Could Singapore offer migrant workers a path to citizenship?
Migrant workers wait in line at a meal distribution point in the Little India district of Singapore, on May 6. A majority of Singapore’s Covid-19 cases are from the foreign worker community, who live in crowded dormitories. Photo: EPA-EFE
5
Does Chinese arrogance make some people turn against them?
Chinese tourists take souvenir photos with the national flag on Quanfu, one of the Paracel Islands, in Sansha prefecture of Hainan province in the South China Sea, in September 2014. Photo: AP
6
What I know about Lee Suet Fern
Lee Suet Fern (far left) and other family members of the late Lee Kuan Yew arrive with his portrait at the start of the state funeral at the University Cultural Centre in Singapore on March 29, 2015. Photo: AP
7
Singapore is now home, but Hong Kong is where the heart is
The people of Hong Kong left an indelible mark with their silent, stoic belief in doing the right thing the right way. Photo: Winson Wong
8
Three ways for China to win back the world’s trust
A security officer walks past a display at the PT Expo in Beijing last October. Photo: AP
9
Lee Kuan Yew was proof autocratic government can be good
Founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew addresses delegates at the Global Brand Forum in Singapore in August 2004. Lee was autocratic but revered as a statesman and nation builder. Photo: AFP
10
Cathay fate shows how Hong Kong is now toxic for businesses
Hong Kong’s popular tourist and shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui on October 17. Photo: AFP
A worker walks among beds in a convention centre that has been converted into a temporary hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, on February 4. Photo: AP
OpinionLetters

Letters | Now with coronavirus, China’s numbers – like its provincial GDP figures – just do not add up

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories
Letters
Letters
Why you can trust SCMP
If more than 60 cases of the coronavirus were detected among around 3,700 passengers on a single cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, how is it then possible that only around 40,000 cases have been identified among the population of 1.4 billion in China?
The whole world already knows that numbers in China do not add up. Whether we talk about gross domestic product or growth figures per province, the figures do not add up.
Proof of the distrust in China’s official numbers is the cancellation of flights to Beijing and Shanghai – cities that are not majorly effected by the virus – by many major airlines.  

Panic and fear can only be prevented by opening up and reporting the truth. A unified fight against this potentially deadly virus can only succeed if governments open up and be transparent.

Hiding facts, closing down social media accounts and encouraging web users to highlight positive news, will only result in more panic and fear.

Moreover, if the extent of the coronavirus infections is not universally shared, the solution to the crisis recedes further away.

Peter den Hartog, Tuen Mun

Asymptomatic carriers should provoke border shutdown

I refer to “Italy denies China’s claims of easing coronavirus flight ban” (February 8).

More than 900 people have died from the novel coronavirus in China, and over 41,000 have been infected. The symptoms of 2019-nCoV include fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. However, some people who were diagnosed with the infection did not show any symptoms.

If patients do not display any of the symptoms of the new coronavirus, they will go about their daily lives as usual and could increase the risk of infecting others.

Since the outbreak started in mainland China and it has become an epidemic there, I hope the Hong Kong government will respond positively to our medical personnel’s request and shut all the border checkpoints.

Hazel Lam, Kwai Tsing

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