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Another standing committee meeting; Infected woman drives from Wuhan to Beijing; More evidence of coverups in Wuha…Bill Bishop at Sinocism <[email protected]:19 PM (15 minutes ago)Read in browserI decided to make today’s issue of the newsletter free. If you like what you see please sign up for the Sinocism China Newsletter here. Group and education discounts are available.Another standing committee meeting; Infected woman drives from Wuhan to Beijing; More evidence of coverups in Wuhan; Q1 GDP growth 0?Bill BishopFeb 26The growth of new cases in Hubei and the rest of China continues to slow according to the official data.A loyal reader in China suggests that I add one more item to my unmistakable signs the Party thinks victory really is at hand.Xi visits Wuhan;The announcement of a date for the “Two Meetings”Kids go back to schoolThis reader is correct, as the political risk of sending kids into harm’s way is too high. And until it is safe for kids to go back to school it is hard to see the economy operating at anywhere near normal levels.The Chinese Internet is in a bit of an uproar after a woman was able to travel from Wuhan to Beijing by car last week, after leaving prison. She is now in Beijing and is confirmed to have the virus. The speculation is she must be somehow very connected, but now that the news has exploded online it has become a political problem and an investigation is underway. There is more on this in item #5, as well as reports from Caixin and Caijing that give more evidence of a coverup in Wuhan at the start of the outbreak.I will hold another open thread tomorrow morning, this time for paying subscribers only. I’d love to hear from you.Thanks for reading.The Essential Eight1. Another standing committee meetingI don't remember so many reports about standing committees in such a compressed period of time.Xi Focus: Xi chairs leadership meeting on COVID-19 control, makes donation - XinhuaXi Jinping,...chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).Responding to a call of the CPC Central Committee to all Party members, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng all made donations to support the COVID-19 prevention and control work.Addressing the meeting, Xi said the positive trend in preventing and controlling the epidemic is expanding and economic and social development is rapidly recovering, but the situation in Hubei Province and its capital city of Wuhan remains complex and grim, and the risk of a rebound of the epidemic in other regions can not be overlooked...Prevention and control work in Beijing and other key provincial-level regions should be strengthened to resolutely block any possible source of infection, according to the meeting.The meeting demanded better protection measures for special venues such as the elderly care, childcare and mental health facilities where vulnerable groups of people are housed in enclosed premises.Comment: Interesting to see that PBSC specifically mentioned “elderly care” given the Caixin report about deaths in nursing homes in Hubei.CCTV Evening News on the meeting, no video from inside- 中共中央政治局常务委员会召开会议 分析新冠肺炎疫情形势研究近期防控重点工作 中共中央总书记习近平主持会议 响应党中央对广大党员的号召 习近平李克强栗战书汪洋王沪宁赵乐际韩正同《大国战“疫”》近期出版The CCP’s propaganda department said it will soon publish a book on China’s efforts to combat the coronavirus, and the book “focus on showing General Secretary Xi Jinping, as a major power leader, his care for the people, his sense of mission and responsibility, his strategic vision and great leadership.” It will be published in six different languages.2. The outbreakMainland China reports 406 new cases of coronavirus on February 25, deaths up by 52 - ReutersAll the new deaths were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak. Hubei also reported 401 new cases on Feb. 25, down from 499 a day earlier.Outside Hubei, the number of new mainland China cases fell to 5, down for the fifth consecutive day and the lowest since Jan. 20, when the NHC began publishing nationwide figures.China Tightens Screening of Travelers, Fearing Reinfection From Abroad - WSJ $$A number of Chinese municipal governments are imposing stricter health screenings on people entering China and, in some cases, even quarantine measures on those arriving from coronavirus-afflicted countries. These controls come after Beijing waged a concerted campaign urging other governments not to impose restrictions on travel to and from China, saying such measures were out of line with World Health Organization guidance.Beijing to quarantine people if they visited countries seriously hit by coronavirus - ReutersChina’s capital will quarantine people for 14 days at home or in groups if they have been to countries seriously hit by the coronavirus, the city’s health commission spokesman Gao Xiaojun told a press briefing on Wednesday.14% of Recovered Covid-19 Patients in Guangdong Tested Positive Again - CaixinThere is no clear conclusion on why it happens and whether such patients could still be infectious, said Song Tie, deputy director of the Guangdong Center of Disease Control And Prevention (Guangdong CDC), at a Tuesday briefing.Teachers advised to wear masks in class after primary schools reopen - XinhuaTeachers are advised to wear medical masks in class after primary and middle schools reopen in China as part of the country's novel coronavirus prevention and control efforts, according to a circular issued by authorities.Jingmen Party chief, mayor sanctioned for reporting incorrect numbers of COVID-19 infection - Global TimesParty chief Zhang Aiguo and city mayor Sun Bing of Jingmen, Hubei Province, have been punished by the provincial Party discipline watchdog on Wednesday, after the city reported minus 107 cases to the daily update feed on confirmed cases of COVID-19 on February 19, showing an obvious numerical error.Beijing offers free medical, psychological, legal consultation amid epidemic - XinhuaThe experts are renowned specialists in related areas or professors at Beijing's top universities, said Qi Jinli, deputy head of the united front work department of Beijing.So far the hotline has received over 5,500 phone calls, Qi said, adding that most calls were from people who need help with psychological issues related to the epidemic, with some suffering from insomnia and stress.3. EconomyFive more Chinese regions lower emergency response level as virus threat recedes - ReutersThe northwestern Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the southwestern province of Sichuan, the northeastern province of Jilin and the southern island of Hainan have all cut their emergency response levels.Comment: Mother-in-law has been in Hainan, the last few days things have started to loosen upAs China’s Economy Suffers, Xi Faces Pressure to Lift Virus Restrictions - WSJ $$Businesses executives and some local leaders are becoming more vocal about the need to streamline rules to reopen factories and get workers and supplies moving again in many parts of the country where activity remains at a standstill.But many local officials fear doing so could risk a resurgence of infections, prolonging the outbreak and putting their jobs on the line. Many privately complain that President Xi Jinping has put them in an impossible position, demanding they keep growth on track while also ensuring the virus doesn’t spread...“Propaganda can’t move mountains,” wrote Zhang Anyuan, an economist at CFC Financial, a Chinese securities firm, in a Feb. 24 report. Mr. Zhang is among the experts who think first-quarter growth could come in at zero or worse.“Based on the seriousness of the economic losses in the first quarter, adjusting and downplaying growth targets would be understandable and acceptable to the people,” he said.张岸元：疫情冲击下的经济、政策与金融市场Very detailed analysis of the coronavirus’ impact on Chinese economy by former NDRC economist Zhang Anyuan. He believes it will be “extremely difficult” for China to achieve the 5% growth goal for 2020 if there is zero growth in Q1. He also said the capital flight out of China in the past years has been “stunning 触目惊心”. His calculation suggests that since 2015 the capital flight not included in China’s official statistics has totaled nearly one trillion USD.The COVID-19 coronavirus and its economic impact (updated 26th Feb.) - Capital EconomicsThe charts on this page track the spread of the virus in China and its economic impact. Most include daily data, which we are updating every working day. This page also contains links to our latest analysis on the impact of the outbreak in China and around the world.Comment: Useful charts, and in a note this morning the analysts wrote:With normal activity taking longer to recover than seemed likely earlier this month, we now think that China's economy will contract outright in year-on-year terms this quarter, for the first time since at least the 1990. The leadership appears to be readying significant stimulus which should restore employment and output by the third quarter, but the hit to output during the first half of the year will still result in much slower annual growth北京日报：全国中小企业的复工率目前只有30%左右China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a presser yesterday that the small- and mid-sized companies in China so far have resumed only 30% of their business.China ups measures to support catering, accommodation sectors amid epidemic - XinhuaAs the epidemic has had a great impact on the sectors, the value-added tax will be waived from their revenues, Xian Guoyi, an official with the MOC told a press conference Wednesday.In the meantime, enterprises in the hardest-hit Hubei Province will be exempted from pension, unemployment and work-related injury insurance premiums from February to June this year with a 5-percent electricity price cut, while the payment of the housing accumulation fund will be deferred, Xian said.Caixin: Companies Jump on Coronavirus Bandwagon With $8 Billion of Bond SalesChinese companies have wasted no time taking advantage of a “green channel” created to fast-track bond sales by businesses needing money to fund operations related to the Covid-19 epidemic or who are suffering liquidity pressure stemming from the coronavirus outbreak...A closer look at the details in the bond prospectuses suggests many companies are taking advantage of the “green channel” to get quicker access to cash and at a lower cost...Of the total amount raised, only 22.4% on average is being used to directly support prevention and control activities, with the bulk of the money earmarked for paying down existing debt or supplementing working capital, according to Caixin calculations based on data from Wind Information独家|不是谁都能拿专项再贷款！煤炭、城投等48家企业出局Citing sources, Caixin reported that to prevent moral hazard, the central government had named 48 companies, mostly state-owned enterprises in industries with overcapacity, who will be denied access to the preferential loans issued for “anti-virus” purpose. The article mentioned that some of these companies had tried to get these cheap loans by pretending to produce things like disinfectant and masks.China’s Virus-Hit Airlines Are Showing Signs of Recovery - BloombergScheduled airline capacity within China is up more than 25% -- by 1.3 million seats -- week-on-week thanks to a rebound in domestic capacity, according to OAG Aviation Worldwide. Air China Ltd. appears the most optimistic as it has added back 306,000 seats, almost double its capacity from the previous week, analyst John Grant wroteCoronavirus: China’s legal system ‘will be more lenient’ on private sector | South China Morning Post“If the law allows more lenient measures, [we] should try not to use forceful measures that would limit their personal freedom and property rights,” Zhang Shuyuan, vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court, said during a Wednesday press conference in Beijing.Apple iPhone maker Foxconn taps famed scientist as coronavirus advisor - CNBCNow Foxconn has tapped his expertise in respiratory diseases to serve as a consultant for the firm’s prevention and rehabilitation efforts. In a statement on Tuesday, Foxconn said Zhong Nanshan will give advice and guidance to the company.Air Canada cancels China flights until April amid coronavirus outbreak | NewsAfter announcing last month it was temporarily suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai until February 29 amidst growing concern surrounding coronavirus, Air Canada said on Tuesday it has extended that timeline until April 10 – a move it said is reflective of “reduced market demand.”Big unknowns for millions as they return to work in China’s economic powerhouse | South China Morning PostFeng Huiqiang, a senior official from provincial health commission of Guangdong, said: “We want to tell people from high-risk areas that they should not rush to return to Guangdong. If they must come back, then they should first stay under quarantine for 14 days. All conferences and sporting activities should be cancelled to prevent people from gathering.“Everyone should follow the guidelines – apart from going to work, don’t go out, don’t gather, don’t dine together, don’t eat wild animals. And don’t be over optimistic.”Coronavirus, trade war a ‘double whammy’ for foreign firms in China, EU chamber boss says | South China Morning PostAfter more than 19 months of uncertainty and difficulties caused by the US-China trade war, the signing of an interim deal to end the conflict on January 15 gave many foreign firms reason to be optimistic. But their hopes were short-lived as the virus outbreak delivered a painful “double whammy”, said Paul Sives, chairman of the southwest branch of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China...“Some member companies have already moved certain production lines to factories they have elsewhere in the world, to supply the goods that they cannot supply from China,” Sives said.4. Will the propaganda and censorship work?Coronavirus: China tries to contain outbreak of freedom of speech, closing critics’ WeChat accounts | South China Morning PostQin Qianhong, a law professor from Wuhan University, a top-ranking institution in the city that has been the epicentre of the outbreak, said his WeChat account had been disabled since last Wednesday.He said it could be because he raised concerns in his WeChat posts over the extreme lockdown measures imposed on the Hubei provincial capital, and questioned state media reports that praised the sacrifices of Wuhan residents.The Story of Jiangshanjiao (江山娇) – Elephant Room: Make China Relatable12 hours, that was how long I lived, from the moment I was launched on the Chinese Internet to the moment I vanished, along with my younger brother Hongqiman. Our short lifespan was something no one expected; we were born to be something great, something iconic. We were made to be stars, or more accurately, to be idols. We were going to be huge hits; people, especially China’s young generation of patriotic netizens, were going to love us.We had absolutely all the right elements to be loved, or at least, that was what our creator, the Communist Youth League believed. China’s young generation loved the League, which had been known for its agility in catching up with the latest internet trends. On Weibo, my creator had almost 13 million followers, and even a cute nickname, Tuantuan (团团)...But the public reception of our launch took a completely unexpected direction: the League’s Weibo account was flooded with negative comments. People hated us, or more accurately, they hated the fact that the Youth League tried to idolize its own image by creating us. As it turned out, the strategy of personifying a party organization for political purposes didn’t work as well as my smart creator had planned...You see what I am trying to say here? People have noticed. By February 17th, the day of my debut, the Chinese people, at least those who use social media, had been fed up with many of the government’s conducts. They had noticed the authority’s sneaky little tricks in managing this national crisis; the corruption, the irresponsibilities, the inefficiencies, all laid bare like never before thanks to the internet.Coronavirus Weakens China’s Powerful Propaganda Machine - The New York Times“Even if I say that I don’t trust the government, what could I do?” Ms. Lu said. “It seems there’s nothing I can do.”There’s no scientific way to gauge public sentiment in China. But hers is probably a widely shared attitude, and one that the Chinese government wants to nurture.To get there, Beijing has intensified internet censorship in the past few weeks. Social media accounts have been deleted or suspended. Starting Saturday, online platforms will be subject to new regulations that could ensure even tighter limits.Turning on the Kitsch | China Media ProjectIn yesterday’s People’s Daily we can find a consummate piece of kitsch propaganda given position of prominence right below the masthead. The article, “Heroic City, Heroic People,” is an emotional hymn dedicated to front-line medical workers, officials and ordinary people. But the real objective of the article is to underscore the Chinese Communist Party as the enabler of miraculous human feats.Comment: The mask has been ripped off in previous disasters too. Will the outcome be any different this time when it comes to political activism, or will more people just become more cynical and want to emigrate?5. Wuhan governance failings continuing财新：北京新怡家园确诊案例来自武汉, 系刑满释放22日回京A Beijing coronavirus patient is causing a huge scandal. She arrived in Beijing from Wuhan on Feb 22. Caixin reports she made it out of Wuhan despite the lockdown because she was newly released from prison and her family drove her all the way back to their apartment in Beijing. Rumors are swirling that she must have some powerful connections to make it through all the checkpoints between Wuhan and Beijing, and because she lives in a residential area who apartments cost 120,000 RMB per square meter. There has been a massive social media uproar and now there is an official investigation.胡锡进: 希望武汉官方和监狱管理机构及时对此事做出说明Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin demands an explanation from the Wuhan authorities on why the woman was able to make it out of Wuhan and came all the way to Beijing, so not to undermine the public’s confidence in Wuhan’s ability to control the virus spread.How did COVID-19 patient leave Wuhan for Beijing? - Global TimesA confirmed COVID-19 patient returned from Wuhan on Saturday to Beijing, leading to questions over the management of the Wuhan government again two days after it issued a traffic easing policy but retracted it hours later.Such questions against Wuhan government have lurked on Chinese social media for days, as the central government repeated that channels to and out of Wuhan must be strictly controlled to win the battle against the epidemic.The woman, surnamed Huang, was found on Monday in a residential community in Dongcheng district. She came to Beijing from Wuhan on Saturday and underwent inspection right after her arrival, as she had been suffering intermittent fevers and throat pain since February 18 in Wuhan, said the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control on Wednesday.澎湃新闻：湖北多地继续严控离鄂通道ThePaper reported that local governments in Hubei have ramped up the measures to make sure no one can leave the province. Those temporary entry-exit permits issued earlier have been rescinded.Officials in China's Wuhan Deny Reports of Elderly Care Home Fever Deaths - RFACutting-edge news website Caixin said in a recent report that 11 elderly people had died at the Wuhan Social Welfare Institute from "fevers and respiratory failure."A statement on the official website of the Wuhan municipal cyberspace administration denied the report.Caixin then doubled down and published the names and dates of all of the deaths after a local official threatened to pursue the organization for rumor-mongering, a crime carrying a maximum jail sentence of seven years in China.独家|新冠病毒基因测序溯源：警报是何时拉响的Caixin reported that as many as nine virus samples had been examined by Chinese labs in late December and early January, and the labs had notified the authorities about the new virus. But somehow the government failed to act soon enough, and the Hubei officials tried to block the release of test results.回望2019年12月底至今年1月初的那几天，原本应是决定无数人命运的关键时刻。但彼时，公众对这种病毒日后会引发的后果还浑然不知。一位基因测序公司人士透露，2020年1月1日，他接到湖北省卫健委一位官员电话，通知他武汉如有新冠肺炎的病例样本送检，不能再检；已有的病例样本必须销毁，不能对外透露样本信息，不能对外发布相关论文和相关数据，“如果你们在日后检测到了，一定要向我们报告”。财经：追问卫健委第二批专家：为何没发现“人传人”？One member of the second expert group sent from Beijing in early January to investigate the coronavirus in Wuhan told Caijing magazine they didn’t find enough evidence of human-to-human transmission because the Wuhan Health Commission was hiding the truth from them. The expert group once told the Chinese public the disease is “preventable and controllable”.《财经》：为什么会出现这种情况？专家：他们根本不合作，这是最主要的问题。比如医务人员感染的事，你哪怕报一个医务人员感染，我们也就意识到它有传染性。《财经》：既然有怀疑，为什么没有直接向当地的政府或者医院发问？专家：当时我们讨论的时候，我们让他如实报。卫健委的领导当场就说了，他说，“你们是不是怀疑我瞒报啊？”他公开反问我们，专家组的都在场。他都这么说了我们还能说什么？《财经》：听到这句话，专家组心里是什么感觉？专家：你不应该找我们，你应该找找那个领导层去了解。现在这个卫健委的人已经被免职了。（注：2月10日，湖北省委常委会决定：免去张晋的湖北省卫生健康委员会党组书记职务；免去刘英姿的湖北省卫生健康委员会主任职务；上述两职务，由新到任的湖北省委常委王贺胜兼任。）6. Medical workers on the frontlineWuhan nurses' plea for international medics to help fight coronavirus | The GuardianYingchun Zeng, of the Guangzhou Medical hospital, and Yan Zhen, of the Sun Yet-sen Memorial hospital, also in Guangzhou, published a letter in the medical journal the Lancet on Monday describing mental and physical exhaustion and severe supply shortages on the frontlines of the outbreak...The virus has claimed more than 2,715 lives and infected at least 80,000 people. On Monday, China’s National Health Commission said more than 3,200 health workers had contracted Covid-19, about 90% of those cases in Hubei province. According to tallies of deaths reported in the Chinese media, at least 22 health workers have died from the virus.The letter - Chinese medical staff request international medical assistance in fighting against COVID-19 - The Lancet Global HealthIn addition to the physical exhaustion, we are also suffering psychologically. While we are professional nurses, we are also human. Like everyone else, we feel helplessness, anxiety, and fear. Experienced nurses occasionally find the time to comfort colleagues and try to relieve our anxiety. But even experienced nurses may also cry, possibly because we do not know how long we need to stay here and we are the highest-risk group for COVID-19 infection. So far 1716 Chinese staff [Note: Over 3000 now] have been infected with COVID-19 and nine of them have unfortunately passed away. Due to an extreme shortage of health-care professionals in Wuhan, 14 000 nurses from across China have voluntarily come to Wuhan to support local medical health-care professionals. But we need much more help. We are asking nurses and medical staff from countries around the world to come to China now, to help us in this battle.广东援助湖北武汉医疗队：请柳叶刀撤销文章 澄清事实并道歉The Guangdong medical team in Wuhan soon issued a statement through Southern Metropolis Daily saying the two authors are not part of their team and the article is a “outright misrepresentation”. But this statement has been deleted.Shaved Heads, Adult Diapers: Life as a Nurse in the Coronavirus Outbreak - The New York TimesThe most difficult moment for Ms. Zhang came when her superiors — almost all men — told her and her female colleagues that they “lacked the spirit of devotion” and discipline after they sought help getting pads and tampons.Coronavirus: China not sharing data on medical personnel cases, WHO says - The Washington Post“We received disaggregated information at intervals, though not details about health care workers,” said Tarik Jasaravic, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based organization.The comment, in a Saturday email to The Post, was one of the first instances that the U.N. health agency has directly addressed shortcomings in China’s reporting or handling of the coronavirus crisis.陈一新抗疫这一招的背后寓意是什么？-中国长安网Chen Yixin convenes meeting of alumnae of Wuhan universities and Hubei business representatives to ask them to make donations to help front line medical workersCCTV Evening News on the meeting, no video from inside the meetingComment: I don't remember so many reports about standing committees in such a compressed period of time .7. New Hong Kong budgetSpotlight: HKSAR government's new budget unveils 15-bln-USD measures to ride out economic difficulties - XinhuaFinancial Secretary Paul Chan said in his speech on the 2020-2021 budget that 2019 was "an unsettling year fraught with obstacles" for Hong Kong, while the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 "has dealt a severe blow to economic activities and sentiment in Hong Kong."Chan said Hong Kong's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in 2019, and he forecast full-year growth of between minus 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent in 2020...Chan also announced a payment of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars to each Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above, with a view to encouraging and boosting local consumption on the one hand, and relieving people's financial burden on the other. This measure is expected to benefit about 7 million people.Hong Kong budget: HK$2.7 billion jobs outlay largely aimed at training programmes, employer subsidies | South China Morning PostHong Kong’s newest budget has set aside HK$2.7 billion (US$347 million) to bolster efforts to create and retain jobs amid the economic downturn, with HK$200 million of the amount aimed at the city’s struggling construction sector...The lion’s share of the employee support portion of the budget – HK$2.5 billion – will go toward bolstering existing vocational, innovative and generic skills-training programs for the unemployed and underemployed.Hong Kong police to ramp up manpower by more than 7 per cent with 2,500 new posts in ‘biggest boost since 1997’ | South China Morning PostHong Kong’s police force will ramp up manpower by more than 7 per cent in its biggest boost in decades, with an extra 2,500 posts to cope with operational needs, according to force insiders citing the latest budget address.The figures also showed that police overtime pay and other allowances in the 2019-20 financial year soared to HK$2.5 billion (US$321 million), 10 times the original estimate of HK$256 million.8. US-ChinaWIPO, world don’t need US bullying and interference - Global TimesNext week, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will hold an election for its next director general. This was supposed to be a serious but standard matter handled in line with existing regulations and procedures of the agency. But the US, as it has done many times before, is seeking to interfere in the election and bend the agency's 191 other members to its political will and put its economic interests over those of others.After China nominated Wang Binying, who has risen through the ranks to be deputy director general in her 28-year career at the agency, to be the next director general, Washington apparently became paranoid and launched an extensive campaign against Wang's nomination. ..That brings us to the ulterior motives behind the US campaign against Wang's nomination: preserving its fading dominance in trade and technology through political gambits. The US has waged trade wars with not just China but also major economies in Europe and beyond. The US has also put up barriers to disrupt global cooperation in technology.Comment: It will be hugely embarrassing for the US if Wang become the director-general.Break with China? Top Trump aide eyes an opening with coronavirus - POLITICOPeter Navarro, the leading China critic in the Trump administration, is seizing the moment.The White House’s director of trade and manufacturing policy and the administration’s other China hawks are pushing to use the coronavirus crisis to press U.S. companies to end their dependence on foreign suppliers...Navarro also has written memos on the coronavirus that he's circulated to other White House officials, according to an administration official and an official from the National Security Council.The renewed focus on America First for medical manufacturing is a sign of what could become a broader push as multinational companies face the prospect of crippled supply chains as the virus shutters factories around the globe.Chinese naval fleet wraps up far sea exercise deep in Pacific Ocean - China MilitaryA far sea joint training fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy returned to base after sailing 14,000 nautical miles and crossing the International Date Line deep into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, a move that challenges US hegemony in the open waters and will become increasingly frequent in the future, experts said on Wednesday.US sanction on Chinese firms rebuked as 'long-arm jurisdiction' - Global TimesThe manager of a high-tech Chinese company sanctioned by the US for "helping" Iran's missile program denied on Wednesday that his company sells products to Iranian entities while Chinese observers believed that the US latest move shows Washington has never restrained from bullying practices as it imposed"long-arm jurisdiction"to sanction Chinese firms and exercised hegemonism as China is fighting arduously against the COVID-19 outbreak.China firmly opposes Pompeo's groundless accusation of COVID-19 control: spokesperson - Xinhua"Since Mr. Pompeo talks about freedom of speech so much, would he care to explain why he cursed at an NPR journalist? Why was the journalist denied press credentials to travel with him? Is that Mr. Pompeo's definition of 'freedom of speech'? I think it's typical discourse monopoly and double standards," said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.China urges U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs under pretext of religion - XinhuaSpokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press conference when responding to a question on the words of Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, slandering China's measures regarding Muslims.Certain people in the United States have repeatedly made wanton accusations and rumors, attempting to undermine China's ethnic harmony and interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religious freedom, Zhao said. "We firmly oppose that."China says Wall Street Journal ‘admitted its mistake’ over ‘sick man of Asia’ headline | South China Morning PostMinistry spokesman Zhao Lijian questioned the paper’s political motives and said it had yet to hold any individuals responsible for the headline, “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia”, on a February 3 column about the novel coronavirus outbreak...“The Wall Street Journal has already admitted its mistake and engaged in self-reflection, so why did Pompeo ignore international public opinion and continuously cheer for this paper, and criticise the Chinese side?” Zhao said.“This makes one wonder, is The Wall Street Journal an agent for the US state department?”不容种族歧视者胡说（钟声）In Wednesday’s People’s Daily Zhong Sheng weighs in on the WSJ's headline. The propaganda organs are really flogging this hardBusiness, Economy and TradeYicai Global - China-led Consortium to Operate Pakistan's First Metro Line Guangzhou Metro Group said it has formed a consortium with two other companies and the trio will take over the operation and maintenance of the Orange Line Metro service, Pakistan's first-ever mass rapid urban transit, for an eight-year term.Out of Stock: Coronavirus in China Threatens Amazon Sellers - WSJ $ Thousands of Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more Inc. sellers who built their businesses using China’s cheap and efficient manufacturers are on the spot as the coronavirus shuts factories there. Sellers say Amazon’s ranking algorithm demotes products that are out of stock. To avoid that painful fate, many are raising prices to slow sales, and attempting to shift production to other countries.BYD electric bus deal one of the biggest for US · TechNode Shenzhen-based BYD will deliver a total of 130 all-electric buses to Los Angeles as part of the city’s initiative to convert its entire public bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles by the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics, the company said in a statement sent to TechNode on Monday. Two of four BYD buses from an earlier deal had already been delivered.Politics and Law...[Message clipped] View entire message

Sure! Done right, it's an amazing experience, but done wrong it will have a negative and all-encompassing effect on your life. I've had both.The very first time I heard the word ‘surrogate’ was when I was told that I'd need one. I’d had a horrible pregnancy, ending in a heartbreaking loss that necessitated a lot of interventions, including several D&C’s and antibiotics etc. After it was all over, I was diagnosed with Asherman’s Syndrome (intrauterine scarring) and told that I might face fertility issues. I requested to be panelled, which meant that a group of consulting specialists would get together and collectively review a patient’s file and decide on a course of action or a diagnosis and treatment, if there was any. I remember meeting 7 doctors that all told me, one by one, that pregnancy would be impossible; one doctor actually had the gall to compare me trying to get pregnant to nailing a picture in a crumbling wall full of holes. Through tears, I asked those “specialists” what my options were, because I'd always wanted children, and one doctor replied that adoption was always an option, or later, I could find a surrogate. I asked what a surrogate was and he replied that it was a woman that has a baby for you. I cringed, picturing the Hollywood version of the destitute, but fertile, young woman that moves into my house for however long and into my marital bed for 3–5 nights so that she and my future husband could make a baby and pass it off as mine. Um, no!I became a fertility consultant so that I could help people experience that miracle, and I could enjoy pregnancy and birth by proxy. It helped ease the sting a bit but nothing truly ever took the pain away. I cried sometimes, especially on the first day of my period, and always found a suitable reason (excuse) to miss any baby showers or Christenings or naming ceremonies. One of my friends had a baby girl and I was obligated to visit her in hospital, but didn't stay long enough to even take off my coat and stumbled out in a weepy, emotional mess because although I wanted it so much, I'd never have those experiences.Fast forward a few years and a relocation to Ontario, and I found myself at the doctor’s office again, complaining about irregular periods and cramps on my left side. He explained that I probably had a cyst on my ovary, which is common in Ashermans women; their bodies can't understand why they aren't getting pregnant so the body ramps up the fertility hormones, but to be sure he sent me for an ultrasound. I went next door to the ultrasound clinic and 10 minutes later I was in an ambulance en route to the hospital for treatment of an ectopic pregnancy. I woke up feeling worse than before, because I realized that I had fertilized however many embryos that never had a chance to grow, and I felt like I’d had dozens of abortions. I spoke to the doctor and told him to tie my tubes, do a hysterectomy, whatever, just to make sure that I could not ever fertilize another egg. He agreed, but told me that I should have one spontaneous menstrual cycle and then come back to him to discuss options and make plans. I came back a few months later and told him that he had done something wrong, that at least I used to bleed, but hadn’t since the ectopic issue. In hindsight, I was very abusive to him. He asked if there was anything else going on, were my breasts sore (yes, they were always sore when my period was due!) was I nauseous at all (yes, I had a stomach flu!) was I tired (yes, I’d been working a lot!) and on it went. He asked me for some urine and then I understood what he was getting at and started to cry, begging him not to do that to me. He replied that pregnancy had to be ruled out before any other tests were done, and I relented. He did the test in front of me and the stick went in white and came out vivid blue. Glowing, Microsoft blue. He told me I was pregnant and I told him he was an asshole, then left angry and went about my life, missing every obstetrical ultrasound that he dared to schedule for me. I wasn't an obstetric patient, therefore I had no need for an obstetric ultrasound, right? Eventually this doctor called me at work and invited me to prove him wrong, so to do exactly that, I left work and went to the clinic for my ultrasound, fully expecting to see the same empty and barren mess that I had always seen on a sonography screen. The tech did the usual, measuring this and recording that and then invited me to look at the screen. I saw what looked like an unshelled peanut, the combination of a fetal head and abdomen, and in that abdomen was a beating heart. That transducer was on my belly, and that was my name on the screen and those were my baby's measurements the upper corner and that was my due date beside it, with a date that was 5 months distant and in that split-second, my life was entirely different. No words can explain or describe what that felt like, intense euphoria followed by intense regret. I hadn't believed that it was possible, so I hadn't been behaving like a pregnant woman should. I threw my cigarettes in the garbage before I even got dressed and ate a large, nutritious meal on the way home, which promptly got rejected, and I set about making the changes necessary for Motherhood and waited for my baby. My baby!I went overdue and finally birthed a healthy fat gorgeous baby boy, very quickly. Having spent a long time learning and teaching about fertility, I knew that women are never more fertile than right after a pregnancy, so I started thinking that maybe I could get lightning to strike twice. Well, lightning struck, and I carried and birthed my 2nd son, 13 months after his big brother. I was ecstatic! My doctor warned against pushing the envelope, so I went on birth control pills. When my older son was 2, I dropped a birth control pill down the drain, and that was son #3. Son #4 followed, and so did his siblings, until I had 7 sons and 3 daughters.Following the birth of my youngest baby, I started to give serious consideration to the miracle that I had been given. Yes, the doctors were wrong about me but they wouldn't and couldn't be wrong about everyone, and somewhere in the world there was a good and deserving woman that, through no fault of her own, still cried the same tears that I had cried and I wanted, needed to help her and take that pain away.I got in touch with a surrogacy agency in Canada and filled out the ream of paperwork, applying to their program as a surrogate. I was accepted and I was sent 3 dossiers of intended parents. The surrogacy consultant had told me about a couple that she had been thinking about and I spent a long time thinking about them before I'd received the 3 files, but I put that couple’s file aside and tried hard to be objective as I read through the other 2 files. The 1st couple had children from prior relationships but she’d had a hysterectomy and they wanted a baby together. The 2nd was similar but he’d been rendered a paraplegic following an accident and she had been his nurse and they’d fallen in love; they wanted a baby together and planned to finance IVF and surrogacy with his settlement. Both of those couples looked like okay people, but didn't feel right. I picked up the 3rd file and started to read. Midway through the 1st page, I had to put it down and take a minute to compose myself. Charles and Marie were a traditional married male-female couple, and Marie had been diagnosed with Rokitansy-Mayer-Küster-Hauser Syndrome and her bravery and courage and commitment leapt at me off of the page. They were young, beautiful and deeply in love and their hope matched their commitment. She had uterine issues just like me, mine was broken and hers was absent and we both had functioning ovaries. Marie even mentioned how frustrating that was. She was the same age that I had been when I had been given that heartbreaking, and fortunately wrong, diagnosis, except hers was correct. She felt the frustration I had felt knowing that ovulation was happening but the embryo had no place to develop and I knew without asking that she had cried the same rivers of tears that I had cried too. ‘Them!’ my internal voice screamed, ‘Them! They're right! It's THEM!’Marie and Charles lived in Europe and sought a surrogate in Canada because our laws made citizenship much easier, plus Canada has a high percentage of French speaking people, which I was, but rusty. I told the agency right away that I wanted to work with them. They were sent my file via fax because Marie demanded it once she was told about me, and Marie called the following Sunday. We spoke a little and cried a lot, and developed a method of translating emails that still makes me laugh. That was August and we were ready to start transferring embryos by November.Pregnancy by IVF isn't easy to achieve though. I was evaluated medically and physically and emotionally and psychologically. I was given strong drugs and a very intense schedule of do’s and don'ts. I was put into chemical menopause and then my endometrium was built up and readied for it’s new occupant with more hormones and steroids and blood thinners and prophylactic antibiotics. The transfer itself happened sooner than expected because Marie had triggered a bit early and the embryos weren't doing very well. Out of 24 eggs, only 11 developed and of those, only 7 were considered even remotely viable. I was given the 3 best embryos on day 3 of their development, and quietly told to not get my hopes up. One nurse even said that they'd see us next month. Marie was holding my hand as her baby seeds were transferred into my uterus and I relaxed and waited the requisite hour with Marie by my side the entire time. We left and went home, and walked in to hear the phone ringing; the clinic called to tell Marie and Charles that the remaining 4 embryos had collapsed, so all they had, all of their hopes and dreams, were in me. My past reared it’s ugly head and I refused to be written off again. I was determined to do all that I could to get pregnant and stay that way and surprised everyone by doing exactly that! Marie and Charles lived with me during the retrieval and fertilization and transfer period and it was a beautiful time in all of our lives. I'm delighted to say that I jumped the gun and got my blood tested early at a walk-in clinic, so that Mom was able to hear those words right from the confused doctor’s mouth, ‘'You're pregnant. Um, well, she’s pregnant. Um, well, she’s, er, you're going to have a baby!’I had an early ultrasound as part of the IVF protocol and I remember looking at that tiny little comma of a baby and thinking ‘Do you know how much you're loved already?’Because there's no safe way to know exact amounts, protocol dictates that a surrogate be given plenty of supplementary hormones using pills and injections and vaginal suppositories, for a minimum of 6 weeks before the embryo transfer and at least 12 weeks after. The hormone injections are an oil so you need a bigger gauge needle and by my 13th week of pregnancy, my ass looked like a Monet masterpiece from all the injections. The high doses of hormones tend to exaggerate the usual pregnancy symptom, so you're not a little bit tired, you're wiped right out. You're not a little bit sick, you're extreme. Your breasts aren't tender, they're on fire and I walked around with my arms crossed in front of me for 2 months to safeguard against any bumps. Aside from the injections and resulting exaggerated morning sickness, it was an easy pregnancy and I put intense effort into making sure that Mom and Dad were kept very involved. I was acutely aware of what it was like to need another woman to carry your baby, so I adopted a strict policy of making absolutely certain that all the firsts weren't mine alone, driving my Midwives crazy in the process. Our Midwives were excellent, even rearranging their staff structure so that the only French speaking Midwife was on my team. It became a routine; I would provide a schedule of my pre-natal appointments to Mom and Dad and I would send a quick email when I was leaving my house and again when I arrived at the Midwives office, then Mom would call and I'd hand the phone to the Midwife, who would then do the entire appointment with the phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear. In this way, Mom and Dad were able to hear the baby’s heartbeat at the same time that I did and they would get information directly as it was determined and have the opportunity to ask questions and be very involved. I had an ultrasound and explained the situation to the technician and asked her to write the baby’s gender down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. I went to a scheduled appointment with my Midwives right after and she opened the envelope on the phone to Mom, announcing that I carried a baby girl.It was around this time that my Midwives strongly advised Mom to secure the very best travel insurance that she could find, and to make sure that it covered hospitalization. They were unable to explain why, but continued to strongly suggest it. Mom agreed and followed their advice.I saw first-hand all that these brave and selfless and amazing people had been through in order to become parents, and I didn't want to make them wait longer than necessary so I’d sought a social induction and Mom arrived on Monday, 2 days before I was scheduled to be induced. Mom and I walked into the hospital together holding hands and she was there for all of it. The Midwife cleared the baby’s head and shoulder and invited Mom to catch her daughter, which she did. The Midwives invited Mom to cut the umbilical cord and when they took baby girl to attend to her, Mom collapsed on me, sticky and wet with birth, hugging me and speaking the only English words she knew, 'Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!’ Word spread through the hospital about what was going on and nurses, Midwives, student doctors, health care aides, even a janitor came in to see and congratulate us and wish us their best, and they all started crying and of course my Doula and Marie and I were all crying happy, triumphant tears; there wasn't a dry eye in the ward. Both Marie and I were too busy, me crying and watching this brave and courageous woman become a Mom and Marie in awe of her daughter, to notice that the primary Midwife had disappeared until she returned with paperwork for Mom to sign and bracelets for her wrist; one that matched her daughter and allowed access to the nursery that the baby would never be relinquished to and the other for Marie as a patient. They admitted Marie to hospital for “nonspecific abdominal issues”, but there was nothing wrong with her. They knew that she didn't want to miss a single second of her daughter’s first days, and also because the Midwives, in their unique wisdom, wanted to provide a supportive and watchful environment for the transition of baby going from being in my care to being in her Mom’s. Plus, Marie was a new Mom and could use some support. The next 3 days were amazing; insular and protective, Marie worshipped her daughter and was the fantastic Mother I knew she would be. We laughed together and loved and I'm still so proud of her.I had been a bit concerned about how I would feel, and how it would be for Marie to bond with her daughter because in theory, baby girl had been hearing my voice and my heartbeat and had been rocking in my body to the rhythm of my world and it should have been me that she was used to and took comfort from, so I expected a period of adjustment. Nope! Baby girl was born and came out looking for her Mom and it was Mom that she wanted and Mom that comforted her. On the night of the day she was born, I left to use the bathroom and take care of myself as a newly postpartum woman does and as I was leaving the room, baby girl started to stir in her isolette. I was close by, just in case, but didn't hear a cry and assumed that she had gone back to sleep. I walked back into the room to find the isolette empty and baby girl snuggled in her Mom’s arms. Mom had just gone through a very intense 3 days, with a transatlantic flight and helping her daughter be born and was understandably exhausted! Marie was asleep but baby girl was awake and I looked at them together, a study in beauty. The look on Marie’s beautiful face spoke fulfillment and pride, while baby girl’s face and wise little eyes knew that she was loved and had the world in the palm of her little hand! I understood then that as long and as much as Marie had been waiting for her daughter, so too had her daughter been waiting for Marie. I was just the doorway.Charles arrived a few days later and proved himself to also be an amazing Dad. I took my Mother and children to visit and when baby girl started to fuss in my Mother’s arms, my Mother experienced a moment of uncertainty as to who to pass her to. Her Mom, of course. Dad was flipping a steak and my job was done.Baby girl will be 13 next year. I keep in touch with them still and recently found out that she's studying English in order to better talk with me when we visit them in Europe next spring.You asked about experiences and there were plenty, but one huge thing stands out. Strangers would ask about my pregnancy, how far along are you, is this your first, etc. and when I told them that I was carrying as a surrogate, I always got one of the same two reactions; the person would open a dialogue about their daughter or daughter in law or niece or neighbour or someone else in their world who had experienced infertility and they would tell me what an amazing and generous thing I was doing. Or, the person would be aghast, asking me how I could do that, carry a baby for 9 long months and feel it grow and move and then just give it up? Well, both are wrong. I'm not an amazing and generous person, I’m a woman that was given a miracle and wanted to give a bit of that miracle back because I had red in my ledger and needed to say thanks to the Universe. It wasn't a one-sided act of generosity because I was given plenty of gifts and memories too! Just imagine the trust and confidence that was given to me and I was only one small part of a miracle where the sum total was enormously bigger than its parts. And no, I'm absolutely not carrying and birthing and giving the baby up, I’m giving the baby back!As a really cool footnote, I had a saline ultrasound during the medical evaluation part of things. The Doctor approached me and asked if he could use my images in a professional capacity, to show his infertile patients what a perfect uterus was supposed to look like. I consented and signed off on my permission and release, then smiled a bit, wishing I could package that experience and mail it to each of the 7 “specialists” that had told me that I’d never be pregnant, but since I couldn't do that, I’d have to just enjoy it for myself, that the uterus they all told me was broken and barren was now to be used as the example for the uterus that everyone should be so lucky to have!But this answer wouldn't be complete if I neglected to touch on some of the negative experiences as well. My most recent term surrogacy was fraternal girl-girl twins, and I carried them for a man that should never have been allowed to walk a dog, let alone parent!I met Paul and he introduced himself to me as a single, heterosexual, financially secure and domestically stable man that lived in one of Manitoba's smaller and remote towns. Paul had embryos on ice and explained his need for a surrogate by telling me that he had devoted so much of his life to building a financially secure and stable environment that he hadn't been able to dedicate a lot of time to dating and a social life, but wanted to be a parent and refused to marry a fertile woman he was fond of and could tolerate in order to have children, knowing that he very well might spend the next 20-odd years being miserable. I thought that was noble, and saw no cracks in his façade until I was 20-ish weeks with his twins, when I was trying to explain to him what just gestational diabetes was because I had been diagnosed as hypoglycemic, and borrowed his phone to type in the G for just gestational and GAY CRUISES came up in his history. Um…I'm going to insert a little disclaimer here, and confirm absolutely that I have no issues whatsoever with anyone or any part of the LGTBQ spectrum, but I do have huge issues with liars and even bigger issues with people who exploit me and potentially put me in harm's way. Handling and testing body fluids is a very stern aspect of the IVF clinic protocol for every patient, and there's another layer of protocol for people who potentially engage in what they deem risky behaviour. Same sex physical relations are on that list of risky or at-risk behaviour, and the body fluids of risky or at-risk patients is handled a bit differently. As an example: patients deemed high risk arrive at the clinic January 1st 2015 in anticipation of IVF and their blood and semen is collected, the blood is tested and the semen is cryogenically preserved, then 3–5 days later, more semen is collected and also put on ice. If the blood comes back within normal limits, the patients return to the clinic in 6 to 8 months (or however long depending on the individual clinic regulations) and their blood is tested again. If that round of tests comes back within normal limits and without any red flags that indicate exposure to anything sexually transmitted, the semen sample collected at the 1st and 2nd visit several months prior is washed and used for the IVF process.In my case, none of that happened.Prior to ever getting pregnant, I'd asked Paul what he planned on telling the children about their origins, because I refused to participate in anything other than the truth. I explained to Paul that I'd seen it both ways, where the surrogacy process was explained honestly and normalized and also where the Intended Mother padded her clothes and the Intended Parents sat for expectant parent pictures and lied their faces off to everyone, including and especially the child or children, and had it blow up in their faces and end very badly. I explained that I'd personally known a couple who had become parents via an ova donor and a surrogate but had done the above nonsense and more at the suggestion of their rabbi, and then had a lot to explain when an update letter with pictures to the ova donor was returned for insufficient postage, and I refused to participate in anything other than the truth. Other surrogates might feel differently but for me, dishonesty in any form was a deal breaker, and Paul assured me that he'd discussed that exact topic with counsellor at the mandatory psychological evaluation and decided whole-heartedly that honesty was the ONLY policy, and he asked me if I would avail myself in the future if anyone wanted to meet me or had any questions. I liked that and I was assured and moved forward confidently.It's worth noting that I'd adopted my usual policy of parental involvement and invited Paul to ultrasounds and obstetrician appointments with me, except he'd do this thing where he'd take pictures and videos and plaster them all over social media. Some of them were very personal (think of shutter-happy tourists at an early ultrasound with a trans-vaginal transducer!) and I told him to take them down. Eventually it got to the place where I was going to doctors and sonography appointments by myself because he absolutely could not be trusted, even after I pointed out to him that because I hadn't given him many rules to obey, he needed to be super respectful of the ones I did and it didn't stop.Part of IVF protocol dictates that you name next of kin and other designates in the event of death or other tragedy and provide emergency contacts and emergency numbers He didn't, and when I asked about contacting him, just in case, he very reluctantly gave me his emergency number at work (he was a pilot) and I was in my 24th week when he finally disclosed the numbers, but instructed me to tell them my name was Dayna C****n when I called. Um, wtf?I remember it clearly. It was Christmas and I was sitting on the riser on the basement steps when he finally came clean and told me that Dayna C****n was a portmanteau of my first name and the surname of the anonymous ova donor whose confidential file he had raped when left alone with her file at the IVF clinic. He then went on to explain that he had told everyone in his world that Dayna C****n was an old girlfriend with whom he'd crossed paths and enjoyed a wild, drunken weekend and when this Dayna C****n called to tell him that she'd caught pregnant but planned on scheduling an abortion, he rode in on his white destrier with his salvation banner flying and offered to parent the baby and absolve her of any social or financial obligations. Twins was a surprise to them both. It came out as a whispery croak, but I managed to ask, "And the babies?" He confirmed that they would be told this same story, and I leaned forward and vomited on the floor between my feet. It hit me immediately that these innocent little girls hadn't even taken their first breaths but their father was already deciding on ways to abuse them and damage them because he wasn't comfortable with himself, his life or his choices. Had I been 14 weeks and not 24, I'd have secured an abortion before the sun set on the day but I was far too advanced in my pregnancy to allow a safe abortion. Then that realization hit me too; he had been waiting until the window of opportunity for abortion was closed but he had known all along and he had lied to me about that too! I had no choice but to stay pregnant and make him a parent. My husband was utterly disgusted and offered me as much support as he could, trying himself to speak with Paul but Paul flatly refused to discuss the matter.Prior to me even getting pregnant, Paul and I had agreed to do what most Canadian surrogates and Intended parents do, which is to agree to an amount of compensation and then contract the expenses. I was to have been paid $25,000 in cash and then another $6,000 in credit when I bought a new car as well as receiving $300 a month for expenses. I only got the $300, and Paul explained that he was nervous about violating the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, which forbids commercial surrogacy, and getting in legal trouble, but he assured me that he had the money in a separate account and ready for when I delivered, and to just keep track of all my expenses, which quickly added up into the thousands of dollars. Towards the end of my 37th week, and just as we had often discussed I would do, I got in touch with Paul to give him the details of the car I was buying and the contact information for the dealership. It was at that time I found out that Paul was broke. He was so indebted that he couldn't even provide me the $6,000 on his credit.Later the next day, my husband wanted to show me something on his iPad so I got up to have a look. That 'I'm huge pregnant and I moved too quickly' cramp didn't go away, and I felt a gush of fluid. My first thought was that my membranes had ruptured and the midwife in me wanted to make sure that the amniotic fluid was clear of meconium, except when I checked it wasn't amniotic fluid, it was rich red arterial blood and I was in big trouble hemorrhaging. My husband and my younger 2 daughters rushed to the hospital and I'd bled through 2 big thick bath towels by the time we arrived. A quick ultrasound confirmed that 35% of Baby B's placenta had abrupted and I was wheeled in for an emergency cesarean section, but even that was fubar'd. I had bouts of anaesthetic awareness and I remember feeling ripping and burning and bewildering pain in my chest and fighting at a tube in my throat. I remember floating and seeing my family in the hallway, and wanting to comfort them because they all looked just horrible and lost. I woke up screaming. Apparently the obstetricians weren't comfortable with giving me medicine for pain in anticipation of what I might feel and preferred to treat the pain as I had it, which led to more pain than I had ever felt in my life and a morphine pump, but once that started to work and I stopped screaming, I looked around at all the machines and monitors. I'd had a section with my 2nd surrogacy and distinctly remembered far less monitors and far less intensive care. My husband was there and looked absolutely terrible, all puffy and red and he kept on repeating 'You're here! I can't believe you're here!' til I got annoyed and reminded him that I was fresh out of surgery and asked where the hell else I might have gone? It was then that I found out that some doctor had left the operating theatre and found my husband by name in the waiting room, then without any preliminaries, announced that I was dying, if not already dead. In the reiterating of his perspective, my husband broke down and kept saying 'He told me you were gone. He told me you were dead!' until I picked up on the 'he, him' part and asked who he was, because both of my attending doctors were women. Eventually we were able to sort out that the he in question was a doctor who was so early in his medical training that he was assigned to set out instruments in the operating theatre, and was dismissed from his position due to complaints filed by me and 2 other patients (in one case he'd made some very inappropriate statements to the attending doctor while he was watching the attending repair a brutal episiotomy from an instrument-assisted delivery and the other was following some statements he had made to a new mom whose son was born by section and was having a difficult time nursing, and he had told her that maybe her son was going to grow up to be a faggot since he would chew on those like they were cookies, meaning the new mom's nipples) lodged later that day. My doctors did look for and speak to my husband to secure permission to transfuse but my husband refused his permission since he knew how strongly I felt about donated blood and that if ever my death was a foregone conclusion, not to waste precious donated blood on a lost cause when it could and should be used on lives that can and should be saved. As a result, I have Sheehan Syndrome and my anterior pituitary gland shrivelled up and died.My husband stepped out to move the car and call the family and friends he'd spoken to about my imminent death and set that right, and when I knew he was gone, I collared a nurse and forced her to tell me what my husband wasn't strong enough to hear. I had lost a lot of blood and my heart had stopped working off and on during the surgery. I'd coded twice and the other pain I was in was from the resuscitation efforts, namely chest compressions and mechanical ventilation. Hence all the monitors and the exhaustion…I'd been dead!While I was in surgery, my husband called Paul, who began the 8 hour drive to Winnipeg. He arrived around 2 that morning and was very moved when he met his daughters, naming them Rose and Dawn. No mention of Dayna.I was moved to the post-partum ward and had all kinds of complications, including fainting and ruptures and hematomas. I had a shower when the babies were about 20 hours old and had the audacity to hemorrhage, which disturbed one of the babies when the cavalry arrived, which Paul tried to wring me out for. I was brought for an ultrasound and when I returned, Paul was asleep in my bed so I asked the charge nurse for a pillow and went to sleep on the couch in the family room at the end of the hall, which became a pattern for the 5 days I was an inpatient. Paul had a visitor and wheeled his daughters to the end of the hall to visit, since Dayna C****n was so distraught and distressed that she was unable to receive visitors. While Paul and whoever were enjoying their visit down the hall, I went into the room to get my shower stuff and some pain pills, and sat down to wait for the inevitable confrontation. I was told that I wasn't wanted for anything in the future, social or legal, and I wouldn't be paid until Paul received the proceeds from the sale of his business, about 2 more months, but if I didn't cooperate then I'd get nothing. Please keep in mind that I was exhausted, that I'd been through hell and that I was in significant debt from having taken time from work and having had to pay out of pocket for a nanny and a housekeeper for the last months of the pregnancy. I had no choice but to wait. Over the course of the next few months, I was given meagre amounts of money, $500 here and $750 there, but nothing close to the $31,000 plus expenses that I was owed, and then one day, I was served with the Declaration of Parentage petition documents and when I called Paul's attorney, I was told that Paul had informed his counsel that I'd been paid in full. By that time, I had only a days to prepare a counter-suit before the statute of limitations expired. I filed it but the documents weren't served; Paul had left Manitoba.Do I regret their creation? No, the Universe dictated that Rose and Dawn should exist, and I only hope that they're strong enough to overcome whatever they experience resulting from their father's discomfort with his own self. I've seen him on Facebook, broadcasting his bullshit on single dad group pages, soaking up the admiration of strangers that tell him that he's a lucky guy and an amazing father and that the girls mother is missing out. I've been tempted, so tempted, to respond and post something that indicated the truth, but it won't help anyone except me.I've been involved in the best of surrogacy and the worst of surrogacy, and I still have faith in it, because I've been there when it's amazing and there's nothing quite like it! I do condemn the Assisted Human Reproduction Act and others like it as well as the government and politicians that try to pass and enforce laws that restrict or sanction my body and what I do with it. It boils my blood that countries allow 3rd and 4th and 5th party assisted reproduction but governments try to regulate it and discourage it by making it uncomfortable and dangerous instead of banning it outright. People are getting hurt, women are getting used and exploited, and that shit needs to stop. I can't understand why it's MY BODY-MY CHOICE if I get pregnant and I don't want to be pregnant, but it's MY BODY-YOUR RULES if I want to carry someone else's baby and participate in that miracle. It makes no sense, but surrogacy does, and I'm glad that I've participated in those miracles…