Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused water within the Fukushima nuclear plant to be contaminated with highly radioactive material. It will send a boat later Thursday into the harbor to collect samples to monitor and ensure the discharged treated wastewater meets international safety standards. TEPCO said that the operation would be suspended immediately and an investigation conducted if any abnormalities are detected in the discharge equipment or the dilution levels of the treated wastewater. From Friday, it plans to then continuously release 456 cubic meters of treated wastewater over a 24-hour period and a total of 7,800 cubic meters over a 17-day period. The company said it expects to discharge only around 200 or 210 cubic meters of treated wastewater. The treated radioactive wastewater will be highly diluted and released slowly over decades, said Japanese authorities. local time (midnight ET), according to state-owned electricity firm Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Japan has argued throughout the building controversy that discharging the treated water is safe and urgently needed to free up space at the crippled nuclear power plant. The move was aimed at preventing “the risk of radioactive contamination of food safety caused by Japan’s Fukushima nuclear contaminated water discharge,” and to protect the health of Chinese consumers, the customs department said in its statement. The start of the release on Thursday afternoon sparked a fiery tirade from China which described the operation as a “selfish and irresponsible act.”Ĭhina’s customs department then announced it would stop importing all aquatic products originating from Japan – meaning the ban could potentially limit other oceanic products besides seafood such as sea salt and seaweed. The report also touted the effectiveness of China's zero-tolerance policy towards the virus, which was credited for a result of fewer lives lost to COVID-19 than in the U.S.An aerial view of the Fukushima plant after the start of the release of treated radioactive wastewater in Japan on August 24, 2023. "However, the United States, which has always considered itself an exception and superior, saw its own epidemic situation go out of control, accompanied by political disorder, inter-ethnic conflicts, and social division." "To defeat the epidemic requires mutual help, solidarity and cooperation among all countries," the report stated. response to COVID while also bringing up racism-going so far as to open the report with "I can't breathe" in reference to George Floyd-and financial inequality. Another high-profile example came in March of 2021 when China's Cabinet issued a 28-page report that derided the U.S. That kind of rhetoric between leaders of the two countries became common throughout the pandemic. He also called on American leaders to "stop wasting time and stop wasting precious lives" in its pandemic response. was spreading "conspiracies and lies" about COVID-19. In May of 2020, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a press conference that the U.S. This photo shows a person undergoing a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province, on March 14, 2022. response to COVID, has emerged as a virus hotspot. At the time, then-President Donald Trump began referring to coronavirus as the " Chinese Virus" while Chinese officials chastised his administration for downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic.Ĭhina, which frequently criticized the U.S. and China have sparred publicly over the coronavirus dating back to the beginning of the pandemic two years ago. still has higher numbers, it has also seen a decline in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. China's latest figures are small compared to many countries, including the U.S., where the daily new case average is 39,024, but the country's strict zero-tolerance COVID policy is now being questioned as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly in the country. ![]() The news dealt a blow to Hong Kong's frequent touting of its tough COVID measures as well as to its frequent criticism of the United States' response to the pandemic.Ĭhina's National Health Commission reported a total of 3,507 new domestically transmitted cases on Monday, up from Sunday's 1,337, according to Reuters. China on Tuesday reported new COVID-19 infection cases in the country had doubled on Monday from the prior day, which resulted in a two-year high.
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