Viral Thoughts by Lt Gen P R Shankar (R)

 

Today morning (24 Apr) we woke up early to watch a planetary phenomenon. In the East sky at predawn one can see Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Moon all in one graceful arc. Just like the picture above plus the moon! It was a lovely, rare and satisfying sight. It had to be topped with a cup of hot coffee. As we were sipping at our cup I read the customary morning headlines. The first news-app I opened was of South China Morning Post. Its headlines screamed at me. 

 

‘Urgent and grim’: Beijing on Covid-19 alert after sudden rash of cases

 

Russia’s struggle to defeat Ukraine ‘a warning’ for China over risks of going to war

 

Chinese navy shows off new anti-submarine helicopter

 

How Chinese state media paints an alternative picture of the Ukraine war

 

Shanghai’s Covid-19 lockdown takes heavy toll on young families

 

China’s international schools face dire fate if zero-Covid drives away teachers, BritCham warns

 

Coronavirus: Shanghai’s new cases rebound after five-day decline, with no end in sight for lockdown

 

Delayed Covid-19 funerals spell heartache for Hong Kong families, with some bodies decomposing after weeks in temporary storage facilities

 

As China’s growth headwinds gather speed, Beijing must consider cash handouts to sustain ‘common prosperity’ drive

 

Lots of thought flashed through my mind. Chinese are not from mars. The virus is from Wuhan. Beijing is set to get Shanghaied. Shanghai is not done being locked. Hongkong cannot bury its dead.  Taiwan is China’s forbidden fruit. The anti-submarine helicopter might actually be a space ship in disguise. Chinese still need cash handouts to be prosperous. International schools in China might need English teachers from Bihar. Tomorrows headline could be China built a massive quarantine facility for new-born babies in 12 hours where they will be taught AI, Robotics and cyberwar using smart phones when being kept away from parents.  Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era  commonly known as ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ holds the combined gyan of Bhagvad Gita, Guru Granth Sahib, Bible and Koran. Read it and you will be ported Harry Potter style from platform 9 1/4 to Shangri La which could be anywhere between  Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Moon…if you don’t find it there you will always find it in Tiananmen square where you could sit with Xi Jinping and trade dirty jokes about common prosperity. 

 

The problem with this ‘reality dream’ is that it is alternative in nature and as real as the ten feet tall Chinaman with a pigtail eating noodles along with a Pakistani iron brother. Next to the Pakistani you might find the Taliban with an AK chasing out the Yankee who fled from Afghanistan and is currently Ukraining 44 million unsuspecting  citizens whose  comedian leader is responsible for their tragedy. That is another story. Let us get back to China where there is a fervent search for food grains and oil in a land abundant with children without brothers or sisters. That is a reality. This generation of ‘one child’ China has no brothers and sisters! That is why China does not have a brotherly attitude to any one…as Sri Lanka suddenly discovered when Hambantota was taken at debt point...the Chinese version of gun point.  Talking of brothers. Xi Jinping could have a secret brother who has fled to USA and is settled there with a stash of Dollars which will be useless when Xi Jinping succeeds in making Yuan the reserve currency of the world once he gets his third term. That would be the original Chinese version of Catch 22 when you suddenly discover Joseph Heller was also a Chinese. However everything in China is long term and civilisational.  The original great civilisation built the great wall to keep the Mongol hordes out. It is visible from space. The current great civilisation has built a firewall which is invisible in cyberspace. So nothing goes out and nothing comes in. That does not apply to the Virus. It was sent out in style on a plane to Italy . The mafia then converted it into pasta and sent it to New York.  Then the gates were closed. The unwanted virus was chased all over by all countries. The poor virus from Wuhan! No place to go! So it returned to its womb. Every Chinese was proud of the Zero Covid wall which Xi Jinping built brick by brick but It entered through the Shanghai Port, probably through a container or maybe through Myanmar or maybe through Vladivostok. Who knows? All I learnt from the headlines was that it is heading into Beijing! Xi Jinping is likely to discover that China will not be able to catch the elusive Virus with weak vaccines to become a superpower. It is sure to become an old age home. That is unstoppable. After reading the nonsense I have written, XI might start to have second thoughts about his own thoughts so that he can condition the Chinese thought to trap the elusive Virus from Wuhan.

 

Hey. Just think. The Virus is not around you. Its gone on a vacation to China. Have a great Sunday….In the meantime do not miss out on the Celestial spectacle…its real and great to watch.