Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

thehill.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 283 posts

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#101

Post by EdwardDiego »

zrobotics wrote: post #76
tmotwu wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because thats what matters to you? Were europeans sending aid to China a power move? It’s acceptable to send aid to each other, no matter who you appear to represent.

The EU sending aid is definitely a political flex. It is still a good gesture, but sending aid is a sign that a country is in a 'superior' position. Jack Ma doing this is also a political move. I'm sure that part of the motivation is just to help, but it seems clear to me that this is also intended to show that China is in a position to help the US, and the optics of that are that the countries are on equal footing.…

> The EU sending aid is definitely a political flex. It is still a good gesture, but sending aid is a sign that a country is in a 'superior' position.

When countries from around the world sent urban SAR specialists to Christchurch following the earthquake, was that a signal that, say, Taiwan, thinks they're superior?

When we send our victim identification specialists or rural firefighter volunteers to countries that need them, is that flexing? Or is it just, I dunno, countries helping each other?

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#102

Post by Retric »

meritt wrote: post #71
netsharc wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried googling some keywords to see if Google would show me that site straight away, but didn't get anything in my 30 seconds of attempts. Is it because I'm in Europe? Got to love the oil reserves idea to help Saudi Arabia in its price war against Russia. Ah fuck, that's why he declared national emergency: so he can get 40 billion dollars to bail out the Saudis. That lady was so proud of her 6 node flow chart too.…

Nothing exists yet [1]. Verily (an Alphabet subsidiary but essentially "Google" for all intents and purposes) is working on a triage website with a limited focus on the Bay Area. Ultimately it's going to be a slightly more complex variant of "Do you have a fever?" with a map showing nearby testing locations when someone clicks yes. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/google-coronavirus-screening...

This is surprisingly useful and difficult to implement well. It’s more than just keeping accurate information up to date, but also ensuring it works for the blind and as many languages as possible etc. Further, the Bay Area is just the initial pilot, their goal is likely nationwide if not international.

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#104

Post by 8note »

o_p wrote: post #91
spectramax wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Truth. They're using drones to following people and ask them to go back into their homes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPw6xjwAlHc With complete lack of freedom and privacy, you can achieve a lot. They're doing better than any western country would: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-china-slowed-coronavirus-lo...

The right of free transit have been denied in every country with enough infections, why would you particularly demonize China for it? You are in quarantine, you cannot leave, period.

well, if the US tried it, the drones would drop bombs instead

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#105

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

soneil wrote: post #61
maest wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's amazing how much impact leaving this information out has.

Indeed. On it's own, it looks like .. I'm not sure "willy-waving" translates into American well. But once you realise they're sending them everywhere, it makes it look more like they've ramped production up to stupifying numbers (which is China's speciality afterall), and have realised their value in goodwill is far beyond their dollar value. (or, yes, propaganda - there's not a lot of real difference between PR, pro…

I’m sure it helps that doing something good also makes them look good and shifts public perception of China from oppressive to we just helped save the world from an epidemic.

There’s no way the leadership has thought out all the angles.

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#106

Post by vlunkr »

avip wrote: post #42
_bxg1 wrote: post #8

Seems like a power move to me. Painting a picture for the world of struggling U.S. institutions needing a Chinese billionaire's help to weather a crisis. I'm not even sure it's incorrect.

This comment could be a-priori applied to any "Bob sends aid to Alice" case?

Exactly. Any time a wealthy person contributes to a good cause people have to start deciding what the alterior motives are.

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#107

Post by 8note »

spectramax wrote: post #18
_bxg1 wrote: post #8

Seems like a power move to me. Painting a picture for the world of struggling U.S. institutions needing a Chinese billionaire's help to weather a crisis. I'm not even sure it's incorrect.

Jack Ma cannot be trusted. He swings high and low, doesn't know where the ball is. He once hit a Alibaba home run and thinks he is a hotshot. It's hard to trust Jack Ma with undertones of the CCP propaganda in this humanitarian aid. Elon and Jack Ma debates in Shanghai, just listen this guy talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3lUEnMaiAU Edit: I am not defending the United States. Just look at what our president sa…

isn't that the same for all billionaires? got a big hit and think a bit too highly of themselves now, and given far more power than they deserve?

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#108

Post by knzhou »

taiwanboy wrote: post #62
knzhou wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sigh. Each dumb conspiracy theory in Chinese social media has an equal and opposite dumb conspiracy theory in American social media.

The CIA rumour is no less raised by the CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY spokesman https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-official-says-us-arm...

And the equal and opposite rumor is being raised by an American Senator: https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-bioweapon-tom-co...

Re: Jack Ma to send 500K coronavirus test kits, 1M face masks to US

#110

Post by 8note »

DarthGhandi wrote: post #6
wollstonecraft wrote: post #2

"Test kits" are just for sample collection. You still need throughput on a qPCR machine to get results.

Shouldn't there be hundreds of labs with these machines though? The United States government spends far more on healthcare than any other nation on Earth. That's not including private health costs. South Korea has the capacity to test 20,000 per day and has 1/6th the population.

does money the US spends on healthcare do things other than line pockets?
Post reply on HN