NEW YOR K | DC EDITION | T H U R S D A Y, J A N . 21, 2 0 21 Truth & Tradition VOL . X V I I I | NO. 2,880 $1.

0 0
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

US–CHINA
In the News Chinese
NEWS

Homeland Security Sec-

retary-nominee Alejandro
Mayorkas says that he in-
tends to halt all border wall
construction and won’t com-
mit to keeping the current
fencing in place. ... A6
President Donald Trump
granted pardons to 73 indi-
viduals and commuted the
sentences of an additional
70 in the final hours of his
presidency. ... A8
Texas Republicans are pre-
paring a volley of legal chal-
lenges to push back against
the incoming administration’s
progressive agenda. ... A4
White House chief of staff
Ron Klain has ordered a
freeze on federal regulations
until they can be reviewed by
appointees of President Joe
Biden. ... A3
House Republicans Ted
Budd and Mike Garcia want
Communist
Regime
Sanctions 28
Trump-Era
Officials
Beijing bars Pompeo, other
former admin officials from
entering country, doing
business with China
BY CATHY HE
As President Joe Biden was sworn in
to office, the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) imposed sanctions on
former Trump administration of-
ficials, including former Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo and former
national security adviser Robert
O’Brien, in response to their tough-
Joe Biden is sworn in as U.S. president during his inauguration on the
PRESIDENCY West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. on-China policies.

Biden Sworn In as 46th

federal health officials to
issue new guidance to stop The former U.S. officials
thousands of unused CCP
virus vaccines from being
sanctioned were involved in
thrown out in New York,
Washington state, and else-
where. ... A7
President of the United States the Trump administration’s
response to threats posed
by the CCP.
Treasury Secretary-nom- Biden touches on some of his priorities in inaugural speech: the CCP virus
The announcement came a day
inee Janet Yellen is urging pandemic, racism, the climate, domestic terrorism, and white supremacy after Pompeo declared the CCP’s
lawmakers to provide further
fiscal support to avert “a lon- NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES repression of Uyghur Muslims in
ger, more painful recession.”. BY IVAN PENTCHOUKOV in shortly before Biden. the Xinjiang region a “genocide.”

... A7
A climate-change lawsuit
in Baltimore against energy
producers seeking damages
for the supposed effects of
global warming should be
heard in federal court, the
outgoing Trump administra-
tion said. ... A2
A group of 17 House Re-
publicans has pledged to
work with President Joe
Biden to achieve bipartisan
agreements. ... A4
Federal prosecutors have
filed one of their first con-
spiracy cases, against three
people allegedly affiliated
with a paramilitary organi-
zation, over the breach of the
U.S. Capitol. ... A6
Surgeon General Jerome
Adams has confirmed that
the incoming Biden team re-
quested that he step down
ahead of President Joe
Biden’s inauguration. ... A7
BUSINESS
The job losses from boosting
the federal minimum wage to
$15 would be “very minimal,”
Treasury Secretary nominee
Janet Yellen says. ...A18
Workers at several compa-
nies are being offered money
if they get vaccinated against
the CCP virus, amid reluctance
from some to receive the new
shots. ...A19
OPINION
Lawrence Solomon: The
‘Monstrous Hybrids’ That
Control Us...A13
Wang Youqun: What Will
WHO Experts Find During
Their Wuhan Trip?...A14
Salena Zito: Our American
Treasures Hidden in Plain
Sight... A17
FEATURES
Seolleongtang, Korea’s
thick, milky-white ox bone
soup, gets its color from hours
and hours of boiling. ...B1
A farmer-cook’s case—and
advice—for eating locally,
wherever you are. ...B2
DON’T DELAY.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY.
READEPOCH.COM
Published in New York,
Washington, Houston, Chicago,
Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
J
oe Biden took the oath of of-
fice at noon on Jan. 20 to be-
come the 46th president of the
United States.
The inauguration took place amid
unprecedented circumstances. The
president delivered the inaugural
address standing before a virtually
empty National Mall, due to security
concerns stemming from the breach
of the U.S. Capitol two weeks ear-
lier. Instead of the customary crowd,
organizers planted thousands of
American flags on the mall.
Chief Supreme Court Justice John
Roberts administered the oath. Vice
President Kamala Harris was sworn
CCP VIRUS
More Regions
of China Enter
Lockdowns
Beijing detects new UK virus
variant cases; outbreaks
worsen in northern China
BY NICOLE HAO
Authorities in Beijing announced
that COVID-19 cases linked to the
UK variant of the CCP (Chinese
Communist Party) virus have
been detected for the first time in
the city.
Earlier this month, several locales
said they detected individual trav-
elers from overseas who tested pos-
itive for B.1.1.7, the new UK-derived
virus strain that officials say is more
transmissible.
But the recent outbreak in Bei-
jing’s Daxing district appeared to
be the first cluster of infections.
Due to the lack of transparent infor-
mation from Chinese authorities, it
INAUGURATION
Supporters in Capitol React to Biden’s Inauguration, Amid Heavy Security
BY BOWEN XIAO
WASHINGTON—As Joe Biden took
the oath to serve as the 46th presi-
dent of the United States, some of
his supporters showed up at the
U.S. Capitol to celebrate in person,
despite the area being highly mili-
tarized and fortified.
There were multiple layers of
fencing around the Capitol and the
White House, as well as security
checkpoints. Authorities said they
were worried about a repeat of the
Biden, 78, succeeds President Don-
ald Trump, who skipped the inau-
guration. Vice President Mike Pence
attended the ceremony alongside
former Presidents Barack Obama,
George Bush, and Bill Clinton.
“We’ll press forward with speed
and urgency for we have much to do
in this winter of peril and significant
possibilities, much to repair, much
to restore, much to heal, much to
build, and much to gain,” Biden said.
The inaugural address, though not
formally a policy speech, offered a
glimpse into Biden’s priorities. Af-
ter addressing the pandemic, Biden
touched on the issues of racism, cli-
mate change, domestic terrorism,
Medical workers collect information from people to be inoculated with a CCP virus
vaccine in Beijing on Jan. 15, 2021.
is unclear whether there have been
other outbreaks of the UK variant in
the country, nor exactly how many
people were detected with the mu-
tated virus.
Meanwhile, several more regions
in northern China went under lock-
down in an attempt to curb the
spread of COVID-19, the disease
caused by the virus.
BOWEN XIAO/THE EPOCH TIMES
The scene on one side of the U.S. Capi-
tol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021.
Vice President Kamala Harris and hus-
band Doug Emhoff walk up Pennsylva-
nia Avenue to enter the White House
on Jan. 20, 2021.
and white supremacy. He then
called for unity.
“My whole soul is in this, bring-
ing America together, uniting our
Continued on A2
NOEL CELIS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Beijing’s Latest Outbreak
On Jan. 20, the Beijing government
said all schools from day care to
high school level would be shut
down beginning on Jan. 23.
Students who have not completed
their terms will continue their classes
online. The others will start their win-
ter break earlier. Normally, Chinese
Continued on A9
violence and unrest during the Jan.
6 Capitol breach.
The Capitol area in Washington
appeared largely abandoned, with
small groups of supporters gather-
ing along the surrounding streets.
In one section, a local bar played
Biden’s inaugural speech live as a
small crowd of supporters and me-
dia stopped to listen.
“I’m extremely excited to be at
least part of something small,” Ni-
cole Lee told The Epoch Times. “It’s
Continued on A2
The Chinese regime sanctioned
28 people on Jan. 20. A foreign min-
istry spokesperson accused them
of “seriously violated China’s sov-
ereignty,” adding that they were
“responsible” for “a series of crazy
moves” which “seriously disrupted
China-U.S. relations.”
Among those sanctioned are high-
level officials in former President
Donald Trump’s administration,
including Pompeo; O’Brien; former
White House trade adviser Peter
Navarro; former deputy national
security adviser Matthew Pottinger;
former Secretary of Health and Hu-
man Services Alex Azar; former U.S.
Continued on A9
POLICY
Survey Finds
Proposals
Favored by
Bipartisan
Supermajorities
BY MARK TAPSCOTT
Americans are deeply divided on
many major issues facing the coun-
try, although a new national survey
finds six big proposals are favored
by super-majorities in both politi-
cal parties.
“The research clearly shows that
these are the policies that an over-
whelming number of Americans,
regardless of political party, want,”
George Barna, director of the Cul-
tural Research Center (CRC) at
Arizona Christian University, said
in a statement accompanying the
release of the survey.
“There is a clear path to unity and
healing in these common-ground
issues.”
Continued on A3
DONALD TRUMP
TRUMP LEAVES
WASHINGTON
“We will be
back in some
form,” then-
President
Donald
Trump told
supporters
at Joint Base
Andrews.
Read more on A4

Accuracy The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 as an independent newspaper with the goal to restore accuracy and
integrity in media. We have received numerous awards for our reporting, including from the Society of Professional
& Integrity Journalists, the Society for News Design, and the New York Press Association.
A2 | NATION THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

Biden Sworn
In as 46th
President of the
United States
CONTINUED FROM A1
people, uniting our nation,
and I ask every American
to join me in this cause,”
Biden said.
“Uniting to fight the foes
we face: anger, resent-
ment and hatred, extrem-
ism, lawlessness, violence,
disease, joblessness, and
hopelessness. With unity,
we can do great things, im-
portant things.”
Biden, who campaigned
on undoing much of Trump’s
legacy, was expected to sign
a list of nearly two dozen
executive actions later in
the day, including an order
stopping the construction
of Trump’s signature border
wall, rejoining the Paris Cli-
mate Agreement, and can-
celing the travel ban Trump
put in place to protect the
nation from radical Islamic
terrorism.
Earlier in the day, Trump
delivered a farewell address
at Joint Base Andrews before
boarding Air Force One en
route to Florida. The presi-
dent told supporters he “will
be back in some form.”
Biden, accompanied by
his wife First Lady Jill Biden,
descended the steps to the
balcony of the Capitol just
over 40 minutes prior to
noon. Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.) and Sen. Roy
Blunt (R-Mo.) delivered the
opening speeches.  Law-
makers from both chambers
of Congress and Supreme
Court justices attended the
ceremony. Pop singer Lady
Gaga performed the nation-
al anthem.
Biden, a Democrat, took
office amid the ongoing
CCP virus pandemic. More
than 400,000 Americans are
reported to have lost their
lives to the virus. All of the
attendees, with the excep-
tion of the speakers, wore
masks. A portion of the seat-
ing was arranged with social
distancing in mind.
The Democrats will control
both the House and Senate President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2021.
during at least the first two
years of Biden’s term. A pre- the pandemic, and reorient- evictions and foreclosures tion, including a specific list on critical race and criti-
view of the president’s first ing the government around and the pause of federal stu- of environmental actions. cal gender theory training
actions suggests he’ll take Biden’s vision of “equity.” dent loan payments. The president was expected for federal employees and
advantage of the Democratic The president was ex- The president’s first-day to sign a separate executive contractors. Such training
advantage to enact a list of pected to reengage the executive actions also in- order focusing on the envi- is based on a Marxist theory
left-wing priorities. His first World Health Organization clude a presidential mem- ronment, which features the that reinterprets society and
legislative request, a CCP (WHO). Trump quit the or- orandum canceling his cancellation of the presiden- history based on the concept
virus relief bill, featured the ganization after alleging it predecessor’s deregulation tial permit for the Keystone of “struggle,” pitting races
$15 minimum wage man- helped the Chinese regime mechanisms, which includ- XL pipeline, among other and sexes against each other
date long promoted by Sen. cover up the outbreak of the ed a requirement that two actions. by labeling them either as
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a CCP virus. existing federal regulations Another first-day execu- “oppressors” or “oppressed.”
Democratic socialist. Biden Biden was also expected be slashed for each new tive order defines what On immigration, Biden
sent an immigration bill pro- to sign a series of executive regulation. Trump has of- “equity” is and orders the was expected to withdraw
posal to Congress ahead of actions and letters address- ten lauded the deregulation federal government to work Trump’s order on excluding
the inauguration that would ing the pandemic and the framework he put in place toward “equity for all—in- noncitizens from the census
afford legal status to millions related economic problems. as the single biggest reason cluding people of color and count, to direct the govern-
of illegal aliens. The actions include: a man- for the resurgent economy. others who have been his- ment to preserve the De-
date for masks to be worn Biden’s White House chief torically underserved and ferred Action for Childhood
Executive Actions on all federal properties, of staff, Ron Klain, issued marginalized.” Arrivals program—which
Ahead of the inauguration, an order creating the posi- a memo freezing all new On the cultural front, the granted temporary immi-
Biden’s transition team pre- tion of COVID-19 response Trump-administration first-day agenda included gration status to children
viewed a list of executive coordinator, the restora- regulations so they can be the cancellation of Trump’s brought to the United States
actions the president was tion of the National Secu- reviewed. 1776 commission, which illegally—and to rescind a
scheduled to sign later in the rity Council Directorate for Biden was expected to sign sought to counter negative Trump directive that gave
evening. The actions largely Global Health Security and an order directing the fed- narratives about the found- the Department of Home-
focus on undoing former Biodefense, as well as a re- eral government to review ing principles of the United land Security a broader
President Donald Trump’s quest for federal agencies all regulatory actions taken States. Biden was also ex- scope for detaining and de-
achievements, addressing to extend moratoriums on by the Trump administra- pected to rescind the ban porting illegal aliens.

Baltimore’s Lawsuit Against Energy Companies Supporters in DC React to

Biden’s Inauguration Amid
Belongs in Federal Court, Supreme Court Hears Heavy Security
AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

MATTHEW VADUM
A novel climate-change
lawsuit brought by Balti-
more in state court against
energy producers seeking
damages for the supposed
effects of global warming
should be heard in federal
court, the outgoing Trump
administration urged the
Supreme Court.
The hearing came as the
incoming administration
of President Joe Biden pre-
pares to reverse President
Donald Trump’s pro-energy
independence policies. Me-
dia reports indicate Biden
will have the United States
rejoin the 2015 Paris Agree-
ment on climate change, in
which nearly 200 countries
pledged to reduce emis-
sions claimed to contribute
to global warming.
Biden also is expected
to revoke the permit for
the 1,200-mile Keystone
XL Pipeline on his first day
as president, a move that
experts say will eliminate
thousands of jobs.
Relying on the disputed
theory of man-made global
warming, Baltimore in 2018
sued an array of companies
that produce so-called fossil
fuels—oil, coal, and natural
gas—claiming they knew
that consumption of their
products would lead to
global warming.
Baltimore seeks com-
pensation for various inju-
ries, claiming that climate
change has hurt the city
by raising sea levels and by
causing heat waves and “ex-
treme precipitation.”
Telephonic oral argu-
The Supreme Court in Washington, on Nov. 4, 2020.
ment in the case known as
BP PLC v. Mayor and City
Council of Baltimore lasted
75 minutes, exceeding the
scheduled 60 minutes. Only
eight of the nine justices
participated in the hear-
ing. Justice Samuel Alito
recused himself.
The hearing centered on a
jurisdictional question—as
opposed to the merits of the
lawsuit itself—that could
reportedly affect 19 other
similar cases state and local
governments filed against
energy providers that are
pending in other courts.
BP and the other energy
companies that are defen-
dants in the lawsuit want
this case and others like it
heard in federal court, not
state court.
Under federal law, cases
filed in state court can be
“removed” to federal court.
One of the energy compa-
nies, Chevron, had the
case transferred to a U.S.
district court in Maryland,
citing eight separate legal
grounds, including the so-
called federal officer remov-
al statute that applies when
“any officer (or any person
acting under that officer) of
the United States or of any
agency thereof, in an official
or individual capacity, for
or relating to any act under
color of such office.”
The companies argued
that Baltimore was trying
to impose liability on them
for exploring and produc-
ing fuels at the direction of
federal officials when they
produced fuels offshore un-
der federal leases that gave
government officials a say
in their operations. At Bal-
timore’s request, the district
court transferred the law-
suit back to state court. The
companies appealed and
the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 4th Circuit ruled in fa-
vor of the city, court watcher
Amy Howe summarized at
SCOTUSblog.
Oral arguments were
heard in the case on Jan. 19,
the Trump administration’s
last full day in office.
“I think this is a close call
in this case ... but there are
also problems,” Justice Brett
Kavanaugh told government
attorney Brinton Lucas of
the U.S. Department of Jus-
tice, who argued in favor of
the companies, in what was
the Trump administration’s
final scheduled appearance
before the Supreme Court.
Lucas disagreed, saying,
“we don’t think that [an] ‘or-
der remanding a case’ can
really be susceptible to any
ambiguity here.”
Justices Elena Kagan and
Clarence Thomas expressed
skepticism of Lucas’s state-
ments.
Kagan told Lucas, “I guess
I don’t understand your ar-
gument.”
Thomas told Lucas he
“may or may not be right
on the statutory reading of
this, but ... I can’t avoid the
odd sense that it seems as
though we are ... smuggling
into ... appellate review ...
other issues that are not
necessarily the issues that
are front and center like fed-
eral officer.”
The lawyer for Baltimore,
Kannon Shanmugam, said
his client favors efficiency in
judicial proceedings.
“Our rule would enable
courts of appeals to re-
solve these appeals more
efficiently where a court
concludes that there is an
easier ground for removal
than the often fact-intensive
federal-officer ground and
there would be delay only
in a case in which a federal
court stays the state court
proceedings on remand
which would occur only
when the court determines
that a defendant is likely to
succeed on its appeal.”
CONTINUED FROM A1
a huge thing, but I don’t get
to be there [inside].”
Lee, who came out with
her family to show support
for Biden, said she felt the
heavy military presence
was a bit overboard but
noted that authorities “had
to make a statement.”
“It sucks, but for the safety
of everybody to enjoy some
small part of it, I’m for it,”
she said.
An estimated 25,000 mem-
bers of the National Guard
came from all 50 states to be
stationed at the Capitol. The
number of Guard troops
mobilized in Washington far
exceeds the number of U.S.
forces in Afghanistan, which
have been reduced to 2,500.
The troops were authorized
to use lethal force in sup-
port of law enforcement in
the Capitol and city.
In the days leading up
to the inauguration, roads
were barricaded, stores
were boarded up, and mil-
itary vehicles were seen
throughout the area. The
Capitol building itself was
surrounded by high fencing
with barbed wire.
“I didn’t escape my coun-
try for this, it’s like a war
zone,” a longtime D.C. resi-
dent originally from Viet-
nam said.
One Biden supporter who
showed up in person said he
had to walk all the way from
a far corner of Washington
near Maryland in order to
get to the Capitol.
“It’s a militarized zone for
miles,” Richie Abel told The
Epoch Times.
Abel described the mood
on Inauguration Day and
the days leading up to it as
solemn.
“All week its been sort of
the calm before the storm,
but it seems like the storm
isn’t going to come,” he said.
“I haven’t seen any large-
scale violence or anything.”
Washington Mayor Muriel
Bowser said on Jan. 15 that
even after the presidential
inauguration, the city would
have to maintain height-
ened security. When asked
if the extensive security
measures around the city
would be reversed after the
inauguration, Bowser said,
“We are going to go back to
a new normal.”
Some said the military
presence wouldn’t impact
anything.
“I’m fine with all that,”
said Rebecca, who declined
to give her last name. “That
isn’t going to take away
from the fact that we have a
woman who is in the high-
est leadership position ever.”
Travel around the city or
access to the Capitol is dif-
ficult. The Metro announced
that it would close 13 sta-
tions  inside the security
perimeter. And the National
Mall stated it would imple-
ment a temporary public
closure beginning at 11 a.m.
on Jan. 15 through at least
Jan. 21, at the request of and
in cooperation with the U.S.
Secret Service.
As Biden’s speech was
playing live, one person on
the street held up a sign that
read: “This looks like Pyong-
yang, there are only police
and military. No civilians.”
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 NATION | A3
JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

FCC Asks Supreme

Court to Roll Back
Media Ownership
Restrictions
MATTHEW VADUM
The Federal Communications
Commission urged the Supreme
Court to relax rules limiting owner-
ship of local media outlets, arguing
that the restrictions are obsolete
and unneeded.
Telephonic oral argument in FCC
v. Prometheus Radio Project and
National Association of Broadcast-
ers v. Prometheus Radio Project,
which were consolidated and heard
together, lasted 81 minutes, ex-
ceeding the scheduled 60 minutes.
The hearing took place on Jan. 19,
the Trump administration’s last full
day in office.
Republicans lost majority control
of the FCC on Jan. 20, when Chair-
man Ajit Pai stepped down with
the inauguration of President Joe
Biden. Democrats are expected to
have a 3–2 majority when a replace-
ment is appointed.
It’s been the position of the
Republican-controlled FCC that
as local media outlets face grow-
ing competition from the inter-
net, current ownership restric-
tions are obsolete, especially
the ban on owning a newspaper
and broadcast outlet in the same
market. Democrats tend to favor
stronger restrictions to reduce
concentrated ownership of media
properties, but want rules that fa-
vor women and minorities.
The National Association of
Broadcasters argued in a brief that
“the broadcast and newspaper in-
dustries continue to struggle un-
der the dead weight” of ownership
restrictions.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals
prevented the FCC from loosen-
ing ownership rules, directing the
regulator to study the potential
effects of the changes on female
and minority ownership in the
media sector.
Pai had justified the challenged
rule change, which permitted
broadcasters to combine with a
newspaper in the same market
and own two of the top four sta-
tions in a city.
“The media ownership regula-
tions of 2017 should match the me-
dia marketplace of 2017,” he said at
the time, according to Variety, add-
ing that the FCC was “dragging the
broadcast rules into the digital age.”
Deputy Solicitor General Mal-
colm L. Stewart advanced the
same line of reasoning during oral
arguments.
“Section 202(h) of the Telecom-
munications Act of 1996 reflects
Congress’s conclusion that in
light of intervening competitive
developments, broadcast cross-
ownership restrictions adopted
in an earlier era may no longer be
warranted,” Stewart said.
“To ensure that such restrictions
do not remain in force simply
through inertia, Congress required
the FCC to reexamine those rules
every four years and to repeal or
modify any rules that no longer
serve the public interest,” he said,
adding that in 2017, the FCC deter-
mined that some of its media own-
A worker at a San Francisco Chronicle printing facility arranges stacks of freshly printed newspapers, in this file photo.
ership rules should be repealed and
that its local television rules should
be relaxed.
“The profusion of new media
outlets, particularly through ca-
ble and the internet, alleviated
... viewpoint diversity concerns
that had originally justified the
restrictions. It further found that
the rules disserved the public in-
terest by preventing economically
efficient combinations that would
provide consumers better broad-
cast service.”
In response to a question from
Justice Clarence Thomas, Stewart
said tougher regulation of broad-
cast media has been urged by some
because “the broadcast spectrum
is scarce, not as many people can
broadcast on the frequencies as
would like to, and, therefore, it’s
necessary to have a federal agen-
cy that allocates the spectrum and
decides how it can best be used to
serve the public interest.”
But such enhanced regulation of
cable and the internet isn’t needed
“because one person’s voice doesn’t
crowd out another’s,” Stewart said.
National Association of Broad-
casters’ attorney Helgi Walker said
concerns about concentrated me-
dia ownership are overblown.
“Amazon gets to own the Wash-
ington Post today. No one thinks
that’s the end of democracy. It’s
certainly not the end of democracy
if a local broadcaster can buy a lo-
cal newspaper and keep it alive,”
Walker told Justice Samuel Alito.
Justices Sonya Sotomayor and
Elena Kagan challenged Stewart.
“I’m a bit confused. It seems to
me that the FCC for decades has
been saying that minority and
women ownership ... consider-
ation of it is in the public interest,”
Sotomayor said.
Kagan said, “Were you saying
we don’t think the changes in the
rules will affect female and minor-
ity ownership or we don’t have evi-
dence of this?”
“We were saying the evidence is
fragmentary,” Stewart replied, “but
based on the evidence we have, our
best assessment is there will not be
a substantial effect. And the mere
possibility that there could be such
an effect is not a sufficient basis for
foregoing regulatory changes that
we would otherwise deem to be
very desirable.”
Speaking for the respondent ad-
vocacy groups, lawyer Ruthanne
Mary Deutsch said the FCC had
not “engaged in reasoned decision-
making.”
“Based on zero information about
female ownership and a nonsensi-
cal analysis of badly flawed data
on minority ownership, the agency
repeatedly assured the public that
consolidation would do no harm
to either,” she said.
“The government now asks for
deference. It says that the uncer-
tainty was acknowledged, predic-
tion is hard, and it argues essential-
ly that because no harm was shown,
there was nothing to be waived. But
because the no-harm findings here
were wholly arbitrary, to defer on
this record would only encourage
agencies to do sloppy work to avoid
making tough choices.”

JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Survey Finds Proposals New White House Chief of Staff

Favored by Bipartisan
Supermajorities
CONTINUED FROM A1
The survey interviewed a
demographically balanced
sample of 1,000 adults im-
mediately following the
Nov. 3, 2020, election. The
margin of error for the sur-
vey is 3 percentage points.
The six issues that at-
tracted the support of at
least two-thirds of respon-
dents who identified as Re-
publicans and Democrats
included the following:
• Increasing manufactur-
ing jobs within the U.S.:
More than four out of
five Americans (83 per-
cent) support the idea of
expanding the domestic
manufacturing base. This
idea has strong and nearly
identical levels of biparti-
san support, with 87 per-
cent of those who voted
for Donald Trump and
84 percent of those who
voted for Biden in favor.
• Restore the nation’s in-
frastructure: Four out of
five adults (81 percent)
support the notion of
“heavily” investing in
improving the national
infrastructure. This com-
mitment draws lofty and
equal levels of support
from Trump voters (83
percent) and Biden vot-
ers (84 percent).
• Make Social Security and
Medicare financially sol-
vent: Restoring financial
solvency to both Social
Security and Medicare is
another win-win proposi-
tion, with 8 out of 10 adults
backing such a concept.
More than three-fourths
of Trump voters (78 per-
cent) and an even higher
proportion of Biden voters
(86 percent) see virtue in
pursuing this outcome.
• Reduce federal debt: An
increasing number of
citizens are worried about
the future economic ef-
fects of the rapidly rising
U.S. government debt.
The idea of significantly
reducing the federal gov-
ernment’s debt has wide-
spread support: Three-
quarters of all adults (77
percent) approve of the
idea, spread evenly be-
tween pro-Trump (82
percent) and pro-Biden
(78 percent) voters.
• Reduce federal income
taxes for individuals:
Three-quarters of adults
(73 percent) want a de-
crease in their personal
income taxes imposed
by the federal govern-
ment. While Trump voters
were slightly more excited
about this possibility (79
percent), almost three-
quarters of Biden voters
(72 percent) expressed
their support, as well.
• Increase school choice: A
large majority of Ameri-
cans (73 percent) want to
give parents more school
choices for their children.
That desire is equally
strong among Trump
supporters (75 percent)
and Biden backers (72
percent).
Another four issues gained
majority support from re-
spondents in both parties,
but not quite supermajori-
ties:
• Reducing racial dis-
crimination through le-
gal means drew support
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden visits an
aluminum manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wis., on Sept.
21, 2020.
from 62 percent of voters
who said they backed
Trump, compared to 87
percent of those who fa-
vored Biden. Overall, the
proposal drew support
from 74 percent.
• Developing and enforc-
ing more stringent envi-
ronmental standards was
backed by 53 percent of
Trump voters and 85 per-
cent of Biden supporters.
The overall national figure
was 69 percent support.
• Strict enforcement of ex-
isting immigration laws
attracted the backing of
84 percent of Trump sup-
porters and 54 percent of
Biden voters. Nationally,
the proposal drew the
support of 64 percent of
respondents.
• Substantially reducing
the number of federal
government regulations
found support among 74
percent of Trump sup-
porters and 58 percent of
Biden backers. Overall, 62
percent of those surveyed
expressed enthusiasm for
the proposal.
At the other end of the
results, repealing the U.S.
Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe
v. Wade decision that legal-
ized abortion received sup-
port from just 50 percent of
Trump voters and 38 per-
cent of Biden supporters.
Similarly, increasing the
number of members of the
high court, as advocated by
many liberal Democrats,
only generated support
overall from 47 percent of
the respondents, although
61 percent of Biden voters
liked the proposal.
In a separate statement,
CRC said its survey results
reflect an emerging trend in
American public opinion, in
which respondents often ex-
press support for conflicting
policies.
“The research shows that
the people want an active
government—one that will
take action and get things
done in a variety of life di-
mensions (education, eco-
nomics, government pro-
cess, etc.),” it said.
“Yet, government ac-
tion never happens in a
vacuum: Changes in the
law and public policy al-
ways come at a cost. The
implications of many of the
desired changes identified
by the survey respondents
[are] that those actions will
conflict with some of their
expressed desires, such as
having fewer government
regulations, the elimina-
tion of federal government
debt, a balanced budget for
the feds, and lower personal
income tax rates.”
Orders Freeze on New Regulations
IVAN PENTCHOUKOV
White House chief of staff
Ron Klain ordered a freeze
on federal regulations in
his first official act on Jan.
20, putting the brakes on
any new and pending rules
until they can be reviewed
by appointees of President
Joe Biden.
In a memo sent to the heads
of executive agencies and
departments, Klain said that
rules that have been sent to
the Office of the Federal Reg-
ister but not yet published in
the Federal Register should
be withdrawn until they are
reviewed.
For rules that have been
published or otherwise is-
sued but haven’t taken ef-
fect, Klain asked the heads
of agencies to consider
postponing the date on
which the rules become
effective by 60 days. Dur-
ing the postponement,
Klain asked the agencies to
consider opening a 30-day
comment period.
“For those rules that raise
no substantial questions of
fact, law, or policy, no fur-
ther action needs to be tak-
en; and for those rules that
raise substantial questions
of fact, law, or policy, agen-
cies should notify the OMB
(Office of Management and
Budget) Director and take
further appropriate action in
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
consultation with the OMB
Director,” the memo states.
Biden’s transition team had
advised ahead of time that
Klain would issue the memo,
describing the measure as a
way to halt any last-minute
regulations rushed by the
Trump administration.
“This action will allow the
Biden Administration to
prevent any detrimental so-
called midnight regulations
from taking effect, while en-
suring that urgent measures
in the public’s interest can
proceed,” a fact sheet from
the transition team stated.
Klain’s memo is part of a
battery of executive actions
that Biden was expected to
sign. Other directives in-
clude an order stopping the
construction of Trump’s bor-
der wall, the withdrawal of
the travel ban meant to pro-
tect the United States from
terrorism, the rejoining of
the Paris climate accord,
and re-engagement with the
World Health Organization.
Biden took the oath of of-
fice at noon on Jan. 20, be-
coming the 46th president
of the United States.
The regulations that are
frozen as a result of Klain’s
memo will be reviewed by
the director of the Office
of Management and Bud-
get (OMB). Biden nomi-
nated Neera Tanden to lead
the OMB.
Ron Klain,
former White
House Ebola
response
coordinator,
testifies in
Washington
on March
10, 2020.
A4 | NATION THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

17 GOP Representatives Tell Biden They’re
Committed to Working With Him
ZACHARY STIEBER
More than a dozen Republican
members of the House of Rep-
resentatives wrote to President
Joe Biden on the morning of his
inauguration, pledging to work
with him to achieve bipartisan
agreements.
The 17 newly elected represen-
tatives said they’re hopeful they
can work with Democrats on be-
half of the American people.
“After two impeachments,
lengthy inter-branch investiga-
tions, and, most recently, the hor-
rific attack on our nation’s capital,
it is clear that the partisan divide
between Democrats and Repub-
licans does not serve a single
American,” the group wrote.
“The constituencies we rep-
resent showcase the variety of
thought across our great nation.
From Texas to California and
from Oklahoma to New York,
Americans are tired of the parti-
san gridlock and simply want to
see leaders from both sides of the
aisle work on issues important to
American families, workers, and
businesses.
“We hope to work with you to
extend targeted, meaningful
coronavirus relief for families and
businesses, protect Americans
with pre-existing conditions,
strengthen and modernize our
infrastructure, enforce our an-
titrust laws against emboldened
technology monopolies, and re-
store our economy struggling in
Texas Set to Bring Volley of Lawsuits Against Biden Administration
TOM OZIMEK
As President Joe Biden assumed
office and two newly elected
Georgia Democrat senators were
sworn in on Jan. 20, Texas Repub-
licans prepared to mount a flurry
of legal challenges to push back
against the incoming adminis-
tration’s progressive agenda.
The Biden administration has
signaled a left-leaning agenda
on energy, taxes, immigration,
health care, and other priorities.
Biden has vowed to rejoin the
Paris Climate Accord and take
far-reaching steps on climate
change, including seeking to cut
greenhouse gas emissions by half
by 2030 and effectively ending
them by around 2050, sparking
existential fears from the fossil
fuel industry, a key economic pil-
lar in Texas.
Biden has also proposed sweep-
ing immigration reform that
would create a pathway to citi-
zenship for more than 11 million
illegal immigrants, and plans to
roll back Trump’s corporate tax
cuts and raise income tax.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who—
while serving as the state’s at-
torney general—famously pro-
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) walks through the Canon Tunnel to the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 12, 2021.
the aftermath of the coronavirus
pandemic.”
The group features several Re-
publicans who voted to impeach
President Donald Trump last
week, including Reps. David Va-
ladao (R-Calif.) and Peter Meijer
(R-Mich.).
Also signing the letter were
Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas),
Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Madi-
son Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Scott
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Texas Capitol in
Austin, Texas, on May 18, 2020.
claimed, “I go into the office, I sue
the federal government, and I go
home,” said on Jan. 16 that the
Biden White House can expect
a spate of legal challenges from
the Lone Star State.
“A new crop of Texas-led law-
suits awaits Joe Biden’s White
House,” Abbott wrote in a tweet
on Jan. 16.
“Texas will take action when-
ever the federal government
encroaches on states’ rights, or
interferes with constitutional
Franklin (R-Fla.), Andrew Gar-
barino (R-N.Y.), Carlos Gimenez
(R-Fla.), Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.),
Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Young
Kim (R-Calif.), Nicole Malliota-
kis (R-N.Y.), Mariannette Miller-
Meeks (R-Iowa), Barry Moore
(R-Ala.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.),
Burgess Owens (R-Utah), and
Jerry Carl (R-Ala.).
Van Duyne told Politico that
she invited all 44 newly-elected
LYNDA M. GONZALEZ/THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS POOL
rights, or private property rights
or the right to earn a living.”
The Lone Star State sued the ad-
ministration of President Barack
Obama dozens of times to stop
initiatives such as the Clean Pow-
er Plan or to end the Affordable
Care Act, the signature health
plan known as Obamacare.
The conservative Texas Public
Policy Foundation (TPPF), which
filed the Affordable Care Act
challenge that is now before the
U.S. Supreme Court, is gearing
STEFANI REYNOLDS/GETTY IMAGES
Republicans in the House to sign
the letter.
Many other Republicans also
said they would work with Biden
in the coming years.
“I look forward to working
with President Biden to unite
the country, grow the economy,
and quickly distribute COVID-19
vaccines and fully #ReopenA-
merica,” Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
wrote in a tweet.
up for a flurry of legal challenges.
Robert Henneke, general coun-
sel at the TPPF, told the San Anto-
nio Express-News that he expects
the Biden administration to “pick
up where the Obama administra-
tion left off.”
“Litigation challenging uncon-
stitutional action from the Biden
administration will be a central
issue,” Henneke told the outlet.
“Where the new administration
seeks to go out of bounds of what
powers have been delegated to it,
or enacts policies and rules that
aren’t supported by data and sci-
ence, I expect that we’ll be chief
among those challenging those
type of policies.”
Meanwhile, a recent national
survey shows that most Republi-
cans want congressional leaders
to challenge Biden on important
issues.
“A majority of Republicans
(59 percent) want their party’s
leaders to ‘stand up’ to Biden,”
according to the Pew Research
Center, while “a sizable major-
ity of conservative Republicans
(69 percent) favor GOP leaders
standing up to Biden, compared
with 44 percent of GOP moder-
ates and liberals.”
Trump Leaves
Washington, Tells
Supporters: ‘We
Will Be Back in
Some Form’
ZACHARY STIEBER
President Donald Trump on
Jan. 20 left Washington for Flor-
ida, hours before President Joe
Biden was sworn in.
“It’s been a great honor. The
honor of a lifetime. The greatest
people in the world, the greatest
home in the world. We’ve had
an amazing four years. We’ve
accomplished a lot. We love the
American people, and, again,
it’s been something very spe-
cial,” Trump told reporters out-
side the White House.
“I just want to say goodbye,
but hopefully it’s not a long-
term goodbye. We’ll see each
other again.”
Trump and First Lady Melania
Trump exited the White House
at approximately 8 a.m. They
were headed to Trump’s Mar-
a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
During a stop at Joint Base
Andrews in Maryland, where
Trump transferred from Marine
One to Air Force One, the presi-
dent told a crowd of supporters:
“We love you. We will be back in
some form.
“I will always fight for you. I
will always be watching. I will
be listening.”
Trump announced previously
that he would skip Biden’s in-
auguration. He didn’t give a
reason.
Trump was the first sitting
president since Andrew John-
son to skip all inaugural cer-
emonies of his successor, ac-
cording to the White House
Historical Association. Presi-
dent Woodrow Wilson skipped
the public ceremony for his suc-
cessor but did accompany the
successor, Warren Harding, to
the Capitol.
Biden’s pared-down inaugu-
ration featured few guests. Or-
ganizers say the small event was
due to the pandemic.
Trump said in Washington
and in Maryland that serving
as president was the “honor of
a lifetime.”
He mentioned some of his ad-
ministration’s achievements,
including creating the Space
Force, a new branch of the U.S.
military, bringing unemploy-
ment to lows not seen in de-
cades prior to the pandemic,
and pouring money into the
military. He also noted that sev-
eral COVID-19 vaccines were
developed in less than a year,
thanks to support and funding
from his administration.
Trump thanked supporters,
his family, friends, and staff. In
Maryland, he told the crowd:
“People have no idea how hard
this family worked, and they
worked for you. They could have
had a much easier life.”
“Have a good life. We will see
you soon,” he said, walking off
the stage.

TRUTH CAN BE BLOCKED BUT NEVER STOPPED

Pass it on, one friend at a time
I saw a Facebook ad that pulled me in. I do REFER YOUR FRIENDS *
not have a local paper that doesn’t read
like the whole thing is an opinion piece. For each successful referral you make,
Having true factual reporting and an opinion you get 2 FREE months added to your
section for opinions is so refreshing. I enjoy
subscription. Each friend you refer will
reading The Epoch Times shows me how a
get 2 months of our paper for only $2!
newspaper should be and I’m grateful for it.
— ABBY LONDON

Refer your friends and family today! Please visit: ReadEpoch.com/Friends

* This referral program is only valid online at ReadEpoch.com/friends. As we can’t currently process check payments for this program, your understanding is appreciated.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
Julie Schroeder, owner of Color Me Mine in Minneapolis, on Dec. 30, 2020.
Small-Business Owner: ‘Fallout by
Next Year Will Be Shocking’
CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON
MINNEAPOLIS—The ramifications
of the forced shutdowns on thou-
sands of small businesses in Min-
nesota is going to be huge, says Julie
Schroeder, who owns two craft stores
in the Minneapolis metro area.
“The fallout by this time next year
will be shocking,” she told The Epoch
Times on Dec. 30, 2020.
Schroeder owns two Color Me
Mine franchises—small craft shops
where customers come in, select a
piece of pottery, and paint it in the
store. The store then fires it for them.
The main money-maker for Schro-
eder is from groups of people coming
in and painting together as a social
activity.
But the constant closures imposed
by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Dem-
ocrat, has left her financially stripped
and caused the demise of one of her
businesses and the loss of eight em-
ployees.
On June 2 last year, Schroeder had
to permanently close her store in
Rochester, Minnesota, after being
unable to sustain the losses.
“I was bleeding money,” she said.
“What people don’t realize is that you
don’t close it and cut all your losses.”
People don’t realize
the extraordinary
expense of running
a small business,
even a pottery stu-
dio. It’s not just a
little hobby. I have
full-time people.
Julie Schroeder, business owner,
Minneapolis
Schroeder had a lease through
2024, which was for $250,000. She
had to negotiate a buyout, which cost
her entire retirement fund of $50,000.
“The woman who owns the build-
ing lost big, too,” she said.
The rent at her two remaining loca-
tions, in Eagan and Woodbury, totals
$10,500 per month.
“I can’t make a $10,500 rent pay-
ment every month from my hus-
band’s income—it’s not even pos-
sible—much less pay all my staff, and
order stuff, and pay for the utilities
and all of that. It’s just impossible.
And I think people are shocked when
they find out my rent—they think I’m
paying $500, they really do.”
Schroeder had just completed her
profit-and-loss summary on Quick-
Books and revealed that she was
$200,000 down.
“I’m 57, so for me to make that up
at a pottery store … and that’s in nine
months,” she said, “for me to make
that up over the years is, I don’t know
how that’ll work. I’ll make it up when
I sell the stores, I suppose, because
they’ll have a value.”
That’s assuming she can continue
to weather the capricious lockdowns
and rebuild her stores.
Clay Clark, investor and author
of “Fear Unmasked—Discover the
Truth about the Coronavirus Shut-
down,” said the shutdowns have re-
sulted in countless urban areas now
looking like dystopian movie scenes.
“Small-business owners have put
their entire life-savings and have
invested years of their lives into
starting and building a business
that these heartless and tyrannical
governors and mayors are destroy-
ing with their unconstitutional man-
dates,” Clark told The Epoch Times
via email.
“China’s leadership should be
proud. Many communist-controlled
governors and mayors have done
their part to execute the ‘Great Re-
set’ flawlessly.”
The “Great Reset” refers to a World
Economic Forum idea that the pan-
demic can be used to reshape global
relations and economies.
Extraordinary Expense
Schroeder’s tumultuous year be-
gan in March when Walz launched
the first round of lockdowns, which
was initially for two weeks to “flat-
ten the curve” but ended up lasting
six weeks.
“That’s my second busiest time of
the year because it’s spring break,”
Schroeder said. “We could do curb-
side drop-off and pickup, but we
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
couldn’t open the door, and I had
nothing online at that point to shop
from.”
During the ensuing days, Schroed-
er and her staff frantically put all the
items onto Shopify so people could
order online and pick it up. While it
did bring in some business, it was an
added expense to set up and operate.
She received some federal Pay-
check Protection Program money,
but all of it was used for staff payroll
at her three stores. At the end of the
first six-week complete shutdown,
there was no money left and barely
any customers were out and about.
In July, people were finally able
to come into the store to purchase
items.
“So you could come in and shop
your pieces and take them home to
paint, which did help a bit because
it’s easier to buy in the store than it
is online,” Schroeder said.
“My customers are so supportive,
but they can’t keep me going. ... They
just can’t keep me going on just grab-
bing some to-go stuff.”
The people she leases the current
two stores from are doing what they
can, but they have bills to pay, too.
“And it’s not their fault that we
closed, either—they’d have me open.
It’s the government’s fault,” she said.
“If you’re going to say, ‘You have to
be closed,’ then look at each month
last year and give me a check for ev-
ery month. That would be fair. But for
some reason, these other big compa-
nies, they can just move right along.”
In December, right before Christ-
mas, Schroeder was ordered to com-
pletely shut down again. And despite
many supporters who backed her
reopening, the detractors stand out.
Among other hate messages, she
received a Christmas card with the
note, “You greedy [expletive], your
love of the almighty dollar is NOT
NATION  |  A5
CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/THE EPOCH TIMES
more important than a person’s life!
I hope that you burn in hell for all
eternity.”
In a Facebook post, Schroeder ex-
plained that she was too afraid to
report the card to law enforcement
in case they cited her for opening her
business.
“First of all, I haven’t taken a pay-
check in over a year, and I spent all
my [retirement]. So how that’s greedy
and selfish, I don’t know,” she said.
“Do they want to pay my staff? Be-
cause I have three staff, [and] this is
their full-time job. And everything
I make first goes to wages. So I don’t
know how that’s greedy and selfish.”
During the same timeframe over
the Christmas holiday, the Build-a-
Bear store in the Mall of America was
open, which Schroeder says doesn’t
make sense.
“And there’s kids all over in there,
building bears. It’s the same thing,”
she said.
During springtime, Schroeder con-
tacted every principal and superin-
tendent of every school in the district
to ask if their e-newsletters to par-
ents can mention that her “Paint and
Learn” educational activity packs for
children are available.
“I got zero responses,” she said.
“I, over 11 years, have been at every
carnival, have given every donation
that they asked for. I work a lot with
the schools.”
For now, Schroeder and her hus-
band are reassessing the risk each
month. She’s determined to hold
onto her business, but she’s tired of
not being able to plan and of being
called “nonessential” for months on
end.
“The mental health part for me has
become a real issue. When you’re told
you’re nonessential for 10 months,
you really start to think that you just
don’t matter,” she said.
“And you look at the science ... the
graphs are identical in every state.
The virus is going to do what it’s go-
ing to do, and it’s sad. But the states
that have stayed open, the graph is
exactly the same. So unfortunately,
the stupid virus is just going to do
what it’s going to do. We can’t stop it.”
She said she feels like moving away
from Minnesota due to government
overreach in its response to the pan-
demic.
“I can’t tell you how disappointed
I am in my state,” she said.
“People don’t realize the extraor-
dinary expense of running a small
business, even a pottery studio.
That’s really what I want people to
understand. It’s not just a little hobby.
I have full-time people.”
A6 | NATION
Homeland Security Nominee Refuses to Commit
to Keeping Current Border Wall
CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON
WASHINGTON—The nominee to
head the Department of Home-
land Security under President
Joe Biden intends to swiftly halt
all border wall construction and
won’t commit to keeping the cur-
rent fencing in place.
“President-elect Biden has
committed to stop construction
of the border wall—it would be
my responsibility to act on that,”
Alejandro Mayorkas told the Sen-
ate Committee on Homeland Se-
curity and Governmental Affairs
during his confirmation hearing
on Jan. 19.
“And I have not looked at the
question of what we’d do with
respect to the wall that already
has been built. And I look for-
ward to studying that question,
understand the costs and benefits
of doing so.”
Congress recently appropri-
ated $1.4 billion for border wall
construction in the 2021 National
Defense Authorization package,
which Mayorkas said he would
examine to “see what the oppor-
tunities are to discontinue any
such obligation, if in fact, the law
permits, and act accordingly.”
During the Trump administra-
tion, more than 450 miles of bor-
der fencing have been construct-
ed along the U.S.–Mexico border,
much of which has replaced old
or ineffective barriers.
Mayorkas served as head of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigra-
tion Services during President
Barack Obama’s first term and
then deputy secretary of the De-
partment of Homeland Security
during his second term.
Federal
Prosecutors
File First
Conspiracy
Charges Over
US Capitol
Breach
JANITA KAN
Federal prosecutors have filed
one of their first conspiracy cases
against three people allegedly
affiliated with the paramilitary
organization known as the Oath
Keepers over the Jan. 6 breach of
the U.S. Capitol.
In a criminal complaint filed
on Jan. 19, prosecutors allege that
Thomas Edward Caldwell, 65, of
Clarke County, Virginia, had a
leadership role in Oath Keepers
and conspired with others to “forci-
bly storm” the Capitol building. The
complaint also names Donovan
Crowl, 50, from Ohio, and Jessica
Watkins, 38, from Ohio, as alleged
co-conspirators in that plan. Crowl
and Watkins allegedly were part of
the group.
The three individuals and oth-
ers had communicated with one
another in advance of the breach
and planned their attack, FBI
Special Agent Michael Palian al-
leged in his affidavit. Palian said
he had reviewed footage of the Jan.
6 event and observed eight to 10
individuals wearing paramilitary
equipment attempting to enter the
Capitol building.
These individuals were wear-
ing helmets, reinforced vests, and
clothing with Oath Keeper para-
phernalia, Palian said, and were
operating in an “organized and
practiced fashion” as they forced
their way to the front of the crowd
gathered around a door to the U.S.
Capitol.
During the breach, Watkins kept
communication with other mem-
bers of the group in which she gave
updates about the breach.
“We have a good group. We have
U.S. workers build the new 13-mile border wall construction project in the desert between Sunlad Park, New Mexico,
and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Jan. 8, 2021.
He said Border Patrol agents
have told him that “a diverse ap-
proach to border security” is nec-
essary, which means border wall
might help in some areas, but in
others, more agents or technology
would be more effective.
“I look forward to studying the
challenges at the border and
developing a sophisticated ap-
proach to meet those challenges,”
Mayorkas said.
The National Border Patrol
Council, which endorsed Trump
for president, has said border
fencing is essential to slow illegal
crossings and keep agents safe.
Oath Keepers carrying rifles walk along as demonstrators protest the shoot-
ing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 10, 2015.
about 30–40 of us. We are sticking
together and sticking to the plan,”
Watkins allegedly says, in an audio
recording obtained by the FBI.
At another point of the recording,
Watkins is claimed to have said:
“We are in the mezzanine. We are
in the main dome right now. We
are rocking it. They are throwing
grenades, they are fricking shoot-
ing people with paint balls. But we
are in here.”
The three individuals were identi-
fied by authorities using a combina-
tion of videos, photographs, media
reports, and social media posts.
Watkins and Crowl had given in-
terviews with media following the
breach in which they confirmed
their affiliation with Oath Keepers.
The group members were each
charged with conspiracy, conspira-
cy to impede or injure officer with-
out lawful authority, destruction of
government property, obstruction
of an official proceeding, restricted
building or grounds violent entry,
and disorderly conduct on Capitol
grounds.
If convicted, each individual fac-
es a maximum penalty of six years
in prison and fines.
The criminal complaint filed on
Jan. 19 amends the charges sepa-
rately filed against Caldwell, Crowl,
and Watkins. Crowl and Watkins
were arrested in Ohio on Jan. 18,
while Caldwell was arrested in Vir-
ginia on Jan. 19, according to the
Justice Department (DOJ) website.
So far, a large proportion of cases
charged in connection to the Jan.
6 Capitol breach were opened on
The council’s president, Bran-
don Judd, has said border agents
are grateful for the new fencing,
which comes with access roads,
lighting, and technology, and that
a wall is the only way to end the
humanitarian crisis on the bor-
der.
Mayorkas’s nomination hearing
took place as a caravan of 9,000
Hondurans continued to march
toward the United States after
breaking through the Guatema-
lan border.
When asked what his message
to the caravan was, Mayorkas
said, “We are a nation of immi-
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
initial misdemeanor charges such
as trespass, Michael Sherwin, the
acting U.S. attorney for Washing-
ton, said earlier this month.
He added that after the ar-
rest, prosecutors have the ability
to then indict these individuals on
more serious offenses.
“After these criminal charges are
filed via criminal complaints, that
allows us that allows law enforce-
ment across the United States to
arrest people from Dallas to Ar-
kansas, to Nashville, to Cleveland
to Jacksonville. That’s what’s hap-
pened over the past several days,”
Sherwin said. “After those charges
are filed, then we have the ability
to then indict these individuals
on more significant charges. And
that’s exactly what has happened.”
The top prosecutor for the dis-
trict also said he directed federal
prosecutors to build “seditious
and conspiracy charges” against
some rioters and protesters, related
“to the most heinous acts that oc-
curred in the Capitol.”
“These are significant charges
that have felonies with a prison
term of up to 20 years,” Sherwin
added.
The FBI and DOJ have opened
at least 200 cases in connection
to the U.S. Capitol breach, when
groups of rioters and some protest-
ers stormed the Capitol building
when lawmakers were counting
electoral votes. Mayhem on the
Capitol grounds left five people
dead—including three for medi-
cal reasons—and dozens of police
officers injured.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
grants and we are also a nation
of laws. ... When people present
themselves at our border, we
apply the laws of our nation to
determine whether they qualify
for relief under our humanitarian
laws, or whether they don’t.”
More than 67,000 illegal immi-
grants were apprehended at the
U.S.–Mexico border in November
2020, compared to 33,500 appre-
hended in November 2019.
Mayorkas would be largely re-
sponsible for carrying out Biden’s
immigration agenda, which calls
for a large amnesty of at least 11
million illegal immigrants liv-
Graham Calls on McConnell
to ‘Unequivocally’ Denounce
Trump Impeachment
ZACHARY STIEBER
Senate Republican leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) should con-
demn the fresh effort to impeach
President Donald Trump, Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said
late Jan. 19.
“What we need right now is Sen.
McConnell to unequivocally say
the second impeachment of Don-
ald Trump after he leaves office
is not only unconstitutional, it
is bad for the country,” Graham,
the chairman of the Senate Judi-
ciary Committee, said during a
virtual appearance on Fox News’
“Hannity.”
“Stand up and fight back,” he
added.
McConnell’s office didn’t imme-
diately respond to a request by The
Epoch Times for comment.
The House of Representatives
impeached Trump last week over
alleged incitement of insurrec-
tion. Democrats and some Re-
publicans claim Trump incited
the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capi-
tol during his speech that day on
The Ellipse. Trump has called his
remarks “totally appropriate,” and
a timeline shows that the vio-
lence at the Capitol started before
Trump finished speaking.
Graham, a leading voice among
Republicans condemning the
new impeachment, said on Jan.
19 that America “needs to heal.”
“A second impeachment of Don-
ald Trump after he leaves office
won’t heal the country, it will fur-
ther divide the country,” he said.
“As to the Republican Party, if
we throw in the towel, or are per-
ceived to having thrown in the
towel, and not fighting against
this impeachment, the Repub-
lican Party, as [Sen.] Rand Paul
said, will ‘crack up.’”
Paul (R-Ky.) last week said Re-
publican senators backing a con-
viction of Trump would destroy
the Republican Party.
“If Republicans go along with
it, it will destroy the party,” Paul
ing in the United States, as well
as broadening the asylum system
and dismantling many of the pro-
cesses Trump put in place to curb
illegal border crossings.
Under Biden, Mayorkas would
end the Migrant Protection Pro-
tocol (MPP) program, which was
launched in January 2019 to help
stem the flow of meritless asylum
claims that were clogging up the
system by the hundreds of thou-
sands. The MPP program forces
asylum seekers to wait in Mexico
while their asylum case is adjudi-
cated. Prior to its implementation,
thousands of illegal immigrants
were released into the United
States to await their cases, most
failing to appear in court.
On his first day in office, Biden is
expected to present an immigra-
tion reform package that Mayor-
kas said “once and for all fixes, I
think, what we all can agree is a
broken immigration system.”
Biden’s platform on immigra-
tion during the election includ-
ed increasing the refugee cap to
125,000 per year (from 18,000) and
vastly expanding government
resources for all immigrants;
rescinding bans on travel from
terror-prone countries; halting
enforcement of laws around le-
gal employment; and promoting
union organization.
An effort to decrease detention
and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement interior enforce-
ment efforts is also expected, al-
though Mayorkas said he opposes
defunding the agency completely.
If the Senate committee votes to
advance Mayorkas’s nomination,
it will head to a full vote on the
Senate floor.
CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/THE EPOCH TIMES
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) holds
a press conference on Capitol Hill in
Washington on Oct. 24, 2019.
It will further
divide the country.
Sen. Lindsey Graham
said. “A third of the Republicans
will leave the party.”
A conviction requires a su-
permajority; the Senate will soon
be 50 Republicans and 50 Demo-
crats. The Senate voted last year to
acquit Trump in his first impeach-
ment trial.
McConnell has said the Senate
will hold an impeachment trial
and that he may vote to convict
Trump.
“While the press has been full
of speculation, I have not made a
final decision on how I will vote,
and I intend to listen to the legal
arguments when they are pre-
sented to the Senate,” McConnell
wrote last week in a letter to col-
leagues, part of which was made
public by the senator’s office.
McConnell didn’t agree to pres-
sure from Democrats to start the
trial on Jan. 13, saying a “fair or
serious trial” couldn’t conclude
before Trump leaves office on
Jan. 20.
The trial can’t start regardless
until the House transmits the
article of impeachment. It still
hasn’t done so, Senate President
Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley (R-
Iowa) said Jan. 19.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
Yellen Urges
Congress to ‘Act Big’
on Relief Despite
Debt Burden
EMEL AKAN
WASHINGTON—During her Sen-
ate confirmation hearing on Jan.
19, Treasury Secretary nominee
Janet Yellen championed President
Joe Biden’s economic policies and
urged lawmakers to provide fur-
ther fiscal support to avert “a lon-
ger, more painful recession.”
“Over the next few months, we
are going to need more aid,” Yellen
said in her opening remarks.
“Neither the President-elect,
nor I, propose this relief package
without an appreciation for the
country’s debt burden. But right
now, with interest rates at historic
lows, the smartest thing we can
do is act big.”
Yellen served as chair of the
Federal Reserve from 2014 to
2018; if confirmed, she will be the
first woman to serve as Treasury
secretary.
“Economists don’t always agree,
but I think there is a consensus
now: Without further action, we
risk a longer, more painful reces-
sion now—and long-term scarring
of the economy later,” Yellen said
during the hearing.
Biden has presented a $1.9 trillion
stimulus proposal that provided a
general outline of the next admin-
istration’s economic priorities. Re-
publican senators have raised con-
cerns about the nation’s mounting
debt, which is now more than $21.6
GOP Reps.
Budd, Garcia:
Stop Throwing
Away Unused
CCP Virus
Vaccines
MARK TAPSCOTT
House Republicans Ted Budd of
North Carolina and Mike Garcia
of California want federal health
officials to issue new guidance to
stop thousands of unused CCP
virus vaccines from being tossed
into the garbage in New York,
Washington state, and elsewhere.
“In New York, unused vac-
cines sat in freezers and some
were even thrown away because
vaccine providers feared Gover-
nor Cuomo’s mandate on which
priority groups should be vac-
cinated first,” Budd and Garcia
told Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) Director
Dr. Robert Redfield in a letter on
Jan. 19.
The CCP virus, commonly
known as the novel coronavi-
rus, entered the United States
from China early in 2020, and
has since resulted in the deaths
of more than 400,000 Ameri-
cans, the vast majority of whom
were elderly and suffered one
or more co-morbidities such as
cancer or flu.
“And in the state of Washing-
ton, an employee at a multicare
facility explained how some un-
used vaccines were thrown away
at the end of shifts because the
strict state guidelines made it dif-
ficult to vaccinate others outside
the designated priority group,”
the congressmen told Redfield.
“These examples are just two
of many taking place across
our country,” Budd and Garcia
continued. “With hundreds of
millions of Americans yet to
be vaccinated, it’s unthinkable
that unused doses are going to
waste.”
The two congressmen encour-
aged Redfield to issue prompt
new guidance on the proper
trillion. And Biden has committed
to policies that could add trillions
more in the year ahead.
“What we’re seeing is that even
though the amount of debt relative
to the economy is going up, the in-
terest burden hasn’t,” Yellen said,
in response to concerns about the
debt burden.
She noted, however, that in the
longer run, the country should
“put the federal budget on a path
that is sustainable.”
Yellen said it’s not the right time
to raise taxes when the pandemic
is still depressing the economy. She
agreed, however, with Biden’s pro-
posal to repeal parts of the 2017
tax cuts. She said she believes in
a “fair and progressive tax code
where wealthy individuals and
corporations pay their fair share.”
President Donald Trump’s tax
reform reduced the corporate tax
rate to 21 percent from 35 percent,
to boost the competitiveness of
U.S. corporations and to prevent
them from shifting profits to low-
tax jurisdictions.
Yellen defended increasing tax
rates for corporates, but she also
raised alarms about competition
among countries to reduce corpo-
rate tax rates.
She said she would work with
the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development
“to try to stop what has been a de-
structive global race to the bottom
A health worker carries syringes for administering CCP virus vaccines in New
York on Jan. 15, 2021.
disposal of the vaccines and
to ensure that as many Ameri-
cans are vaccinated as quickly
as possible, without having to
overcome unnecessary and in-
efficient bureaucratic obstacles.
“Reopening America should
be the top priority of our gov-
ernment. In order to do that, we
must encourage state and local
officials to cut red tape and en-
sure that unused vaccine doses
are not going to waste. We urge
you to do everything in your
power to ensure that more Amer-
icans are able to be vaccinated as
quickly as possible.” Budd and
Garcia said.
A CDC spokesman didn’t im-
mediately respond to a request by
The Epoch Times for comment.
The problem that prompted
the letter to Redfield originated
in the requirement that the vac-
cine doses produced by Pfizer
must be kept in extremely-low-
temperature refrigeration units.
State officials in New York and
Washington state have issued in-
flexible priority groupings of in-
dividuals and the order in which
they are to receive the vaccines.
When not enough members
of each group arrive at their ap-
pointed times and places to re-
ceive vaccinations, the unused
doses can’t be administered to
other individuals and  report-
edly are thrown out at the end
of the day.
Budd and Garcia pointed out
to Redfield in their letter that
former Health and Human Re-
sources Secretary Alex Azar de-
Secretary of the Treasury nominee Janet Yellen speaks at The Queen in Wilmington, Del., on Dec. 1, 2020.
on corporate taxation” to assure
U.S. competitiveness.
Yellen also defended raising the
federal minimum wage to help
American workers. She claimed
that job losses would be very
minimal from boosting the mini-
mum wage.
During the hearing, the former
Fed chair also commented on
China, describing it as “the most
important strategic competitor”
to the United States.
China is guilty of “horrendous
human rights abuses,” she said.
“We need to take on China’s abu-
sive, unfair, and illegal practices.
China’s undercutting American
companies by dumping products,
erecting trade barriers, and giving
illegal subsidies to corporations.
It’s been stealing intellectual prop-
erty and engaging in practices
that give it an unfair technologi-
KENA BETANCUR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
cried such disposal practices,
saying, “There is no reason that
states need to complete, say, vac-
cinating all health care providers
before opening up vaccinations
to older Americans or other es-
pecially vulnerable populations’
and that states should not ‘leave
vaccines sitting in freezers.’”
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the
Brown University School of Pub-
lic Health, told NBC News recent-
ly that “this kind of thing is pretty
rampant. I have personally heard
stories like this from dozens of
physician friends in a variety of
different states. Hundreds, if not
thousands, of doses are getting
tossed across the country every
day. It’s unbelievable.”
The vaccines are being pro-
duced by Pfizer and Moderna,
with a third vaccine being de-
veloped by Johnson & Johnson
that’s based on a different ap-
proach to preventing the CCP
virus expected to be approved
by the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration in the near future.
President Joe Biden has set
a goal of 1 million Americans
being vaccinated daily, and he
hopes to see 100 new vaccination
centers being opened around the
country as soon as possible.
But to reach what medical
experts consider to be herd im-
munity, the United States must
vaccinate at least 1.8 million in-
dividuals daily between now and
the end of July.
Contact Mark Tapscott at
Mark.Tapscott@epochtimes.com
cal advantage, including forced
technology transfers. And these
practices, including China’s low la-
bor and environmental standards,
are practices that we’re prepared
to use the full array of tools to ad-
dress,” she said, adding that the
United States should also work
with like-minded nations to ad-
dress these challenges.
Yellen will be a key official in ad-
vising Biden whether to roll back
Trump’s recent order that bans
investments in Chinese military
companies.
In his final weeks in office,
Trump took swift action to curb
Beijing’s access to lucrative
U.S. capital markets amid pres-
sure from the Treasury Depart-
ment and Wall Street.
Yellen  is expected  to receive
confirmation easily in the Senate.
Democrats and some Republicans
Surgeon General Jerome Adams Confirms
Biden Team Asked Him to Resign
TOM OZIMEK
Surgeon General Jerome Adams
has confirmed that the incom-
ing Biden team requested he
step down ahead of President Joe
Biden’s inauguration.
Adams made the announcement
in a tweet on Jan. 20, several hours
before Biden took the oath of office.
“I’ve been asked by the Biden
team to step down as Surgeon Gen-
eral,” Adams wrote. “It’s been the
honor of my life to serve this Na-
tion, and I will do all I can to ensure
everyone has an equal opportunity
to achieve and maintain health.”
Biden’s pick for Adams’s replace-
ment is former Surgeon General
Vivek Murthy, who has advised
Biden on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adams, who holds the rank of
vice admiral in the Commissioned
Corps of the U.S. Public Health Ser-
vice, was confirmed by the Senate
in 2017 to serve as surgeon general
under the Trump administration.
His four-year term was set to expire
in September.
In a post on Facebook, Adams re-
flected on his time in office, noting
that his “tenure started with three
category 5 hurricanes barreling
down on our citizens.”
“I immediately deployed to wit-
ness the devastation first hand,
and to lead our Public Health Ser-
vice Officers as we helped with the
response,” he wrote. “I saw the best
of our Nation coming together in
the worse of times, to help those
who’d lost everything.”
Surgeon General Jerome Adams at the White House on March 5, 2020.
NATION | A7
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
believe that she is the best person
for the job.
“The good news is Chair Yel-
len knows that going small on
economic relief would be a big
mistake. Chair Yellen is exactly
the right person to lead the Trea-
sury Department,”  Senate Fi-
nance Committee member Ron
Wyden (D-Ore.) said during the
hearing.
Yellen came under criticism re-
cently after her financial disclosure
forms revealed that she made mil-
lions of dollars giving speeches to
Wall Street banks, raising concerns
that these fees create conflicts of
interest. She has received more
than $7.2 million in speaking fees
from investment banks and large
corporations in the past two years.
“I don’t believe I have any con-
flict of interest,” Yellen said at the
hearing.
He said he next turned his at-
tention to fighting the opioid
epidemic, including by issuing a
surgeon general’s advisory that
encouraged more people to carry
the opioid overdose-reversing drug
Naloxone.
“Working across government
and with amazing advocacy orga-
nizations on the ground—many
led by parents who had lost their
own children to opioid overdose—
we were able to increase Naloxone
availability nationwide by over
400 [percent], and save countless
lives,” he wrote.
After the COVID-19 pandemic
reached America’s shores, Adams
said he “sought to communicate
the rapidly evolving science on this
deadly adversary, and arm people
with the knowledge and tools they
needed to stay safe.”
“I wasn’t always right—because
no one was, and this virus con-
tinues to humble all of us—but I
was always sincere in my efforts to
speak to every day Americans, and
address the terrible health inequi-
ties this virus exposed,” he wrote.
Looking forward, Adams struck a
unifying tone, saying he hopes “we
can focus more on what unites us,
and rise above what divides us.”
“Because Americans working to-
gether can overcome any obstacle
or adversary. I stand at the ready
to help in our mutual quest for re-
covery, resilience, and health, and
thank you from the bottom of my
heart, for the opportunity to serve,”
he wrote.
JIM WATSON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
A8 | NATION
McConnell Seeks
to Preserve
Filibuster in
Senate Power-
Sharing Talks
ZACHARY STIEBER
U.S. Senate leaders failed on
Jan. 19 to reach an agree-
ment on sharing power in
the upper congressional
chamber and will continue
negotiating as the body of-
ficially becomes split 50–50.
A key issue in negotiations
is the filibuster. Senate Re-
publican leader Mitch Mc-
Connell (R-Ky.) is trying to
ensure the preservation of
the rule, which requires 60
votes to end debate on is-
sues, through the next two
years. He pressed his case
while meeting with Senate
Democratic leader Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“During today’s meet-
ing, Leader McConnell ex-
pressed his long-held view
that the crucial, longstand-
ing, and bipartisan Senate
rules concerning the leg-
islative filibuster remain
intact, specifically during
the power share for the next
two years,” Doug Andres, a
Trump Grants Pardons
to 73 People, Commutes
Sentences of 70 More
MIMI NGUYEN LY
President Donald Trump
granted pardons to 73 indi-
viduals and commuted the
sentences of an additional
70 in the final hours of his
presidency.
After landing in Florida
after departing Washing-
ton hours ahead of Presi-
dent-elect Joe Biden’s in-
auguration, White House
deputy press secretary
Judd Deere announced
that Trump granted a full
pardon to Al Pirro, former
husband of Fox News host
Jeanine Pirro.
Pirro, who once represent-
ed Trump as a real estate
lawyer, served 11 months in
prison after being convicted
decades ago of conspiracy
and tax evasion after pros-
ecutors said he improperly
deducted more than $1 mil-
lion in personal expenses
as business write-offs to
reduce his tax bill. He and
Jeanine Pirro, who hosts
the Fox News show “Jus-
tice with Judge Jeanine,”
divorced in 2013.
The full list of presidential
pardons and commuta-
tions includes former White
House chief strategist and
ex-Breitbart chairman Steve
Bannon, as well as rappers
Lil Wayne and Kodak Black,
ex-Detroit Mayor  Kwame
Kilpatrick, and former
Trump fundraiser Elliott
Broidy.
Trump granted Ban-
non a full pardon. Bannon
had pleaded not guilty to
fraud charges relating to
fundraising for a private
border wall project. He was
released on bail in August
2020 and was scheduled to
stand trial in May 2021 prior
to the pardon.
The release from the White
House said of Bannon:
“Prosecutors pursued Mr.
Bannon with charges relat-
ed to fraud stemming from
his involvement in a politi-
cal project. Mr. Bannon has
spokesman for McConnell,
told news outlets in a state-
ment.
“Discussions on all as-
pects of the power-sharing
agreement will continue
over the next several days.”
Schumer’s spokesman
said the Democrat and
McConnell had a “substan-
tive conversation,” making
progress on confirming
Cabinet nominees from
newly inaugurated Presi-
dent Joe Biden and details
on how an impeachment
trial for President Donald
Trump, who exited office
on Jan. 20, will proceed
once the House of Repre-
sentatives sends over its
impeachment resolution.
The spokesman told out-
lets that Schumer wants to
adopt a power-sharing res-
olution from 2001 “without
extraneous changes from
either side.”
That resolution set the
membership of each com-
mittee at an equal number
been an important leader in
the conservative movement
and is known for his politi-
cal acumen.”
Bannon in August 2020 de-
scribed his arrest as a “po-
litical hit job” to “stop and
intimidate people” from sup-
porting a private U.S.–Mex-
ico border wall. Trump said
at the time of Bannon’s arrest
that he felt “very badly.”
“I feel very badly. I haven’t
been dealing with him for
a very long period of time,”
Trump told reporters. “I
don’t like that project. I
thought it was being done
for showboating reasons.”
Rapper Lil Wayne, also
known as Dwayne Michael
Carter Jr., was granted a full
pardon. Carter was pros-
ecuted on federal weapons
charges and “pled guilty to
possession of a firearm and
ammunition by a convicted
felon, owing to a conviction
over 10 years ago,” accord-
ing to the White House an-
nouncement. The announce-
ment notes that Carter has
since “exhibited this gener-
osity through commitment
to a variety of charities,
including donations to re-
search hospitals and a host
of foodbanks.” His pardon is
supported by football coach
Deion Sanders and business-
man Brett Berish.
Rapper Kodak Black, also
known as  Bill Kapri,  was
sentenced to 46 months in
prison for making a false
statement on a federal docu-
ment and has served nearly
half of his sentence. The
White House announce-
ment noted that Kapri’s
commutation is supported
by many religious and com-
munity leaders, and that he
was involved in “numerous
philanthropic efforts” prior
to his conviction.
Former mayor of Detroit,
Kilpatrick has served about
seven years of a 28-year pris-
on term for his role in a rack-
eteering and bribery scheme
while in office. Prominent
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (L) and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) during a joint session
of Congress in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
Discussions on
all aspects of the
power-sharing
agreement will
continue.
Doug Andres, spokesman for
Sen. Mitch McConnell
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist and former
executive chairman of Breitbart News, at his home in Washing-
ton on Aug. 23, 2019.
members of the Detroit
community, including Alice
Johnson, Diamond and Silk,
and pastor Paula White, sup-
port his commutation.
Broidy, a former top fund-
raiser for Trump during the
2016 campaign, pleaded
guilty in October 2020 to
violating lobbying laws by
attempting to influence the
administration on behalf
of Chinese and Malaysian
interests.
Trump also granted full
pardons to  Todd Farha,
Thaddeus Bereday, William
Kale, Paul Behrens, and
Peter Clay, figures who are
“widely cited as a case study
in overcriminalization,” and
who have attracted broad
support for their pardons,
according to the White
House announcement.
“In 2008, Messrs. Farha,
Bereday, Kale, Behrens,
and Clay were criminally
prosecuted for a state regu-
latory matter involving the
reporting of expenditures
to a state health agency,”
the announcement of their
pardon reads.
“The expenditures re-
ported were based on ac-
tual monies spent, and the
reporting methodology was
reviewed and endorsed by
those with expertise in the
state regulatory scheme.
Notably, there was no evi-
dence that any of the in-
dividuals were motivated
by greed. And in fact, the
sentencing judge called the
likelihood that there was
any personal financial mo-
tivation ‘infinitesimal.’
“The judge imposed a
range of sentences from
for each party and gave
committee chair positions
to the party that controls
the White House. It also al-
lowed party leaders to dis-
charge a measure or nomi-
nation from a committee in
the event of tied vote.
Negotiations on power-
sharing in the Senate are
taking place as three Dem-
ocrats, Georgia Sens.-elect
Jon Ossoff and Raphael
Warnock, and Kamala Har-
ris replacement Alex Padil-
la, are slated to be sworn in
this week.
In a letter to colleagues
SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
probation to three years’
imprisonment, reflecting
the conduct as an aberra-
tion from these individu-
als’ otherwise law-abiding
lives. Messrs. Farha, Bere-
day, Kale, Behrens, and Clay
are described as devoted to
their family and their com-
munities, and have weath-
ered their convictions with-
out complaint.”
The pardon power ap-
plies to federal crimes and
is one of the broadest pow-
ers available to a president.
The decision to pardon isn’t
reviewable by other branch-
es of government, and the
president doesn’t have to
provide a reason for issuing
a pardon.
Individuals not on the
list of pardons and com-
mutations—but who were
frequently discussed on so-
cial media prior to the White
House announcement—in-
clude WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange,  former
CIA employee and whistle-
blower Edward Snowden,
and Joe Exotic, a former zoo
operator who was convicted
on charges of animal abuse
and an attempted murder-
for-hire plot.
Trump in his last week in
office didn’t hold any pub-
lic events. The president
instead issued a number of
memorandums and execu-
tive orders, including order-
ing the declassification of
previously confidential doc-
uments related to Crossfire
Hurricane, the FBI’s investi-
gation of his 2016 campaign.
Reuters contributed
to this report.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
on Jan. 18, McConnell said
he felt the need “to address
the threats to the legislative
filibuster.”
“As you know, we all re-
sisted the direct calls of
President Trump to destroy
the Senate by eliminating
the legislative filibuster
when we controlled the
House, the Senate, and the
White House,” he said.
Trump pushed Republi-
can senators to vote to end
the filibuster because he
said Schumer and fellow
Democrats would eventu-
ally end it when they took
California Rep. Ruiz Tests
Positive for COVID-19
ISABEL VAN BRUGEN
Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.)
said on Jan. 19 that he tested
positive for the CCP virus, a
day before the presidential
inauguration.
Ruiz said in a statement
on Twitter that he had tak-
en multiple tests for the
CCP virus in recent days
ahead of the swearing-in
of President Joe Biden and
Vice President Kamala
Harris.
“After receiving an initial
negative result over the
weekend, this morning I
tested positive for COVID-
19,” he wrote.
The Democratic congress-
man said he has mild symp-
toms, is feeling well “over-
all,” and will self-isolate for
the recommended time.
“Thank you everyone for
the well wishes,” he said.
Ruiz is the latest member
of Congress to test positive
for the disease in recent
days, following the Jan.
6 breach of the U.S. Capi-
tol building during a joint
session of lawmakers to
count and certify Electoral
College votes for the 2020
presidential election.
The incident disrupted
debates in both the House
and Senate as lawmakers
were forced to shelter in
place or evacuate, and po-
lice and security attempted
to regain control.
Ruiz on Jan. 6 voted
against the objection to
Arizona and Pennsylva-
HANDOUT/BIDEN INAUGURAL COMMITTEE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) speaks during the event “Latino Inau-
gural 2021: Inheritance, Resilience, and Promise,” hosted by
the Biden Inaugural Committee, on Jan. 19, 2021.
OLIVIER DOULIERY/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
back the Senate.
A simple majority vote
would end the filibuster.
The Democrat-controlled
Senate in 2013 voted to end
the filibuster on most judi-
cial nominations. No Re-
publicans voted in favor of
ending it; Sen. Joe Manchin
(D-W.Va.) was one of three
Democrats to side with Re-
publicans.
In 2017, the Republican-
controlled Senate extend-
ed the action to Supreme
Court nominations to push
through the nomination of
Justice Neil Gorsuch.
nia electoral results. Both
objections failed to get a
simple majority in either
chamber.
According to ABC News,
Reps. Bonnie Watson Cole-
man (D-N.J.), Adriano Es-
paillat (D-N.Y.), Chuck
Fleischmann (R-Tenn.),
Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.),
Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), and
Lou Correa (D-Calif.) have
also tested positive for CO-
VID-19 since the breach.
“I was forced to spend
several hours in a secure
but confined location with
dozens of other members of
Congress,” Schneider said
in a statement issued last
week. “Several Republican
lawmakers in the room ad-
amantly refused to wear a
mask ... even when politely
asked by their colleagues.”
Correa, 62, didn’t shelter
in place with colleagues
on Jan. 6; his office said
he stayed outside to help
the U.S. Capitol Police. His
test was routine, and came
nearly a month after Cor-
rea had received Pfizer’s
COVID-19 vaccine.
Several U.S. Capitol police
officers have also contract-
ed the CCP virus since the
Jan. 6 incident, according to
Bloomberg.
It isn’t clear, however,
whether the Congress
members or Capitol Police
officers contracted COV-
ID-19 on Jan. 6. Individu-
als can pick up the virus up
to 14 days before symptoms
appear.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
More Regions of
China Go Under
Lockdown as
Outbreaks Worsen
CONTINUED FROM A1
schools start winter break one week
before the Lunar New Year, which
falls on Feb. 12 this year.
The city is also requiring a lon-
ger quarantine period for travel-
ers from abroad. At a Jan. 19 press
conference, officials said people
from overseas have tested positive
in Beijing and other cities for COV-
ID-19 after their 14-day quarantine.
Thus, the government decided
to extend the quarantine period.
People from overseas must isolate
for 14 days at quarantine centers,
then seven days at home or a quar-
antine center, and finally another
seven days at home.
Meanwhile, people within China
who live in areas designated as me-
dium or high risk for contracting
the virus aren’t allowed to enter the
capital, except with special approv-
al from the Beijing government. If
they are approved, they and the
Beijing residents they will interact
with must complete the four-week
quarantine.
The capital has seen new cluster
infections since at least Dec. 14 of
last year—when a 27-year-old man
working in Hong Kong returned
to Beijing and tested positive for
COVID-19 after the mandatory
14-day quarantine. Authorities
later said restaurant waitresses
Alibaba’s
Ma Makes
First Public
Appearance
in 3 Months
SHANGHAI—Alibaba Group
founder Jack Ma made his first
public appearance since Octo-
ber 2020 on Jan. 20, speaking to
a group of teachers by video, and
easing concern about his unusual
absence from the limelight and
sending shares in the e-commerce
giant surging.
Speculation over Ma’s where-
abouts has swirled in the wake of
news this month that he was re-
placed as a judge in the final epi-
sode of a reality TV show, and amid
a regulatory clampdown by Beijing
on his sprawling business empire.
The billionaire, who commands
a cult-like reverence in China,
hadn’t appeared in public since
Oct. 24, 2020, when he blasted
China’s regulatory system in a
speech at a Shanghai forum. That
set him on a collision course with
officials and led to the suspen-
sion of a blockbuster $37 billion
IPO for Alibaba’s financial affiliate
Ant Group.
Until then, Ma had often ap-
peared in public, speaking at
conferences and other events, al-
though less frequently than in 2019
due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Alibaba and his charitable foun-
dation both confirmed that Ma, a
former English teacher, participat-
ed in an online ceremony for rural
teachers organized by the founda-
tion on Jan. 20. They declined to
provide further comment.
In the 50-second video, Ma,
wearing a navy pullover, spoke
from a room with grey walls, a large
painting, and floral arrangements.
It wasn’t clear where the room was.
“It was good to see that Jack Ma
has resurfaced—my assumption
was that he decided (with some
encouragement) to take a tem-
porarily lower profile after mak-
ing comments that annoyed the
government,” said Dan Kern, chief
investment officer of Alibaba inves-
tor TFC Financial Management in
Boston, whose funds hold positions
in the stock.
and guests in Chaoyang district
who came into contact with him
had tested positive.
Then, in late December, a clus-
ter outbreak occurred in Shunyi
district.
The latest official announcement
stated that nearly a dozen people
contracted the disease through
neighborhoods, colleagues, and
relatives—including a 63-year-old
female and her 46-year-old male
family member who live in Dax-
ing district.
The Beijing Center for Disease
Control and Prevention said at a
Jan. 20 press conference that the
two people with no recent travel
history had contracted the UK vari-
ant. But officials didn’t explain how
they could have contracted the new
virus strain.
Also on Jan. 20, authorities desig-
nated the Tiangongyuan commu-
nity where they live as a high-risk
region for contracting the virus,
with no one allowed to leave the
area. Meanwhile, all residents of
Daxing district would be required
to take nucleic acid tests.
Outbreaks in Other Regions
Wangkui county of Suihua city,
Heilongjiang Province, was des-
ignated on Jan. 20 as a high-risk
region.
Five neighboring districts,
Jack Ma, then-chairman of Alibaba Group, arrives at the Tech for Good sum-
mit in Paris on May 15, 2019.
Stock activity of the Alibaba Group Holding (top C) is displayed at the Exchange
Square towers in Hong Kong on Nov. 4, 2020, after Chinese authorities’ last-
minute decision to suspend the IPO of fintech giant Ant Group the night before.
Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed
shares jumped to finish 8.5 percent
higher on the news, which was first
reported by Tianmu News, a media
outlet backed by the government
of Zhejiang, the province where
Alibaba’s headquarters are based.
The company’s American Deposi-
tary Receipts (ADRs) rose nearly 5
percent.
The video also contained foot-
age, dated Jan. 10, of Ma visiting
with colleagues a school in Tonglu
county, part of Hangzhou city, the
capital of Zhejiang.
“Jack Ma’s reappearance has giv-
en investors peace of mind after
a lot of rumors, allowing them to
pile into the stock which had been a
laggard in the market,” said Steven
Leung, sales director at brokerage
UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.
The stock has erased losses suf-
fered after Alibaba became the
target of an antitrust investigation
launched last month by Chinese
People line up outside a hospital to get tested for the CCP virus, in Beijing on Jan. 14, 2021.
counties, and cities said on Jan.
19 they would ban residents from
leaving their homes, a day after
the provincial capital of Harbin
halted all public transportation
in Hulan district.
A report by state-run media
Health Times also hinted at severe
outbreaks within hospitals in Hebei
and Liaoning provinces.
It noted that a woman hired to
take care of a patient at the Shiji-
azhuang Gaocheng People’s Hos-
pital began exhibiting COVID-like
symptoms on Jan. 1. She took a test
on Jan. 3, which came back positive
the following day. The media report
criticized the hospital for the delay
in administering the test, which
may have allowed the woman to
spread the virus further.
CHARLES PLATIAU/REUTERS
ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
authorities, but remains some 11
percent below levels prior to the
cancellation of the Ant IPO.
The topic “Jack Ma makes his
first public appearance” and his
video address to the teachers soon
began trending on China’s Twit-
ter-like Weibo, triggering heavy
discussion.
Although Ma has stepped down
from corporate positions and earn-
ings calls, he retains significant in-
fluence over Alibaba and Ant, and
promotes them globally at busi-
ness and political events. He also
continues to mentor management
talent in the “Alibaba Partnership,”
a 35-member group of company
managers.
The company plans to raise at
least $5 billion through the sale of
a U.S. dollar-denominated bond
this month.
By Brenda Goh
From Reuters
The report also criticized two
other hospitals in Hebei, two in
Shenyang city of Liaoning, and
eight in Chaoyang city in Liaon-
ing, for not following protocols to
contain the virus.
Tonghua and Gongzhuling in
Jilin Province announced on Jan.
19 that both cities would be fully
locked down, meaning no incom-
ing or outgoing transportation
would be allowed.
Tonghua resident Ms. Tan told the
Chinese-language Epoch Times
that the residential compound she
lives in was among the first areas
affected when authorities sealed
off parts of the city several days ago.
Residents weren’t allowed to visit
neighbors in other buildings.
Tan was frustrated at the lack of
Chinese Regime Sanctions Trump-Era
Officials Over Tough China Policies
CONTINUED FROM A1
Ambassador to the United Na-
tions Kelly Craft; David Stilwell,
former assistant state secretary
for the Bureau of East Asian and
Pacific Affairs; and Keith Krach,
former undersecretary of state for
economic growth, energy, and
the environment.
John Bolton, Trump’s previous
national security adviser, and
Stephen Bannon, who previ-
ously served as Trump’s White
House chief strategist, also were
sanctioned.
Those sanctioned and their
immediate family members are
barred from entering mainland
China, Hong Kong, and Macau,
according to the spokesperson.
The individuals and “companies
and institutions associated” with
them will also be restricted from
doing business with China, the
statement added.
The former U.S. officials sanc-
tioned were involved in the Trump
administration’s response to
threats posed by the CCP. These
include sanctions on CCP officials
for rights abuses in Xinjiang and
Hong Kong, banning U.S. invest-
ments into Chinese companies
with ties to the military, and con-
vincing allies to block Chinese
telecom giant Huawei from 5G
networks around the world over
national security threats.
Azar and Krach last year visited
Taiwan, becoming the highest-
level U.S. officials to visit since the
United States switched formal re-
lations to China in 1979 from Tai-
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the National Press Club in
Washington on Jan. 12, 2021.
CHINA | A9
GREG BAKER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
information from authorities about
the outbreak.
“We only know the official an-
nouncement. What’s the real scale
of the outbreak? We don’t know,”
Tan said.
Also, in two villages of Heilongji-
ang, officials transported all resi-
dents to quarantine centers.
An insider in the area, who identi-
fied himself only by his surname
Sun out of fear that authorities
would punish him for speaking to
foreign media, said the local out-
break was very severe—and there
were more cases than what author-
ities publicly announced.
According to Sun, nearly all fami-
lies in those two villages had at least
one household member who had
tested positive for COVID-19.
wan. Craft had been scheduled to
visit the island last week but ended
up speaking to Taiwan President
Tsai Ing-wen via teleconference
instead, when it was canceled due
to transition efforts. The high-level
visits, as well as the Trump admin-
istration’s increased engagement
and arms sales to the democratic
island, angered Beijing, which
views Taiwan as part of its territory.
In one of his final acts as sec-
retary of state, Pompeo declared
that the regime has committed
“genocide and crimes against
humanity” against Uyghurs
and other Muslim minorities in
the far-western Xinjiang region.
Biden’s pick for secretary of state,
Antony Blinken, told a Senate
hearing on Jan. 19 that he agreed
with the designation.
He also acknowledged the grave
threat posed by the regime and
pledged to work with allies to push
back against Beijing.
The CCP’s persecution campaign
in the region, perpetrated through
its network of internment camps
and mass surveillance system, has
drawn international condemna-
tion. Under the pretext of combat-
ing “extremism,” the regime has
detained more than 1 million of
the region’s inhabitants, and sub-
jected them to forced sterilization,
forced labor, and torture.
Beijing, which denies the
atrocities, lashed out at Pompeo
during a foreign ministry press
briefing on Jan. 20, calling him
a “doomsday clown,” while de-
scribing the designation as a
“piece of wastepaper.”
ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
A10 | WORLD
‘Precious’ Free Speech in UK Universities Under Threat
From Cancel Culture: Former Secretary of State
MARY CLARK
The UK’s former secretary of state
told British lawmakers on Jan. 19
that free speech is under severe
threat in the country’s universities
from the “cancel culture” move-
ment.
“Today, there’s a corrosive trend
in our universities that aims to pre-
vent anybody hearing ideas that
groups disagree with or would be
offended by,” said Conservative MP
David Davis, while introducing his
Freedom of Speech (Universities)
private members bill to the House
of Commons.
“Today, the cancel culture move-
ment think that it’s reasonable to
obliterate the views of people they
disagree with,” he said.
He said the primary reason the
United Kingdom can be called a
great nation is summed up in a
single word—the word “freedom,”
which he subdivided into several
specific freedoms.
These include, he said, “freedom
of action, freedom of assembly,
freedom of thought, freedom of
belief, freedom of speech, freedom
under the law.”
But he said that among those,
the freedom of speech, which was
preserved by Parliament’s Bill of
Rights in the late 1600s, is by far
the most important.
Of “all these freedoms, the most
precious is freedom of speech,” he
said.
“It’s been fundamental to the de-
velopment of our culture, our soci-
ety, our literature, our science, and
our economy.”
Davis also said the right to the “free
exchange of ideas” had fostered the
nation’s wealth even more than the
exchange of goods, and democracies
around the world had long followed
the UK’s example in upholding it.
He quoted Article 19 of the Dec-
laration of Human Rights, which
reads, “Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression;
this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and
Germany
Extends
Existing
Lockdown
Until February
MEILING LEE
Germany will extend its ongoing
COVID-19 lockdown measures
until Feb. 14 amid fears of a new
virus variant and continued at-
tempts to bring infection rates
down. The existing lockdown was
supposed to expire at the end of
this month.
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel met with the country’s
state leaders on Jan. 19, deciding
to keep most “nonessential” busi-
nesses and schools closed.
Merkel told reporters after the
meeting that Germany may con-
sider closing its borders to neigh-
boring countries that don’t take
action to stop transmission of the
CCP virus. The country shares bor-
ders with nine European nations.
“We need to make sure that
everyone around us is doing the
same,” Merkel said. “Otherwise,
we have to look at measures such
as entry restrictions.”
Additional measures were also
added to the lockdown, including
corporations allowing their staff to
work from home until March 15,
and an updated mask mandate,
meaning surgical masks must be
worn when using public transport
or shopping indoors. Cloth masks,
scarves, or bandannas will no lon-
ger be sufficient.
Calls for stricter mask-wearing
come as a result of concerns by
scientists that the United King-
dom and South African strains
observed in Germany may spread
to seek, receive and impart infor-
mation and ideas through any me-
dia and regardless of frontiers.”
However, he said the rights en-
shrined in Article 19 are “under
threat in the very institutions
where it should be most trea-
sured—our universities.”
In support of the need for his bill,
Davis cited research published in
December 2020 by an open dis-
cussion advocacy organization,
Civitas.
The research shows that in the
period from January 2017 to August
2020, all 137 universities it looked
at had allowed free speech to be
censored.
The censorship had occurred, ac-
cording to Civitas, in controversies
around free speech that took place
on or near campuses, within uni-
versities’ restrictive policies, codes
of conduct, and society groups, and
under influence from external
pressure groups.
The research found that 48 (35
percent) of the universities stud-
ied fell into the “most restrictive”
category of censorship.
This group included the top three
in Britain’s elite Russell Group uni-
versities, namely Oxford, Cam-
bridge, and St. Andrews.
The Russell Group didn’t respond
to a request for comment.
Civitas found that a further 70
(51 percent) of the universities it
studied had curbed free speech
in “moderately restrictive” ways
and the remaining 19 (14 percent)
had “permitted some restrictions
to free speech in its actions and
regular policies.”
Davis characterized the curbs
in universities as “disastrous” and
said, if not tackled, the impact on
academic freedom will be “cata-
strophic.”
He said the proposed bill is need-
ed despite laws already being in
existence protecting free speech.
“While in the UK, we theoretical-
ly have laws protecting freedom of
speech, in practice, they’re buried
in education acts, resulting in pro-
Outdoor seating from a temporarily shuttered cafe is stacked and locked at
Gendarmenmarkt square during the second wave of the CCP virus pandemic
in Berlin on Jan. 20, 2021.
Merkel said that
Germany may con-
sider closing its bor-
ders to neighboring
countries that don’t
take action.
quickly throughout the country,
undoing mitigation strategies
taken so far to contain the disease.
In addition, a new variant of the
CCP virus was found in 35 patients
in a hospital in Bavaria that dif-
fered from the UK and South Afri-
can strains, according to Bavarian
news outlet BR24.
Lab work on the new variant is
still being conducted to find out
if the mutation has any clinical
significance.
“At the moment we have discov-
ered a small point mutation ... and
it is absolutely not clear whether it
will be of clinical relevance,” said
Clemens Stockklausner, deputy
medical director at Garmisch-
Partenkirchen Clinic.
Virus mutations aren’t rare and
The Radcliffe Camera building at Oxford University in England, in this file photo.
Conservative MP and former Secretary of State David Davis in London on
Feb. 6, 2019.
tections not being widely known
and universities not always up-
holding their duties,” he said.
While the bill wouldn’t protect
those who for example incited vio-
lence, Davis said, it would make
it incumbent upon universities to
ensure that speech that was merely
controversial, challenging, or un-
SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES
usually occur faster than scientists
can comprehend them. According
to Nature, “researchers have cata-
loged more than 12,000 mutations
in SARS-CoV-2 genomes” since the
pandemic began.
SARS-CoV-2 is another name for
the CCP virus.
The UK and South African vari-
ants have been found to spread
much more easily, but it has not
been seen to cause a higher per-
centage of fatalities.
A report by Public Health Eng-
land “found no statistically signifi-
cant difference in hospitalization
and 28-day case fatality” between
the UK variant and the common
CCP virus. “There was also no
significant difference in the like-
lihood of reinfection between
variant cases and the compara-
tor group.”
CCP virus cases continue to re-
main high in Germany in spite of
strict lockdown measures imple-
mented since November, with the
country recording over 2 million
virus cases, 47,263 deaths, and
1.71 million people who have re-
covered as of Jan. 19, according to
Johns Hopkins University.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
TOLGA AKMEM/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
popular wasn’t censored.
He said free speech is needed to
preserve democracy.
“The right to free speech is the
foundation stone of our democracy.
To stand idly by while this founda-
tion is being eroded is a dereliction of
duty. This bill makes it the absolute
duty of every university authority to
Uyghur Repression: UK’s Johnson Says
Genocide Attribution ‘Judicial Matter’
ALEXANDER ZHANG
British Prime Minister Boris John-
son on Jan. 20 deflected criticism
of his government’s stance on the
plight of China’s Uyghur Muslim
minority and said the attribution
of genocide is “a judicial matter.”
A day earlier, Johnson’s govern-
ment instructed lawmakers from
the ruling Conservative Party to
vote down an amendment to the
Trade Bill that would have given
UK courts power to revoke trade
deals with countries responsible
for genocides.
The measure was defeated by a
margin of just 11 votes, with 319
Conservative MPs voting in line
with the government to reject it, and
308 MPs—including 33 Conserva-
tive rebels—voting to support it.
At Prime Minister’s Questions
on Jan. 20, Ian Blackford, the Scot-
tish National Party’s Westminster
group leader, said Johnson’s posi-
tion on the so-called “genocide
amendment” had left his claims
about the UK’s global leadership
less believable.
“Genocide isn’t a matter of history,
it is happening in our world right
now. The international community
has stood idly by as Uyghur Mus-
lim men, women, and children are
forced into concentration camps
in China’s Xinjiang Province,” he
said in the House of Commons, via
video link.
Noting that the outgoing U.S. Sec-
retary of State Michael Pompeo had
officially declared Beijing’s repres-
sion of Uyghurs a “genocide,” and
Biden’s team “agrees with his view,”
Blackford asked, “Is the prime min-
ister prepared to follow that lead?
Is he prepared to stand up today
and clearly state that genocide has
been committed against the Uy-
OLI SCARFF/GETTY IMAGES
protect the most fundamental of our
freedoms, the right to free speech.”
The issue of censorship in Brit-
ain’s universities came under the
spotlight in 2020 when, amid Black
Lives Matter protests across the
country, the University of Edin-
burgh bowed to pressure.
Due to perceived connotations of
racism in remarks made 260 years
previously by its namesake David
Hume, one of Scotland’s most laud-
ed philosophers, it renamed one of
its campus buildings.
Earlier that year, Secretary of
State for Education Gavin William-
son said that “if Britain as a nation
is to prosper, it needs a vibrant,
academically curious, and intel-
lectually diverse university sector.”
Writing in The London Times at
the time, he said that every uni-
versity should promote “unam-
biguous guidance” on academic
freedom and free speech “explicitly
recognizing that this may some-
times cause offense.”
“If universities don’t take action,
the government will,” he said.
ghur population in China?”
Johnson responded by saying,
“The attribution of genocide is a ju-
dicial matter, but I can say for myself
that I regard what is happening in
Xinjiang and what’s happening to
the Uyghurs as utterly abhorrent.”
He said the government had taken
steps “against what is happening,”
including measures to “prevent
British commercial engagement
with goods that are made by forced
labor in Xinjiang.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab
announced last week that the UK
would take a series of measures to
ensure UK businesses and public
bodies don’t allow goods produced
with slave labor from Xinjiang in
their supply chains.
But lawmakers from both the
ruling and opposition parties have
said the measures are inadequate
and that targeted Magnitsky sanc-
tions should have been imposed on
Chinese officials responsible for the
abuse in Xinjiang.
In July 2000, the UK government
introduced new sanctions to tar-
get individuals involved in human
rights abuses or organized crime.
But so far it hasn’t used the new pol-
icy tool to target Chinese officials.
On Jan. 19, the Trump adminis-
tration declared that the Chinese
regime has committed “genocide”
and “crimes against humanity”
against Uyghur Muslims.
Last July, the United States im-
posed sanctions on four Chinese
officials involved in human rights
abuses against the Uyghurs, in-
cluding the Xinjiang region’s Party
Secretary Chen Quanguo, who is a
member of the Chinese Commu-
nist Party’s powerful Politburo.
Lily Zhou and Cathy He
contributed to this report.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
India Arrests 12, Including 2 Chinese Women,
for Circulating Malicious App on WhatsApp
VENUS UPADHAYAYA
NEW DELHI—India arrest-
ed two Chinese women and
10 others accused of oper-
ating a fraud racket in New
Delhi that officials say duped
40,000 people through a ma-
licious app being circulated
on WhatsApp.
This is the most recent inci-
dent of cybercrime involving
Chinese-made mobile appli-
cations, some of which may
be linked to Chinese espio-
nage, police said.
The app helped the ac-
cused collect the personal
data of unsuspecting people
for illegitimate purposes.
Victims were lured by the of-
fer of lucrative returns from
an online multilevel market-
ing campaign; they alleg-
edly were offered $41 (3000
rupees) of daily commission
for spending 30 minutes
on the app—called New-
World—promoting internet
celebrities on Facebook, In-
stagram, and YouTube.
The malicious app, once
downloaded, hacked into
“Indian users’ devices and
also pushed them to follow
Social Media (FB, Insta &
YT) accounts of unknown
origin and control,” Depu-
ty Commissioner of Police
(DCP) Cybercrime of Delhi
Police Anyesh Roy said on
Jan. 15.
The network then sent
them social media videos
to like and social media
accounts to follow, and for
every such action, the users
were paid 8 cents (6 rupees),
according to India Times.
If the users opted for a VIP
membership, the number
of tasks assigned and the
amount paid for every activ-
ity exponentially increased.
The users were made to pay
$14 to $684 (1,000 to 50,000
rupees) for obtaining VIP
status.
“The malicious App also
induced users to pay for
VIP accounts to earn more.
These payments were never
honored and were siphoned
off,” the DCP Cybercrime
unit said in a message on
Twitter.
The police froze $819,000
(6 crores) from several bank
accounts and also recovered
$34,125 (25 lakhs) from the
arrested Chinese nationals.
People on their phones in Mumbai, India, on Nov. 10, 2019.
“They used more than 40
shell companies and a large
number of Bank accounts,
Crypto-Wallets, etc., to laun-
der and siphon the cheated
money,” the DCP Cyber-
crime unit said.
Meanwhile, Google re-
moved 60 made-in-China
instant loan apps from its
play store on Jan. 15 in re-
sponse to a complaint by the
Hyderabad Police.
While the apps were Chi-
nese-made, they were up-
loaded in India, The Times of
India reported. Weeks ago,
Indian investigative agen-
cies asked Google to remove
300 apps from its store.
The agencies were review-
ing how these apps lure and
dupe unsuspecting people,
and harass them for missing
repayment deadlines, even
by a few hours or a day. Six
people in India killed them-
selves because of being pub-
licly humiliated by such
app-running operations, the
Times of India said.
On Dec. 25, 2020, India ar-
rested a Chinese man who
managed companies that
operated at least 11 apps
offering small loans at ex-
tremely high interest rates
to Indians between the ages
LET’S
REJECT COMMUNISM
TOGETHER
Sign the Petition
to Reject the CCP
of 20 and 40.
Yi Bai (alias Dennis) was
arrested by cyber police in
Hyderabad during a raid
on a call center, for illegally
running money-lending mo-
bile applications, the Indian
media outlet DNA reported
on Dec. 26.
Fifteen people were arrest-
ed in three different cities
in India (Hyderabad, Delhi,
and Bengaluru). During the
raids, the police also seized
more than 2 crore rupees
(about $271,000) in cash, The
Times of India reported.
Booming of Instant Loan
Racket
As the COVID-19 pandemic
led to extensive job losses
in India after the lockdown
was imposed in March
2020, people needed credit,
and that’s when the made-
in-China instant loan apps
started to gain traction in the
Indian market.
Apps that arrange small
instant loans became very
popular because they don’t
check the creditworthi-
ness, don’t consume time,
and no definite loan agree-
ment is required, unlike
regular banks when giving
loans, Abhinav Pandya, CEO
TRUTH and TRADITION
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Help Spread
the Word
RejectCCP.com
of Usanas Foundation, an
Udaipur-based think tank,
told The Epoch Times.
“Then, definitely, people
will be lured, and that saves
a lot of time if you get easy
money, small amounts
of funds for your regular
needs. This is a very strong
factor about why people are
attracted to these instant
small loans,” said Pandya.
He said that India cur-
rently has a huge market for
small loan-based apps, as
the internet data is cheap,
an extremely high segment
of the population owns
Android phones, and the
society is fast turning into
a consumerist economy
that’s reeling from an eco-
nomic recession because of
the pandemic.
To the companies offer-
ing such loans, since the
amounts are small and
come with a huge interest
rate, they don’t cause much
loss to the company if a de-
fault occurs, according to
The  News Minute, an In-
dian media outlet that has
documented the criminal
operations of a few Chinese
companies operating these
small-loan apps.
The report said the same
Subscribe to
The Epoch Times
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
operations ran in China as
early as 2012, but the Chi-
nese regime clamped down
on the industry in 2016 and
asked the small loan appli-
cations, called Peer-2-Peer
(P2P) apps, to clear out-
standing loans and exit the
industry.
It was then that these lend-
ers turned their attention to-
ward India.
The vulnerability of the In-
dian users and the Indian
security system to these
small loan apps is high
because of the low level
of tech literacy among the
people, Pandya said.
“There is also a very ex-
treme level of illiteracy and
lack of awareness about the
pernicious impact of such
apps,” he said.
Pandya said that though
such incidents come un-
der the heading of cyber-
crimes, there’s a high possi-
bility of them being linked
to wider Chinese espionage
activities.
“We also know about how
China has been conducting
intelligence and influence
operations across the world
with these digital media
platforms,” he said.
Chinese operations that
WORLD | A11
are harassing defaulters can
also blackmail them into
becoming spies or involved
in other criminal activities,
such as smuggling or human
trafficking.
“So, certainly, there is ma-
jor espionage and a bigger
geopolitical angle to this
and it needs to be seriously
looked into,” said Pandya,
who authored the book
“Radicalization in India.”
Data War
The issue of small loan apps
penetrating the Indian mar-
ket becomes a large-scale
security threat for India.
Because the apps are made-
in-China, the personal infor-
mation fed by the app users
can thus feed metadata into
the Chinese artificial intel-
ligence system.
Prof. Madhav Nalapat, a
New Delhi-based strate-
gic analyst told The Epoch
Times over the phone that
the Chinese are developing
artificial intelligence (AI) in
a big way, and they want to
use AI methods to promote
their control within China as
well as outside as well.
“Artificial intelligence is a
machine fed by metadata.
So India has been a very
rich treasure trove of meta-
data for the Chinese, and the
United States as well,” said
Nalapat.
“For example, about 80
percent of the gaming indus-
try, the online gaming in-
dustry in the United States,
is actually controlled by
Chinese entities. And when
Americans click onto this
game, artificial intelligence
can give you a fairly good
idea what makes them upset,
what makes them sad, what
makes them happy. And the
same thing goes on in India.”
Nalapat said AI can be
used to map populations
and to map their reactions to
various messages and mes-
saging, and it can thus tailor
messages and messaging in
ways that you can fan “the
flames of hate.”
He described it as an ir-
regular warfare tactic that
aims at winning by using
every means. “Oh, it’s a
huge vulnerability for de-
mocracies, and therefore
faultlines can be expanded
significantly,” he said.
A12 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

TRUTH and TRADITION

UPDATED

HELP IS JUST A CLICK AWAY!

TheEpochTimes.com/help
It’s quick and easy!
FROM THIS PAGE YOU CAN: You will never have
to wait again.
FIND ANSWERS FROM A COMPREHENSIVE FAQ SECTION
• Troubleshoot common problems
• Learn our terms and conditions

SUBMIT REQUESTS ONLINE*

• Report delivery and other subscription issues
• Provide editorial and other feedback

USE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE LIVE CHAT

• Tell us your subscription inquiries or concerns

ACCESS THE CUSTOMER PORTAL

• Manage your subscription account
*Cancellations are processed on the hotline only.

Google’s New York office in lower Manhattan in New York City on March 5, 2018.
The ‘Monstrous Hybrids’ That Control Us
LAWRENCE SOLOMON
Conservatives are confused
about how to view the
tech giants, which have
become so powerful in so
many areas of our lives.
Should the Facebooks,
Twitters, and Googles be
seen as private companies and thus be
left alone to be disciplined by the free
market? Or should they be seen as de fac-
to monopolies, and thus proper targets
for government control?
Jane Jacobs, one of the great public
intellectuals in the last half of the 20th
century, coined a term in her bestseller,
“Systems of Survival,” that describes
what big tech companies have become—
“monstrous hybrids.”
Jacobs, who made Toronto her home
after leaving the United States over the
Vietnam War, described two broad
moral foundations for society—one
based on guardianship, the other on
commerce. Each has distinct character-
istics, or moral syndromes, as she called
them, and each is legitimate. The guard-
ians—these include politicians as well
as public and private police forces, the
courts, NGOs, clerics, and most govern-
ment employees—tend to shun trading,
dispense largesse, deceive for the sake of
the task, and exert force.
Instead of staying in its
commercial lane, Big Tech
became a political player, took
on functions of government, and
otherwise acted as guardians.
These characteristics work well in pro-
tecting society, and they differ entirely from
the traits that dominate commercial moral-
ity, which include shunning force, coming
to voluntary agreements, and competing
and dissenting for the sake of the task.
When these moral syndromes are pret-
ty much followed—when guardians stick
to their lane of protecting society and
commercial enterprises stick to making
profits—society functions well. But when
guardians move into the commercial
lane, or vice versa, they create hybrids
with characteristics of both syndromes.
The results can be monstrous.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 • A13
As examples of monstrous hybrids,
Jacobs cited the Mafia and street gangs
who run businesses while ruling ter-
ritories they control, police officers who
abuse their authority by soliciting bribes,
and companies that obtain commercial
monopolies through collusion with gov-
ernment officials. Jacobs didn’t discuss Big
Tech; she published “Systems of Survival”
in 1992, before Big Tech was granted the
immunity from prosecution that helped
catapult it to dominance. But Big Tech em-
bodies everything Jacobs saw as ruinous
to society.
Instead of staying in its commercial
lane, Big Tech became a political player,
took on functions of government, and
otherwise acted as guardians.
In a leaked video of a Google meet-
ing that took place shortly after Donald
Trump’s 2016 win of the presidency, the
company’s leaders, from co-founders
Larry Page and Sergey Brin on down,
seem of one mind in their determina-
tion to counter the populist movement
and Trump voters, whom they viewed as
“extremists.” Brin asked how Google could
ensure a “better quality of governance and
decision-making.” CEO Sundar Pichai
promised that Google would develop ma-
chine learning and artificial intelligence to
neutralize what they saw as “misinforma-
tion” shared by “low-information voters.”
Google made good on its vow, as since
reported in countless venues, among
them a major Wall Street Journal inves-
tigation that showed Google blacklists
conservative sites and hides information
from those using its search engine to
promote its own agendas.
Facebook likewise acts as a wing of
the Democratic Party by censoring infor-
mation that would hurt the Democrats
and, in its words, by deciding prior to the
2020 election “to run the largest voting
registration campaign in U.S. history—
with a goal of helping more than 4 million
people register to vote.” Unsurprisingly,
this campaign operated to get out the
Democratic vote.
Twitter’s censorship efforts extended to
blacklisting the New York Post, America’s
oldest daily newspaper, to hide alleged
evidence of corruption by the Biden family
from the public. And when conservatives
migrated to Parler to escape Big Tech’s
censorship, Apple, Google, and Amazon
acted in unison to shut Parler down.
Big Tech unquestioningly acts as pro-
A man holding a cellphone
crosses Pennsylvania Ave.
overlooking the U.S. Capitol in
Washington on Feb. 3, 2019.
Like this article? Share it
with your friends and family.
Use the camera on your
smart-phone to scan this code
and receive a shareble link.
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
pagandists for the left, enforcing the left’s
agenda of political correctness, cancel
culture, and identity politics while com-
promising the public’s privacy and right
to free speech. If anything, Big Tech’s
role in society has become more conse-
quential as guardians—they effectively
became arbiters of election integrity by
deciding what information voters should
be able to see and when they could see
it—than as commercial enterprises.
To deem the big tech giants simply as
actors in the free market because they once
happened to have been incorporated be-
trays a confusion born of willful blindness.
Conservatives weren’t always so con-
fused. After “Systems of Survival” was
published a generation ago, its analy-
sis was enthusiastically embraced by
paragons of free-market conservatism. A
Forbes magazine review by a Cato Insti-
tute scholar concluded that “the essence
of good public policy is keeping the two
syndromes as separate from each other
as possible.” A Reason magazine review
agreed that “trying to mix the two syn-
dromes, or to apply them to inappropriate
activities, produces institutional, social,
and moral breakdown.”
Today’s conservatives need to clear the
cobwebs from their minds and see the
big tech giants for what they are: mon-
strous hybrids that need to be brought to
heel if the rest of us are to enjoy the liber-
ties that we once took for granted.
Lawrence Solomon is a columnist, author,
and executive director of the Toronto-
based Consumer Policy Institute, founded
by Jane Jacobs. 
A14 | OPINION
What Will WHO Experts Find
During Their Wuhan Trip?
WANG YOUQUN
On Jan. 14, a team of experts from the
World Health Organization was finally
allowed to travel to Wuhan and investigate
the origin of the CCP virus, commonly
known as the novel coronavirus. The an-
nouncement issued by the National Health
Commission on Jan. 11 contained only a
short sentence. It didn’t mention the length
of the trip, nor did it specify a detailed itin-
erary. The trip takes place more than a year
after the virus first emerged. It has since
spread to 191 countries and regions.
Can WHO experts find the source
of the CCP virus in Wuhan?
I think it’s unlikely. The reasons are
as follows:
First, tracing the virus origin and tracing
who’s responsible for its global spread are
closely linked. If Wuhan is found to be the
source of the pandemic, but the CCP al-
lowed virus carriers to fly from Wuhan to
other parts of the world—causing at least
93 million infections and more than 2 mil-
lion deaths reported to date—the CCP will
be held accountable. This is something the
CCP is absolutely unwilling to face.
The CCP will definitely do
everything possible to conceal
the truth about the source of the
virus—deceit is in its nature.
On May 19, 2020, under strong pressure
from the international community, the
World Health Assembly passed a resolu-
tion to investigate the source of the virus.
WHO experts requested to visit Wuhan,
but the CCP dragged its feet again and
DILBERT
PEANUTS
RED AND ROVER
GRAND AVENUE
MUTT & JEFF
again for more than seven months. Why
did it take so long? Some experts believe
it was to clean up all the evidence at the
scene of the virus outbreak.
Since the outbreak in 2020, the U.S.
Health and Human Services Depart-
ment repeatedly offered to send experts
to China, but was rejected time and time
again. In the end, China agreed that the
U.S. experts could go to China with the
WHO expert team. In February 2020, after
a nine-day trip, Canadian Bruce Aylward,
team leader of the WHO China Joint Mis-
sion, was asked by reporters in Geneva
why he didn’t go through quarantine after
visiting Wuhan. His answer accidentally
revealed the fact that he hadn’t been to
any “dirty areas” of the Wuhan hospital.
In other words, the expert group only
went where the CCP allowed and any-
thing they saw and heard was carefully
arranged.
Also, the CCP will silence all relevant
COMICS
NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Members of
the World
Health Organ-
ization team
investigating
the origins
of the CCP
virus pan-
demic board a
bus following
their arrival at
Wuhan Tianhe
International
Airport in
China on Jan.
14, 2021.
voices. Yan Limeng, a virologist at the
University of Hong Kong School of Public
Health, fled to the United States to reveal
the truths about the CCP virus. Officials
from the Ministry of National Security
went to her hometown of Qingdao to
harass her family. She said that since mid-
May 2020, the CCP has attacked her on the
internet, spread rumors, and destroyed her
reputation. The CCP set up a fake Facebook
account with her name and resume, she
alleged. The CCP lied about her being kid-
napped in the United States, and claimed
that she was lying and mentally ill. Yan’s
mother was subsequently arrested.
The CCP has brutally clamped down
on those Chinese citizens who requested
to investigate the source of the virus and
hold leaders accountable. For example,
Ren Zhiqiang, former business tycoon
and “red princeling,” was sentenced to
18 years for his outspoken criticism of
the CCP; Zhang Zhan, a citizen journal-
GARFIELD
GINGER MEGGS
BIG NATE
DRABBLE
FRANK AND ERNEST
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
ist who went to Wuhan to investigate the
epidemic, was sentenced to four years in
prison; and citizen journalist Fang Bin
has disappeared, with many suspecting
that he’s been detained by authorities.
The CCP has repeatedly retaliated against
Australia, which proposed an independent
investigation into the source of the virus.
The Chinese regime has banned imports
of Australian barley, imposed tariffs of
107.1 to 212.1 percent on Australian wine,
blacklisted six Australian beef suppliers,
and placed other restrictions on imports of
Australian coal, cotton, and lobster.
The CCP continues to blame other
countries as the source of the virus. On
March 12, 2020, Chinese foreign minis-
try spokesperson Zhao Lijian posted a
tweet claiming, without evidence, that
the virus was brought into Wuhan by the
U.S. Army. After that, the “blaming” wars
commenced. Chinese state media have
claimed, on different occasions, that the
virus originated in Italy, Spain, Germany,
France, India, Bangladesh, Australia,
Italy, Russia, Greece, and Czech Republic.
Since the Australian government pro-
posed in April 2020 that an independent
global investigation into the source of
the virus be conducted, the international
community has begun the research.
In early July 2020, the Independent
Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and
Response was set up, with former Prime
Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark
and former President of Liberia Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf serving as co-chairs.
Some experts and officials outside of
China have raised the possibility that the
CCP virus leaked out of a virology lab in
Wuhan.
The CCP will definitely do everything
possible to conceal the truth about the
source of the virus—deceit is in its nature.
But nothing can be kept hidden forever.
The truth will eventually come to light.
Wang Youqun graduated with a doctor-
ate in law from the Renmin University of
China. He once worked as a copywriter for
Wei Jianxing (1931–2015), a member of the
CCP Politburo Standing Committee from
1997 to 2002.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
SPECIAL SERIES
How the Specter of Communism
Is Ruling Our World
Sabotaging Education
The Epoch Times here serializes an adaptation from the Chinese of
“How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World,” a new book by
the editorial team of the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.”
1. Communist Elements
in Primary and Secondary
Education
b. The Destructive Nature
of Progressive Education
Student-Centered Education
(cont.)
One tenet in the theory of student-
centered instruction is that students
should choose what they learn,
according to their own interests.
The theory also states that teach-
ers should educate students only in
what the students are interested in.
Every teacher hopes to make learn-
ing enjoyable, but children have
limited knowledge and experience,
making them ill-equipped to dis-
cern what is important to learn and
what isn’t. While there are different
methods of instruction, teachers
must take responsibility for guid-
ing students so they can broaden
the scope of their interests beyond
that which attracts their immedi-
ate attention. Simply catering to the
superficial interests of students, as
advocated by “student-centered”
instruction, encourages permanent
infantilization.
Studies have found that there is
now a tendency in American soci-
ety for adults to remain in a state of
adolescence longer than in other
populations. In 2002, the National
Academy of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine defined adolescence
as a period from 12 to 30 years of age.
Research supported by the MacAr-
thur Foundation went even further
and said, based on traditional mark-
ers of adulthood, a person nowadays
may not be considered an adult until
age 35. [20] The education system
and media are directly responsible
for this extended period of adoles-
cence that many adults have found
themselves in.
One of the excuses given by pro-
gressive educators for lowering
teaching requirements is that with
higher enrolments in secondary
and post-secondary schools, and
with students coming from across
society, the average level of attain-
ment cannot be as high as it was
in the past. This understanding is
wrong. In a democratic society, the
object of public schooling is to allow
those who otherwise wouldn’t have
the means to receive an education
the opportunity to do so—not to
lower academic standards, which
causes everyone’s learning to suffer.
Progressivism claims that “useless”
classical subjects such as Greek
and Latin should be replaced with
more contemporary subjects, but in
the end, most schools don’t end up
introducing high-quality courses in
subjects useful for modern life, such
as mathematics, economics, and
modern history. The curriculum and
teaching-method reforms advocated
by progressive educators deceive
students who are not yet well-in-
formed, as well as parents who defer
to schools, teachers, and so-called
experts.
Some teaching methods proposed
by progressive education are useful
when applied to some subjects and
areas of learning. However, when
we look at the progressive education
movement and its specific back-
ground and outcomes, it becomes
clear that progressive education sets
itself up in opposition to traditional
education, thereby mutating educa-
tion and ultimately ruining students.
c. Ruining Students’ Moral
Character
On April 20, 1999, two students at
Columbine High School in Colorado
murdered 12 students and one teacher
and injured at least 20 more in a care-
fully planned massacre. The tragedy
shocked the nation. People wondered
why the two students would carry out
such a cold-blooded attack, gunning
down their classmates and a teacher
they’d known for years.
By comparing social phenomena
in different historical periods, edu-
cators noticed that up to the 1960s,
common problem behaviors among
U.S. students were minor, like tardi-
ness, talking in class without per-
mission, or chewing gum. After the
1980s, there were worse problems,
like excessive drinking, drug abuse,
premarital sex, pregnancy, suicide,
gang activity, and even indiscrimi-
nate shootings, which have only
increased in frequency since Col-
umbine. These downward trends are
a concern to millions in the United
States and other countries, but few
understand the real roots of these
developments, and no one is able to
prescribe an appropriate treatment
for the disorder.
The distortion and the downward
spiral of the moral standards of
American youth are no accidents.
Atheism and Evolution
Fred Schwarz, a pioneer of anti-
communist activism, observed, “The
three basic tenets of Communism
are atheism, evolution, and eco-
nomic determinism.” [21] All three
key elements of communist ideol-
ogy have been adopted in American
public schools.
The divine created humankind and
laid down the moral standards that
should regulate human life. Belief in
the divine lays the foundation of mo-
rality for society and underpins the
existence of the human world. Com-
munism forcibly spread atheism and
the theory of evolution in schools
as a means of destroying morality.
This is to be expected in communist
states like China and the former So-
viet Union, but in the United States,
it was carried out covertly.
Under the pretext of separation of
church and state, leftists oppose the
teaching of creationism in American
public schools, while on the other
hand promoting the theory of evolu-
tion. This education inevitably leads
the number of religious believers
to decline, as children are indoctri-
nated with the idea that the theory of
evolution is scientific truth and not
to be questioned.
Since the 1960s, courts around the
United States have shut down Bible
study in public schools, again under
the pretext of separation of church
and state. An appeals court ruled in
1981 that students enjoyed freedom
of speech, unless the speech was
a prayer, at which point it became
unconstitutional. [22]
In 1987, students in Alaskan public
schools were told not to use the word
“Christmas” since it contained the
word “Christ.” They were also told
they couldn’t exchange traditional
Christmas cards or presents. In 1987,
a federal court in Virginia ruled that
Chapter Twelve
newspapers promoting the gay rights
movement could be distributed on
a high school campus, but religious
newspapers were banned. In 1993,
an elementary school music teacher
in Colorado Springs was prevented
from teaching Christmas carols
because of alleged violations of the
separation of church and state. [23]
Teaching and test materials in
the United States have undergone
extensive revision due to the anti-
theist orientation of the education
system, in combination with decades
of political correctness. In 1997,
Diane Ravitch, an education histo-
rian, was a member of the National
Assessment Governing Board, which
administered federal tests in schools.
She noticed that passages in reading
tests had been scrubbed by editors to
remove white males as heroes or any
references to Christianity. The maxim
that “God helps those who help
themselves” was changed to “People
should try to work things out for
themselves whenever possible.” [24]
On the one hand, the American
public education system ejected
belief in God from schools under the
pretext of upholding the separation
of church and state. On the other
hand, evolution, with its unresolved
gaps, was held to be a self-evident
truth to be instilled in children who
had no mental preparation or de-
fense. Children tend to believe in the
authority of their teachers.
Parents with religious beliefs
teach their kids to respect others,
but children who are instilled with
the theory of evolution are likely to
challenge the religious education
given by their parents. At the very
least, they will no longer take their
parents’ religious instruction as
seriously. The result is that education
pulls children away from parents
with religious beliefs. This is the
most challenging problem that fami-
lies with religious beliefs face when it
comes to their children’s education,
and it’s the evilest aspect of the anti-
theistic education system.
Notes
20. Diana West, “The Death of the
Grown-Up: How America’s Ar-
rested Development Is Bringing
Down Western Civilization”
(New York: St. Martin’s Press,
2008), Kindle Edition.
21. Fred Schwarz and David Noebel,
“You Can Still Trust the Com-
munists ... to Be Communists”
(Socialists, Statists, and Progres-
sives Too) (Manitou Springs, CO:
Christian Anti-Communism
Crusade, 2010).
22. Stein v. Oshinsky, 348 F.2d 999
(2nd Cir. 1965); Collins v. Chan-
dler Unified School District et al.,
644 F.2d 759 (9th Cir. 1981).
23. John Taylor Gatto, “The Under-
ground History of American
Education: A Schoolteacher’s
Intimate Investigation Into the
Problem of Modern Schooling”
(Baltimore: Odysseus Group,
2000), chap. 14.
24. Diane Ravitch, “Education after
the Culture Wars,” Daedalus 131,
no. 3 (Summer 2002), 5–21.
See next edition for the next
installment.
To purchase the books, visit
EpochShop.com
OPINION | A15
Stephen Gregory, Publisher
Jasper Fakkert, Editor-in-Chief
Channaly Philipp, Life & Tradition,
Travel Editor
Chrisy Trudeau, Mind & Body Editor
Crystal Shi, Home, Food Editor
Sharon Kilarski, Arts & Culture Editor
ABOUT US
The Epoch Times is a media
organization dedicated to seek-
ing the truth through insightful
and independent journalism.
Standing outside of politi-
cal interests and the pursuit of
profit, our starting point and our
goal is to create a media for the
public benefit, to be truly respon-
sible to society.
We endeavor to educate read-
ers about today’s most impor-
tant topics, seeking to broaden
and uplift minds. We believe that
rational, balanced debate is key
for fostering a healthy democ-
racy and a compassionate
society.
As an independent media out-
let, we use our freedom to inves-
tigate issues overlooked—or
avoided—by other media outlets.
We seek to highlight solutions
and what’s good in society rather
than what divides us.
We report respectfully, compas-
sionately, and rigorously.
We stand against the destruc-
tion wrought by communism,
including the harm done to cul-
tures around the world.
We are inspired in this by our
own experience. The Epoch
Times was founded in 2000 to
bring honest and uncensored
news to people oppressed
by the lies and violence in
communist China.
We still believe journalism is a
noble vocation, but only when it
genuinely seeks to serve its com-
munities and help them to flour-
ish. In all that we do, we will hold
ourselves to the highest stand-
ards of integrity. This is our
promise to you.
CONTACT US
The Epoch Times Association Inc.
229 W. 28th St., Fl. 7
New York, NY 10001
Advertising
advertisenow@epochtimes.com
Subscriptions
TheEpochTimes.com/Help
General Inquiries
TheEpochTimes.com/Help
Letters to the Editor
lettertoeditor@epochtimes.com
SUBSCRIBE
TODAY
Get the
independent news
you won’t find
anywhere else.
Subscribe and get the
insights only The Epoch Times
can provide, delivered to your
door every week.
ReadEpoch.com
A16 | OPINION
Chinese Citizens Don’t Trust
Homegrown COVID-19 Vaccines:
‘Let the Leaders Take It First’
HUANG TSE
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
has recently touted homegrown vaccines
and mandated millions to be vaccinated
against the CCP virus.
But most people in the mainland,
including experts, have stayed away
and raised concerns about the safety
of Chinese-made vaccines, especially
since several pharmaceutical compa-
nies are still conducting clinical trials
for their products.
Chinese media reported that the cen-
tral government planned for 50 million
vaccinations, with 25 million people
receiving the first dose before Jan. 15,
2021, then receiving a second dose be-
fore Feb. 15, 2021.
According to a report by The Epoch
Times, local authorities in Zhenjiang
City, Jiangsu Province, didn’t get the
COVID-19 vaccine after mandating that
residents must be vaccinated. In Shang-
hai, medical staffers as well as ordinary
citizens are concerned about the safety
of the vaccine.
More than 90 percent of medical staff
in Shanghai Yangpu District Tradition-
al Chinese Medicine Hospital refused
to receive the vaccines.
Zhang Wenhong, director of the
Department of Infectious Diseases at
Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan
University in Shanghai, said at a meeting
on Dec. 22 that many medical workers
refuse to be vaccinated and asserted that
“it is the leading cadres who should get
vaccinated first,” Chinese online media
National Daily Business reported.
Many Chinese netizens echo the
infectious disease expert’s statement
of “Let the leaders get it first.” What’s
behind this statement?
First, the Chinese people don’t trust
The Book You’ve Been
Waiting for...
“Extremely well “The Truth, as horrifying as it is,
researched and true.” shall set us free. This should be
on this country’s academia’s
list of required reading.”
HOW THE
SPECTER OF COMMUNISM
IS RULING OUR WORLD
The specter of communism did not
disappear with the disintegration of the
Communist Party in Eastern Europe
ORDER NOW!
EpochShop.com
KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES
THE EPOCH TIMES
(Above) Chinese health care workers and vol-
unteers register people to receive a CCP virus
vaccine jab at a mass vaccination center for
Chaoyang District in Beijing on Jan. 15, 2021.
(Left) Another Chinese-made COVID-19 vac-
cine by Sinovac is already in use, although it
hasn't been approved. The approval code on its
package shows "TBA." December 2020.
CCP officials and don’t want to be test
subjects for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The development of a vaccine usually
involves three phases of clinical trials.
How many people participated in the
trials? What are the detailed results?
Chinese authorities approved the use
of COVID-19 vaccines in July 2020,
before the final stage of clinical trials
was completed.
State-run firm Sinopharm didn’t pro-
vide any breakdown of its clinical trial
data, nor disclose the size of its testing
sample for its COVID-19 vaccine. The
Lancet published a report on CoronaVac,
a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the
Beijing-based pharmaceutical company
Sinovac; the clinical trial data was am-
biguous.
Second, Dr. Sean Lin, former U.S. Army
microbiologist and former lab director of
the viral disease branch at Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research, told The
Epoch Times that it’s very risky for China
to roll out its inactivated vaccines prema-
turely because all vaccines the country
has developed are still in clinical trials.
Lin said: “Inactivated vaccines are
very risky. Will all the viruses be killed?
In the process of killing, many chemi-
cal components are added. What are
the side effects of these chemicals?” In
other words, the “inactivated vaccines”
could end up injecting live virus direct-
ly into the human body or cause toxic
side effects.
Dr. Mei-Shang Ho, an epidemiologist
from the Institute of Biomedical Scienc-
es under the Academia Sinica in Taipei,
Taiwan, told The Epoch Times that
inactivated vaccines pose a threat. Ho
was part of Taiwan’s SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome) vaccine research
in 2003 featuring inactivated whole
virus vaccines. She found that patients
had Antibody Dependent Enhancement
(ADE) after being vaccinated, which
means that the vaccines amplified the
infection or triggered harmful immuno-
pathology.
She said that Taiwan will never devel-
op these whole virus vaccines, nor will it
use them.
Third, information about the effective-
ness and side effects of the Chinese-
made vaccines hasn’t been widely publi-
cized by authorities.
China’s State Council announced at a
press conference on Dec. 31, 2020, that
Sinopharm’s inactivated vaccine had
been granted “conditional approval” by
China’s Drug Administration. The vac-
cine had an efficacy rate of 79.34 percent,
according to state media reports. Is the
information reliable? What are the vac-
cine’s side effects?
It’s noteworthy that a recent trial of
CoronaVac in Brazil reported only about
a 50.4 percent effective rate, just enough
to pass the 50 percent threshold set by
the World Health Organization for regu-
latory approval.
On Jan. 5, Chinese vaccine expert Tao
Lina posted a photo of Sinopharm’s CO-
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
VID-19 vaccine instructions on Weibo,
in which 73 side effects were listed; he
called the Chinese vaccine the most un-
safe vaccine in the world. The Weibo post
has since been deleted by censors.
The concerns over Chinese-made vac-
cines are well-founded. In December,
at least 16 Chinese employees from a
major state-owned enterprise stationed
at Lunda Norte Province in Angola were
infected with the CCP virus, and they
had all received the vaccines developed
by Sinopharm, according to a report
by Radio Free Asia. About 300 Chinese
workers from Tianjin Electric Power
Construction Co. were diagnosed with
COVID-19 around the same time in
Pančevo, Serbia, the report said.
Most of the infected workers received
vaccines made by Sinopharm before
they left China. Taking the vaccine was
a requirement for Chinese citizens work-
ing abroad.
Recently, Chinese officials announced
that vaccines would be administered
for free. However, there’s a catch. Coro-
naVac, a new vaccine manufactured by
state-run drugmaker Sinovac Biotech,
set an age limit, allowing people between
the ages of 18 and 59 to take the vaccine.
Authorities claimed the vaccine is await-
ing “further clinical trials.” This move
has once again raised questions about
the safety and effectiveness of home-
grown vaccines.
Fourth, every step of a vaccine’s de-
velopment, production, transportation,
and storage is crucial and demands strict
regulation. But China’s communist so-
ciety has fostered corruption from top to
bottom, and officials’ lack of transparen-
cy has caused distrust among the people.
Any cure or preventative treatment can’t
be guaranteed.
At least four major vaccine scandals
were exposed between 2007 and 2018:
the 2010 Shanxi vaccine; the 2013 hepati-
tis B vaccine that led to injury and death
of infants in southern China; the 2016
Shandong tainted vaccine; and the 2018
Changsheng Bio-Technology vaccine
scandal. Problematic vaccines in China
have become a norm.
The statement ‘Let the leaders
go first’ has been heard before,
and it’s a phrase that haunts the
city of Karamay in Xinjiang.
The communist elites are busy studying
politics, creating policies, and making
money through corruption. They don’t
have the time, energy, or frame of mind to
do the right thing. Counterfeiting is very
common under the CCP regime.
Therefore, even if Chinese leaders were
to “go first,” they may just be injected
with glucose or saline water, and not the
actual vaccine.
The statement “Let the leaders go first”
has been heard before, and it’s a phrase
that haunts the city of Karamay in Xinjiang.
On Dec. 8, 1994, a fire broke out in a
theater in Karamay during a perfor-
mance attended by high-level officials,
local authorities, and students. Witness-
es claimed that a woman who helped
organize the event and was possibly a
government official told everyone in
the theater: “Let the leaders go first!”
As a result, all the government officials
survived.
But 322 others didn’t make it out alive,
among them 288 primary and middle
school students. After a CCTV reporter
revealed the incident 12 years later, the
journalist’s documentary film about the
fire was censored and banned from pub-
lic broadcast by Chinese authorities.
People have witnessed the shameless-
ness and coldness of the CCP leaders.
Now that Chinese officials are requir-
ing the vaccination of citizens as CO-
VID-19 continues to surge in the country,
the people are telling their leaders to get
it first. It sends a strong signal that people
don’t trust the leaders.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said: “The biggest lie that they [CCP] tell
is to think that they speak for 1.4 billion
people who are surveilled, oppressed,
and scared to speak out.”
It’s time for the entire Chinese popula-
tion to realize this point.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
The motor court structure consists of 12 individual cabins encircling the central office—a concept created to house middle-class families vaca-
tioning along America’s highways.
Our American Treasures
Hidden in Plain Sight
SALENA ZITO
MANNS CHOICE, Penn.—
There is a little burst of
wonder that road trav-
elers experience when
they head west out of
Bedford, climb Tulls Hill,
and are welcomed by the
Lincoln Motor Court at the crest. It’s a
burst of wonder up for sale.
The motor court is a concept that is
both familiar and foreign to the modern
eye: part motel, part cabin, delightfully
welcoming as 12 detached cabins all form
a semicircle around the central office,
nestled cozily among scores of pine trees.
Long before the orange-roofed Howard
Johnson’s dotted America’s highways or
Holiday Inns opened at interchanges of
our newly constructed interstates, the
middle-class family had nowhere to stay
on vacation other than tourist camps.
Lincoln Motor Court owners Debbie
and Bob Altizer explained that tourist
camps didn’t have much other than a
parking space and outhouses to offer this
new generation of travelers until some
enterprising farmers turned portions
of their fields into tiny coves of cabins
and a main house.
“And thus, the motor court was born,”
they said in unison.
“We estimate that our motor court was
built in 1940, based on the number of
people who have come back to see the
place they stayed on their honeymoon
just before being shipped off during the
beginning of World War II,” Debbie said.
Each cabin is lovingly preserved from
the era, beginning on the outside, where
two red-and-white metal chairs are wait-
ing for the occupants to sit a spell while
they lazily watch cars zoom past on U.S.
30, America’s first coast-to-coast two-
lane highway.
The insides are equally welcoming,
especially for those travelers who are
obsessed with midcentury modern
architecture. The bedroom is encased in
knotty pine; the bright turquoise (or pink
or yellow, depending on which cabin you
choose) sink and tiles in the bathrooms
are a delight for purists; and the original
linoleum floors are, too.
They were the original tiny house be-
fore the tiny-house fad came along.
The Lincoln Motor Court in Manns Choice, Pa.
“Motor courts are often a forgotten
part of American history, but not only
did they provide a number of firsts for
their customers, including things like
indoor plumbing, electricity, and central
heating, they were also innovators for
their time,” Bob said. “Linoleum was
introduced to the motor court. Wall-to-
wall carpeting was first introduced to the
motor court. Spring mattresses were first
introduced to the motor court.”
When the Altizer family first purchased
the motor court in the 1980s, there were
several others scattered around Bedford
County. Continue west along the Lin-
coln Highway and you’ll see a whimsical
string of cabins from a long-closed motor
court in Schellsburg, not far from the
entrance to Shawnee State Park.
“We moved here from the Washington,
D.C., area and essentially just wanted
to raise our family in a small town and
run our own business,” Debbie said. “We
were in our 20s, pretty naive and ideal-
istic, and bought it overnight, knowing
nothing about running a motor lodge.”
The motor court is a concept
that is both familiar and
foreign to the modern eye.
The first decade was tough. The motor
court had an unsavory reputation. The
history of the Lincoln Highway and all of
the adventure, history, and nostalgia that
went along with it was untapped. And
they struggled.
“Things started to change around 1994
when the dormant Lincoln Highway As-
sociation rekindled and decided to hold
their meeting in the front yard of our
motor court,” Bob said.
From that moment on, as the LHA
grew its efforts to bring awareness to the
history of the highway, along with tour-
ists and amateur road warriors looking to
relive traveling the nation’s first transcon-
tinental road for automobiles, the Altizers
have benefited from that growing interest
in the part of America outside large cities.
Soon, PBS made a colorful and compel-
ling documentary that featured them.
There came the popularity of the books
and Facebook groups created around the
SCREENSHOT/GOOGLEMAPS
OPINION | A17
SHANNON VENDITTI
tables, at the fire ring, or across the
front porches, like people used to do
until backyard decks eliminated that
neighborly connection.
But they realize that, in their 60s, they
cannot keep it up in the way it needs, so
they placed the court up for sale last week.
“It frustrates me that I cannot do the
things I did at 26, but that is the reality
of aging,” Bob said, his voice cracking.
“So, before I move any slower, and before
anything starts to wear down, I think, out
of love for this court, we need to sell her to
someone who will love and preserve her
for future travelers and future generations.”
The Lincoln Motor Court is the last of
its kind on this legendary highway that
stretches from Times Square to San Fran-
cisco. Because of the separate-cottage lay-
out, it’s perfect for nostalgic reasons but also
a safe place to stay during the pandemic.
“We listed it for $265,000 last week with
Howard Hanna real estate,” Debbie said.
Too often in our culture, we discard
our treasures, including the innovators
like the motor courts that paved the way
for the bigger, faster, shinier models that
came after them. The old way may not
be any of those things anymore, but it
still holds an important value to remind
people of what came before.
It also holds value because it’s a peaceful
place where you can hang your hat for a
night and meet people from all across the
country as you banter across the 12 front
porches. Or where you can just watch and
listen to the passing trucks and cars and
wonder where they are off to next.
Salena Zito has held a long, successful
career as a national political reporter.
Since 1992, she has interviewed every
U.S. president and vice president, as
well as top leaders in Washington, D.C.,
LHA. The result: An unrealized enthu- including secretaries of state, speakers
siasm of people looking for something of the House and U.S. Central Com-
that reminds them of simpler times has mand generals. Her passion, though, is
emerged and brought visitors from all interviewing thousands of people across
around the world. the country. She reaches the Everyman
To run a place like this and live here— and Everywoman through the lost art of
they raised both their daughters in the shoe-leather journalism, having traveled
main house at the center of the court— along the back roads of 49 states.
takes dedication, a passion for history
and preservation, and a lot of gumption.
It’s clear the Altizers love this court.
They love the cabins; they love the people
who come to their home office to check
in or take a tour; and they love when
new friendships are struck at the picnic
PASS IT ON.
Dear Readers, ink on paper is a rare thing nowadays
considering how much people live in the digital world.
We put a lot of pride into making this printed paper,
each story carefully crafted. It is our honor to deliver it
to you, to keep you informed, our dear readers.
We believe our paper is truthful and uplifting.
We hope our paper brightens your day.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Please do not send
the paper to the recycle bin after you finish reading.
PASS IT ON TO YOUR NEIGHBOR, A FRIEND, OR A RELATIVE.
Peace of Call us
today!
Mind
in the
Mountains
of NC /ĨƚŚĞƐĞĐŽŶĐĞƌŶLJŽƵ͕ĐĂůůZĞƚƌĞĂƚZĞĂůƚLJ
ĂŶĚǁĞ͛ůůůŽĐĂƚĞĨŽƌLJŽƵĂƐĂĨĞ͕ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĂďůĞ͕
ĂŶĚĐŽŵĨŽƌƚĂďůĞƌĞƚƌĞĂƚŝŶƚŚĞŵŽƵŶƚĂŝŶƐ
Are you concerned about: ŽĨǁĞƐƚĞƌŶE͘tĞ͛ƌĞƚŚĞŽŶůLJĮƌŵŝŶ
ͻ ŝǀŝůƵŶƌĞƐƚ͍ tEƐƉĞĐŝĂůŝnjŝŶŐŝŶƚŚŝƐƚLJƉĞŽĨƉƌŽƉĞƌƚLJ͖
ͻ 'ŽǀĞƌŶŵĞŶƚƚƌĂǀĞů ĚŝƐĐƌĞƚĞůLJŚĞůƉŝŶŐĐŽƵŶƚůĞƐƐĨĂŵŝůŝĞƐĮŶĚ
ƌĞƐƚƌŝĐƟŽŶƐ͍ ƚŚĞŝƌƐĂĨĞŚĂǀĞŶĂŶĚƌĞƚƌĞĂƚƐ͘tŚĞŶůĂǁĂŶĚ
ͻ ŚĂŽƐŝŶLJŽƵƌƚŽǁŶ͍ ŽƌĚĞƌďƌĞĂŬĚŽǁŶǁŚĞƌĞLJŽƵůŝǀĞ͕ǁŚĞƌĞǁŝůů
ͻ &ĂŝůƵƌĞŽĨƚŚĞƉŽǁĞƌŐƌŝĚ͍ LJŽƵŐŽ͍dŚĞƟŵĞƚŽƉƌĞƉĂƌĞŝƐŶŽǁ͘
828-773-8090 ŶĂĸůŝĂƚĞŽĨ<ĞůůĞƌtŝůůŝĂŵƐ
john@retreatre
john@retreatrealty.net
WƌŽĨĞƐƐŝŽŶĂůƐ͘ĂĐŚŽĸĐĞ
ŝŶĚĞƉĞŶĚĞŶƚůLJŽǁŶĞĚĂŶĚŽƉĞƌĂƚĞĚ͘
www retreatrealty net
www.retreatrealty.net
A18 | BUSINESS & ECONOMY THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

ALEXANDER KOERNER/GETTY IMAGES FOR VOLKSWAGEN AG OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

vulnerable, while keeping businesses

and schools open. There’s lots of evidence
the trio, and the 53,000 physicians and
public health scientists who signed the
document, were right.
Does dangerous and illegal content ex-
ist? Yes. Is there a place for moderation?
Of course. Has Section 230, the law that
undergirds moderation, inspired internet
innovation? Yep. But is Section 230 per-
fect? I don’t think so. Can web and content
platforms deliver differentiable, pro-con-
sumer value by curating the user experi-
ence? Absolutely. Apple, for example, uses
its app store to encourage security, privacy,
family-friendliness, and high quality.
Big problems arise, however, when these
firms claim universal standards and neu-
tral terms of service, but then apply them
opaquely or arbitrarily. Or even weapon-

Digital Duplicity: The ize them against political opponents.

After both major app stores removed
Parler on Jan. 8, Amazon dealt a poten-
tially fatal blow by giving it one day to

Social Media Purge Exposes vacate its AWS cloud servers. Other hard-
ware and software vendors, and even its
lawyers, then fell in line with Big Tech and
refused them service. Unsavory charac-

Net Neutrality’s True Goal
BRET SWANSON
Commentary
For nearly two decades,
Silicon Valley made net
neutrality its highest
policy priority. Under the
banner of a “free and open”
internet, Google, Facebook, and Twitter
sought regulations to ensure the uninter-
rupted flow of information by treating
every bit equally.
Or so they said.
Beginning on Jan. 8, these firms and
others executed an unprecedented digi-
tal purge of the social media and video
accounts of their political rivals. After
several years of accelerating suspensions
and suppressions, this time YouTube,
Facebook, and Twitter permanently
banned a number of high-profile conser-
vatives and de-platformed thousands of
others, at least temporarily. Many of these
accounts had nothing to do with the hei-
nous events at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Yet,
their histories are erased.
Shopify, Twitch, Reddit, and other on-
line services and forums followed social
media’s lead. Then something bigger hap-
pened: when app stores and cloud service
providers joined the cascade by discon-
necting Parler, a fast-growing competitor
of Twitter, they opened an explosive new
front in the information wars.
How’d we get here? Paradoxically, the
smart refusal to adopt Silicon Valley’s
strict net neutrality rules fueled their rise
to astronomical power. With minimal
regulation of U.S. networks, broadband
and mobile firms invested nearly $2 tril-
lion in infrastructure, far more per capita
than any nation. The resulting bandwidth
explosion fueled the unprecedented
success of smartphones, video streams,
cloud computing, software-as-a-service,
and a million apps. Now we’re in the
middle of a $300-billion upgrade to 5G
wireless.
Censorship is itself a dangerous
top-down mistake. Free speech
and pluralism, on the other
hand, help us learn and grow.
Launched as an academic exercise in
the early 2000s, the supposed rationale
for strict net neutrality was to prevent in-
ternet service providers (ISP) and mobile
carriers from “blocking and throttling”
content. Without a return to telephone-
like common carriage regulation under
Title II of the Communications Act, they
said ISPs would discriminate and the
magic of the internet would be lost.
With Silicon Valley and ISPs haggling
over the price of carrying floods of new
video traffic, the headline battle was eco-
nomic. Ardent activists, however, con-
sistently warned of a deeper, potentially
apocalyptic, threat to democracy. ISPs,
they said, might one day censor disfa-
vored political speech.
The blocking and throttling never
came to pass. Not political or otherwise.
Without net neutrality rules, ISPs still
committed to fair treatment. And today
the U.S. generates and consumes more
internet traffic than any nation, two to
three times more, in fact, than many of
our large peers.
Then a funny thing happened. Social
media firms themselves began blocking
and throttling at the content layer. In the
name of rooting out “hate” and “mis-
information,” they started suspending,
demonetizing, deboosting, and shadow-
banning. They cited terms of service and
moderation principles. The rationales
were usually vague, however, and their
targets nearly always political enemies
or free thinkers who complicated the of-
ficial narrative. There were few standards,
merely caprice.
In 2020, they accelerated moderation
efforts, placing warning labels on sup-
posedly false views on COVID-19 and
climate, two of the most complex topics
imaginable. Google suppressed three
eminent epidemiologists over their Great
Barrington Declaration, which called
for focused protection of the elderly and
ters surely exist on Parler. But uniquely?
No way. The internet is full of people with
awful, or merely wrong, ideas.
It’s top-down mistakes that are the most
destructive. Bad decisions from politi-
cians or, say, dominant content platforms
scale unpredictably to millions of people.
Censorship is itself a dangerous top-
down mistake. Free speech and plural-
ism, on the other hand, help us learn and
grow. Viewpoint diversity is the crucial
error-correcting code of civilization, and
a big reason the internet is history’s great-
est generator of wealth and knowledge.
Entrepreneurs are building (and
millions of users fleeing to) alternative
outlets, apps, and channels. That’s the ge-
nius of the internet—unlimited space to
innovate and choose. Bitcoin and crypto
communities are just one important new
path to decentralized independence.
As freedom-seekers launch their own
websites, servers, and streams, the ag-
gressive censors will hunt them, de-
manding cancellation everywhere along
the communications stack, eventually
reaching the core of the network. And
then we will have come full circle. They
will demand that ISPs block, throttle, and
erase. And that government, under the
guise of net neutrality, enforce their truth.
Facebook’s head of Instagram on Jan.
11 finally admitted it: “We’re not neutral.”
Net neutrality was never about in-
ternet freedom. It’s about information
dominance.
Bret Swanson is president of the technolo-
gy research firm Entropy Economics and a
visiting fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute. From RealClearWire.

LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS

Treasury Nominee Yellen:

Job Losses From $15 Minimum
Wage Would Be ‘Very Minimal’
Congressional budget office estimates 1.3 million jobs
would be lost

ZACHARY STIEBER Raising the minimum wage would in-

The job losses from boosting the federal
minimum wage to $15 would be “very
minimal,” Treasury Secretary nominee
Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Jan. 19.
“In terms of potential job loss, there’s
now a large economic literature on this,
and much of it suggests that raising mini-
mum wages ... researchers often look at
what happens if one state raises its mini-
mum wage and a neighboring state leaves
it alone to see how businesses fare in the
two different places with different treat-
ments, and the findings are that job loss
is very minimal, if anything,” Yellen told
members of the Senate Finance Com-
mittee in Washington during a partially
virtual confirmation hearing.
“So I think that the likely impact on jobs
is minimal. That’s my reading of the re-
search.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Bud-
get Office estimated last year that raising
the minimum wage to $15 an hour would
wipe out a minimum of 1.3 million jobs.
“By increasing the minimum wage to
$15 an hour, it could shutter somewhere
around 3.7 million jobs, on the high end.
The last thing this economy needs, as we
attempt to recover, is a loss of 1.3 to 3.7
million jobs,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told
Yellen, before prompting her answer by
asking what she thought.
crease the cost of doing business signifi-
cantly, devastate the opportunity to de-
velop new jobs in rural America, and affect
people trying to enter the workforce, Scott
said, calling it an “existential threat” to
both restaurants and employees.
Harsh restrictions imposed to try to
curb the COVID-19 pandemic have led
to millions of job losses over the past year,
some of which haven’t returned yet.
“Right now, we have millions of Ameri-
can workers who are putting their lives on
the line to keep their communities func-
tioning, and sometimes even working
multiple jobs and aren’t earning enough
to put food on the table,” said Yellen, who
chaired the Federal Reserve during the
Obama and Trump administrations. “And
they’re suffering in countless ways, es-
pecially during this pandemic and re-
ally struggling to get by, and raising the
minimum wage would really help many
of those workers.”
Scott disagreed with the nominee, tell-
ing her: “I would say that there is no doubt
that when you artificially increase the
minimum wage, you are going to perma-
nently decrease the number of jobs in the
economy.”
Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion CCP (Chi-
nese Communist Party) virus plan last
week that includes an increase in the
federal minimum wage.
“People tell me that’s going to be hard to
Janet Yellen, President Joe pass, Florida just passed it. As divided as
Biden’s nominee for Treasury that state is, they just passed it. The rest
secretary, speaks in Wilm- of the country is ready to move as well
ington, Del., on Dec. 1, 2020. should be a national minimum wage of
$15 an hour. No one working 40 hours a
week should live below the poverty line,”
President Joe Biden told a press confer-
ence in Delaware, at the time.
If the federal The plan’s fate in the Senate is uncer-
tain, as other Republicans besides Scott
government have expressed reservations.
mandates a universal “If the federal government mandates a
$15 minimum wage, universal $15 minimum wage, many low-
income Americans will lose their current
many low income jobs and find fewer job opportunities in
Americans will the future,” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said
lose their current in a statement. “The best thing that the
federal government and states can do for
jobs and find fewer economic growth right now is to quickly
job opportunities vaccinate as many Americans as possible
in the future. and fully reopen this economy.”
If confirmed, Yellen would be the first
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) woman to lead the Treasury Department.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 BUSINESS & ECONOMY | A19

Companies Dangle Incentives to Spur

Employees to Get COVID-19 Vaccine
SCOTT EISEN/GETTY IMAGES

ZACHARY STIEBER

Workers at several companies are being of-

fered money if they get vaccinated against
COVID-19, amid reluctance from some to
be vaccinated.
Dollar General is giving hourly workers
who get a COVID-19 vaccine the equiva-
lent of four hours of pay. The company said
it’s one way to remove barriers to getting
vaccinated. Salaried workers are receiving
additional store labor hours.
Instacart, the grocery delivery platform,
is doling out a $25 payment to workers if
they get vaccinated.
“Our goal with the introduction of our
new Vaccine Support Stipend is to ensure
that, when the time comes, Instacart shop-
pers don’t have to choose between earning
income as an essential service provider
or getting vaccinated,” Instacart founder
Apoorva Mehta said in a statement.

Polls show a significant

portion of Americans won’t
get a COVID-19 vaccine or are
leaning against getting one.
And Trader Joe’s will pay employees the
equivalent of two hours of work for each
dose of a vaccine they get. The only two
authorized COVID-19 vaccines require
two doses spaced apart by several weeks.
The company is also promising to adjust
schedules so workers can get vaccinated.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by
the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Few companies or other entities have so
far required vaccinations.
“We understand the decision to receive
the COVID-19 vaccination is a personal
choice, and although we are encouraging
employees to take it, we are not requiring
them to do so,” Dollar General said in a
statement.
But hospitals and others are also nudging
employees to get a shot, amid widespread
skepticism of the vaccines in part because
A woman receives a
COVID-19 vaccine
at Gillette Stadium in
Foxborough, Mass.,
on Jan. 15, 2021.
of how quickly they were developed.
Staff members at Gracedale, a nursing
home in Northampton County, Pennsyl-
vania, were told last month they’d get $750
if they receive both doses.
The county’s council said officials at
Gracedale believe “there may be some reti-
cence on the part of some staff to be inocu-
lated with the COVID-19 vaccination due
in part to the rapidity of its development.”
Polls show a significant portion of Ameri-
cans won’t get a COVID-19 vaccine or are
leaning against getting one. The vaccines
received the fastest authorizations in his-
tory; most vaccines take 10 years or more
to develop.
“I am definitely concerned that health
care workers are electing to wait to get
vaccinated. And to me, it really makes it
exceedingly important that we get correct
information to health care workers and that
we quickly dispense with myths and mis-
information,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
told reporters in a call earlier this month,
adding that data shows the vaccines are
“safe and effective” despite a higher rate of
adverse reactions in those injected when
compared to flu vaccines.
In Texas, workers at Houston Methodist
Hospital learned they would receive $500
if they get vaccinated.
“Eligibility criteria will include getting a
COVID-19 vaccination, fulfilling our obli-
gation as health care workers to lead the
community,” Marc Boom, CEO of the hos-
pital system, stated in an internal memo
circulated online.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas
was more creative. Firefighters who get
vaccinated, he said in a memo, would be
entered into a raffle that includes prizes
such as Airbnb gift cards, Canary cameras,
and Aventon fixed-gear bicycles.

REUTERS/ADREES LATIF

FedEx Express Unveils

Plan to Lay Off up to 6,300
Employees in Europe
FedEx Corp’s express unit on Jan. 19
announced a plan to lay off between
5,500 and 6,300 employees in Europe, as
it nears the completion of the network
integration of its TNT Express unit.
Shares of the package delivery firm
were up about 1 percent at $254.76 in
morning trade.
FedEx acquired European operator
TNT Express, which specializes in ship-
ments between businesses, in 2016 as
A drone is used to survey a corn research field in College Station, Texas, on May 23, 2018. part of its plan to expand in Europe.
The duplication from two European
Weak shipment sales in Europe over
the past few years have led to sluggish
growth in the TNT unit and weighed on
FedEx’s results.
The plan is expected to result in sav-
ings of between $275 million and $350
million on an annual basis beginning
in fiscal 2024, FedEx said, adding that
it expects to incur severance charges of
between $300 million and $575 million
through fiscal 2023.
FedEx Express uses a global air-and-
ground network to speed delivery of

FAA Approves Fully networks connecting similar geogra-

phies will result in job cuts across opera-
tional teams and back-office functions,
time-sensitive shipments.

By Sanjana Shivdas & Ankit Ajmera 

Automated Commercial the company said. From Reuters

LOS ANGELES WORLD AIRPORTS/VIA REUTERS

Drone Flights
WASHINGTON—A Massachusetts com-
pany has been granted approval to operate
commercial drone flights without a person
directing the machine and keeping it in
sight.
It’s the first time that the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has allowed fully
automated commercial drone flights.
American Robotics Inc. touted the ad-
vantage of its machines as being able to
operate continuously without “expensive
human labor.” The Marlborough, Massa-
chusetts, company said Jan. 15 it has tested
fully automated drones for four years.
CEO and co-founder Reese Mozer said
there could be a $100 billion market in
providing drone services to industries
such as energy and agriculture, but that
FAA safety requirements have restricted
their use.
The company said its Scout drones have
technology to stay a safe distance from oth-
er aircraft. They are housed in base stations
that allow for autonomous charging and to
process and transmit the data they collect
from aerial surveys.
The FAA has allowed companies to oper-
ate drones beyond the line of sight of op-
erators, but a person on the ground had to
be nearby. Lisa Ellman, a lawyer for the
company and executive director of the
Commercial Drone Alliance, said allow-
ing expanded operations beyond the sight
of an operator “is critical for the industry
to truly take off.”
According to documents posted Jan. 14
by the FAA, the drones, which fly along
planned routes, will be limited to altitudes
below 400 feet (122 meters) in rural areas.
The FAA will allow them to have a maxi-
mum takeoff weight of 20 pounds (nine
kilograms).
A FedEx plane carrying a first batch of Pfizer/BioNTEch COVID-19 vaccine, at Los Angeles
From The Associated Press International Airport on Dec. 13, 2020.
A20 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

TRUTH and TRADITION

In Our Own Words

The Woman Behind the Hotline

Dear Epoch VIP,
I started working for The Epoch Times back in 2011 as a
reporter for the Chinese-language edition of the paper.
In 2017, I switched over to the customer-facing side of
the business. Having been a psychology major back in
college, I wanted to go back to the people side of things.
Like many career moves, this one came with a huge
learning curve.
When a lot of people talk about customer service,
maybe they think it’s talking to customers on the
phone, or maybe over email, but it’s actually more
complicated than that. So many dots have to be
We take your connected to make it work—from hiring, to training,
to quality control, to keeping up with changes in
feedback very the entire company. In short, things were a lot more
complicated than I first thought.
seriously. Usually We’ve grown in the last few years because of the
when you send support from readers like you. On the hotline, we’ve
been trying to hire more people to reduce wait times
feedback ... we read which then create more efficient workflows to better
accommodate our customers. We’re also trying to
your messages one provide more technical support for problems with
our digital products as we recently just launched our
by one and give digital subscriptions and our app. We’ve also been
serious thought working on more self-service tools to help you better
help yourself (like our newly updated Help Center
to areas for page, readepoch.com/help).
And your feedback has been super valuable in telling
improvement. us whether we’re heading in the right direction.
We take your feedback very seriously. Usually when
Teresa You you send feedback (or if other departments forward us
Manager, Customer Service your feedback), we read your messages one by one and
give serious thought to areas for improvement. Because
we don’t want to be just any other corporate company
doing customer service, we hope to really get connected
with every one of our readers, every one of you.
You are so important to us. And because of that,
we really value making you happy.
One of my favorite parts of the job is being able to
get the firsthand feedback from you, our readers—
including hearing your support and seeing your
reaction to our media.
For example, a subscriber sent us a letter saying
that when he first saw our newspaper he sat down
for a while because of being in shock—he couldn’t
believe that a newspaper like this still existed! And
his letter isn’t the only one I remember. We keep all
your letters and put them up around our New York
office so we can be reminded every day of why we do
what we do.
For me, my job is not about money or fame or
power. It’s about the subscriber who calls in and we
can hear in his voice how worried he is about the
state of this country. It’s about the subscriber who
breaks into tears on the phone because she was so
concerned about things that she couldn’t sleep.
I can relate to these subscribers because I came
from a communist country: China. My parents, who
had been arbitrarily detained in China, sent me here
to the United States at the age of 17 because they
wanted me to enjoy this country’s freedom. I don’t
want the same things that have happened to the
Chinese to happen to people here—even though in
some ways, I think they already have.
I want to end by telling you that especially because
I am an immigrant from China, I really appreciate
the freedom I enjoy in this country. Because of that,
I want the best for this country and its people, and I
will do my part by supporting a media that I believe
has the interests of this
country and its people at
heart: The Epoch Times.
In Truth and Tradition,
Teresa You
The Epoch Times

What Our
Readers
My husband and I look forward to the paper every week.
Say (23) I think the world would be a better place if everyone
would take the time to read The Epoch Times!

The Epoch Times provides a
fresh, honest read in journalism
covering all the latest, up-to-date
news, opinions and health-related
information. It’s relevant and
truthful... No spin. I’ve introduced
a number of my friends and
business associates to it and they,
too, trust it and love it.
DOUGLAS ARENDELL
A great textual and visual look at
investigation and truth telling.
I particularly appreciate the
infographics provided for Spygate,
Russian collusion, Obamagate,
CCP virus and so on. I also look
forward to the Crossroads program.
After I get an earful of sensational
news and mainstream bias, I like to
contrast that with The Epoch Times’
reporting to give myself more depth
of understanding. I want to be a part
of the solution when it comes to
solving social issues in this country,
I’m not looking to play a game of
I’ve been a reader of The Epoch
Times now for about a year.
After and during the events from
December 2019, I’ve come to depend
on real reporting from this paper.
Their news is up-to-date, vetted and
corroborated. The writers that report
the information keep you learning
new things and interested in learning
more. Ever since I started reading
it I’ve found that it is hard to put
every issue down; furthermore, the
range of coverage is wide in just
the right increments and without
drowning me in information that I
Reading The Epoch times is like
a breath of fresh air. Not only are
the articles well-written, they are
packed with great information.
I have learned so many wonderful
things in Mind and Body, however
the first thing I read is Conrad
Black in the Opinion section. My
husband and I look forward to the
paper every week. I think the world
would be a better place if everyone
would take the time to read The
Epoch Times!
KELLY MCCUNE FLANAGAN

telephone - spreading opinions, learn within a deep dive into each

The American People NEED TO
WAKE UP!! The great Patriots who
founded the GREATEST NATION
ON THE PLANET are under
attack by the LEFTISTS who are
aligned with the CCP! WAKE UP
AMERICA!!!
JASON E HAGGARD
gossip and sensational headlines
from corporate media.
DAVID P JENSEN
Just when I thought newspapers were
dead and that I would never read one
again, The Epoch Times becomes the
news that makes me feel good as I am
informed about my world.
WIPF JASON
story. The video documentaries
are my top favorite!
ADAM J GUTIERREZ
I was impressed by the well-rounded
reporting. MUCH more than just
political viewpoints, editorials and
fact-based reports.
DAVID HEISNER
Honest, fair, informative, great
layout, comprehensive selection
of topics. Excellent overview of
international and local news.
SVETLANA KOGAN

TRUTH AND TRADITION

 JASMINE SAHIN/SHUTTERSTOCK
BACK TO BASICS
Eating Close to Home
A farmer-cook’s case—and advice—
for eating locally, wherever you are.
See B2
GOOD EATS|RECIPES|DRINKS
FOOD
Korean Bone Broth
to Soothe the Soul
JUDY JOO
Seolleongtang,
I
t’s 3 a.m. on a December’s night in
Korea’s creamy, 1997, and I’m sitting in Gammeeok, a
cozy restaurant on 32nd Street, Kore-
milky-white ox atown in New York City. Despite the
hour, the restaurant is buzzing, full
bone soup, gets its of late-night revelers wanting a bit of sus-
tenance after a long night of drinking.
It’s bitterly cold outside, and I’m tucked
characteristic color into a comfy corner table with some friends.
The rustic, blond wooden décor gives the
from hours and hours restaurant the homely feel of a hanok, a
traditional Korean house, and a savory,
of boiling beefy aroma fills the air.
In the back, an open Korean-style hearth,
called a buttumak, boasts two gigantic black
cast iron pots, called gamasot, settled over
roaring fires. An elderly man stands next
to the cauldrons with a long, dark wooden
paddle and slowly stirs the silky, milky-white
liquid inside—the magical broth that every-
ROBYN MACKENZIE/SHUTTERSTOCK
FLASH IN THE PAN
For Colorful Winter Cooking,
Mix and Match Your Roots
Look for a ‘Winter Pebbles’ medley
at your local market, or put together your own.
See B2
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 B1
TMON/SHUTTERSTOCK
Unlike clear bone broths,
seolleongtang is an opaque,
creamy white, achieved by
boiling—not simmering—
the bones, coaxing out
all of the flavor, collagen,
marrow, and fat.
one has come for.
Seolleongtang, this nourishing, long-boiled
ox bone soup, is the signature dish on the menu
at Gammeeok. One of Korea’s most traditional
dishes and beloved wintertime soups, it’s pos-
sibly the tastiest, most satisfying bone broth
you’ll ever try.
Seolleongtang’s most notable quality is its
color: a creamy, milky white. In fact, the com-
monly used Hanja (Sino-Korean) characters
for the dish literally translate to “snowy thick
soup.” This color comes from boiling a medley
of bones for hours and hours, coaxing out all
of the flavor, collagen, marrow, and fat. The
longer it cooks, the richer the flavor, and the
thicker and milkier the broth becomes.
Since the primary ingredient of seolle-
ongtang is bones, rather than meat, it was
initially a cheap peasant food, a staple dur-
ing trying times.
Continued on B4
B2 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

RAWPIXEL.COM/SHUTTERSTOCK

CRYSTAL SHI try—and the call of nostalgia—she found

Eating I
n September 2018, Andrea Bemis em-
barked on a life-changing journey—
one that brought her closer than ever
to home.
Buying
locally
grown
produce,
whether at
herself revisiting the kinds of simple, down-
home recipes her grandmother cooked.
“The spirit of this book,” Bemis writes, “is
connectedness.” In a time when we’re all
craving a little more of that, she offers an

Close to Bemis, an organic farmer, food blogger

(DishingUpTheDirt.com), and cookbook
author living in north central Oregon,
had an epiphany earlier that year, while
a farmers
market or
through a
CSA share,
will help
inspiring path through food.
“I hope it encourages you to get out there,
get to know what grows in your region, and
get to know your people,” she writes. “Take

Home
grabbing a can of coconut milk from her
pantry: Despite a decade of farming and a
long-held dedication to local, sustainable
eating, she still had no idea where many of
the ingredients in her kitchen came from.
Inspired to deepen her relationship with
A farmer-cook’s case— her local food system and community, she
gave herself (and her thousands of blog
and advice—for eating readers and Instagram followers) a chal-
lenge: For 30 days, cook and eat using only
locally, wherever you are ingredients from within a 200-mile radius
of home. The experiences and lessons from
her “local thirty” journey, as she called it,
stuck with her long after.
Bemis shares them in her new cookbook,
“Local Dirt”—along with four seasons of
simple, adaptable recipes for home cooks
inspired to follow along.
Some experiences were completely new,
leading to new discoveries and friendships:
milking a cow and tasting the revelation
that is fresh, raw milk; butchering a pig for
the first time with the help of a local pig
farmer; spending a day on the open ocean
reeling in 30-pound albacore with a trio of
tuna fishermen.
Others took her back to her roots. Since
“Local Dirt:
many international ingredients were not
Seasonal
Recipes for locally available, she took a break from
Eating Close exploring global cuisines to newly appre-
ciate classic American food, rooted in the
to Home” by
Andrea Bemis self-sufficient ethos of American farmers,
(Harper Wave, homesteaders, and homemakers. Follow-
$32.99). ing the contents of her pared-down pan-
feed you what you will and what you can, and most
well while of all, celebrate your home.”
supporting In this excerpt from the book, Bemis
your shares her tips and tricks for eating locally,
community. wherever you are, plus a recipe for a cozy,
adaptable pot roast, a perfect winter meal
from the market.
Andrea Bemis’s Advice for
Eating Locally
Go In on Stuff With Friends
If a CSA share is too much for you, share
it with another family member or friends.
Divide and conquer. If you can’t make it to
the market, cover a friend’s gas money and
give them a list to do it for you. Get them
back the next week. Go in on a meat share
or a whole animal. Work with each other.
Ask All the Questions
One of the biggest challenges I faced was
sourcing cooking staples like oil, salt and
pepper, spices, citrus, and grains. But with
the help of the internet, social media, and
asking all the questions, I was able to find
what I needed, for the most part. And when I
couldn’t? I allowed myself a few exceptions.
Chest Freezers Are Rad
For so many reasons. They allow you to
buy and store a quarter, half, or full animal
from a local farmer at a lower price than

FLASH IN THE PAN

ROBYN MACKENZIE/SHUTTERSTOCK

For Colorful Winter Cooking, Mix and Match Your Roots

Look for a ‘Winter
Pebbles’ medley at your
local market, or put
together your own
ARI LEVAUX
I was on the hunt for the Winter Pebbles,
an assortment of turnips, potatoes, car-
rots, beets, parsnip, and winter radishes
that some enterprising farmers at the mar-
ket sell as a mix. They look like a basket of
gleaming jewels. They remind me of Fruity
Pebbles, the breakfast of Flintstones.
Storage crops are typically harvested in
the fall and kept cool and fresh all winter.
Homesteaders would store these tubers
in aptly-named root cellars, along with
squash, sides of bacon, apples, and what-
ever else they could squirrel away.
The pandemic has made us contemplate
various end-of-the-world scenarios, and
brought out the inner “prepper” in many
people. It sounds fun and romantic, but
the diet could get old, and any viable at-
tempt to live off the land would mean
coming to terms with turnips, and some
of the other harder-to-appreciate roots,
including celeriac, rutabaga, and Jerusa-
lem artichoke.
I had been thinking about Winter Peb-
bles a lot after they first caught my eye,
and had decided to buy some at the next
market. Alas, my farmer friend broke the
sad news: Early that morning, as he was
transferring the Winter Pebbles from their
burlap sack into their quart cartons, a gen-
tleman made an offer on the entire sack.
The offer was accepted, and the pebbles
were gone.
“Oh well, next week I guess,” I said.
“Unfortunately, that’s it for the season,”
he replied. They were now out of turnips
and storage radishes for the year, which
means the Winter Pebbles could no longer
be complete.
So there I was, forced by fate to do what
I could have done all along: buy a bunch
of different roots, and mix them together
myself.
But I kept wondering: What was the gen-
tleman going to do with that huge sack of
Winter Pebbles? It’s one thing to buy a small
amount of Winter Pebbles and cook them
right away, but storing a diverse assortment
of root crops in the same bag like that can A medley of winter roots, simply roasted until
be risky. soft, creates an array of delicious flavors.
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
if you bought all of that in individual cuts.
We stockpiled our own pork as well as local
beef, albacore tuna, and chicken in our
chest freezer.
Every morning while I’m drinking my first
cup of coffee, I go out to the freezer and
pick one item to put in the fridge to thaw.
Each package takes a couple of days, but
when you put something new in the fridge
every day, there is a constant rotation of
thawed meat ready to go for your dinner.
Chicken thighs tonight, tuna loin tomorrow,
burgers on Friday.
Also, freezing fresh food is the easiest way
to preserve it. In addition to pretty much
any kind of meat, most fruits and veggies
keep very well in the freezer, and it’s merely
a matter of packaging them in freezer bags
or paper and tossing them in there. (A lot
easier than sanitizing jars and firing up your
pressure canner for an afternoon, but I’m all
for that too if you have the time.)
You can get a small chest freezer at your
local appliance store for less than $200. If
you’re living in a small space, double up and
use the chest freezer as a countertop too.
Big ones are more expensive, but the value
they add by allowing you to preserve a large
amount of food is well worth it.
Cooking Locally Is About Getting Back to
Basics
I sometimes overcomplicate recipes or add
too many ingredients. Don’t get me wrong,
getting creative in the kitchen is one of my
favorite pastimes, but eating locally has
brought me back to simplicity. Roasted
chicken and veggies, a simple late-summer
soup, farm-fresh meatloaf, fruit for dessert,
carrots for snacking, fresh herbs for
seasoning rather than exotic spices. Cooking
with a limited number of fresh ingredients
can produce surprisingly delicious results.
FARMER’S POT ROAST
What I love about a simple pot roast is that you can
usually pick up all the ingredients at your local farmers
market. It’s a meal that most of the community has
contributed to.
Our pot roast features meat from our ranching friends
Tim and Keely Jefferies, vegetables from our farm and
neighboring farms, and wine from a local winemaker.
When [my husband] Taylor and I sit down to this
humble meal, we feel the company of the familiar
faces and voices of everyone who has contributed to
our dinner.
Localize It: Any root vegetables will work here—beets,
sweet potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, or celery root.
SERVES 4 TO 6
2 tablespoons cooking fat
1 (3-pound) bone-in chuck roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large onions, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 cup dry red wine (like a Cabernet or Pinot Noir)
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves
2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 parsnips, cut into 1-inch pieces (no need to
peel)
2 pounds potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottom lidded
pot, heat the cooking fat over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle the chuck roast with the salt and pepper. Add
the roast to the pot; cook for about 5 minutes, turning
it to brown it on all sides. Remove the roast to a plate
and set aside.
It’s a way of getting to
know what’s local in
winter, and of tasting the
flavors of the land, or the
terroir, if you will.
Each type of tuber will have different stor-
age needs. Radishes, for example, do better
in plastic bags, while potatoes, garlic, and
many others prefer mesh. If you’re buying
a large volume of roots and planning on
storing them, it’s actually wiser to buy and
store them separately.
Cooking Your Roots
Winter Pebbles is more of a way of cook-
ing than a specific mix of roots. It’s a way
of getting to know what’s local in winter,
I think of eating
locally as an
opportunity
for us all to
strengthen our
connection to
our food, but
it’s just as much
about deepening
our bonds with
each other.
Andrea Bemis, author,
“Local Dirt”
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onions
and thyme to the pot. Sauté until they are translucent
and beginning to soften, about 8 minutes.
Return the roast to the pot. Add the red wine, garlic,
beef broth, and bay leaves; bring the mixture to a
simmer.
Place the lid on the pot and transfer it to the oven.
Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the roast is almost
tender.
Add the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes to the pot.
Cover and bake for an additional hour or until tender.
Remove and discard the bay leaves. Shred the meat
using two forks.
Serve the roast over the vegetables, drizzled with the
cooking liquid.
and of tasting the flavors of the land, or
the terroir, if you will. You may not be able
to pronounce it, but you’ll know it when
you taste it.
Visit your market and keep your eyes
peeled for your local “Winter Pebbles” mix,
or create your own by choosing from dif-
ferent stands.
Tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper,
and roasted at 350 until soft, those com-
bined roots create an array of delicious
flavors. The bitter flames of turnips and
radish create a sharp contrast to the
sweet, mellow carrots. Maybe next time
you’ll skip the turnips. Or add some of
the honorary root crops, like squash or
Brussels sprouts.
If that is not enough micromanagement
for you, here is a recipe for a root tart from
Kate, the co-inventor of Winter Pebbles.
Ari LeVaux writes about food in
Missoula, Mont.
Stockpile the Staples
During downtime from the farm, I’m busy
gathering local nuts, oils, vinegars, legumes,
and grains. That way, when we get back
from our CSA drop in Portland at 7 p.m. on
a Tuesday in September, it’ll be easy to look
in the fridge and say, OK, the pork chops
are thawed and we have some potatoes
and lettuce—dinner is pan fried pork chops,
roasted potatoes with hazelnuts, and a
simple oil-and-vinegar-dressed salad.
Plan Ahead
I’m not a huge fan of meal prep, but
spending just a few hours one afternoon
a week is worth it to get organized. I hit up
the farmers market and make sure to stock
up on veggies, protein, and ingredients that
are easy to jazz up our meals with. Bring an
iced-down cooler to the market with you so
you can keep your goods fresh while you go
for an afternoon drive out to a local farm,
orchard, dairy, fish market, U-pick berry
patch, wild mushroom honey hole, etc., for
weekend recreation.
I make it fun—I hit the road on weekends
with some of my market goodies and stop
along the way at different farm stands and
wineries for tastings. I then try to find a
beautiful spot to post up for a picnic with
my newfound ingredients.
On Sunday, I take stock of my market haul
and what I’ve got at home and spend some
time planning my meals for the week.
Sunday is a good day to cook a big piece
of meat or veggie stew for dinner and
then have leftovers for a different meal
later in the week (chicken salad, pulled
pork sandwiches, veggie tacos, pot roast
omelet). This is also when I take the time
to rehydrate and cook local dried legumes
and store them in the fridge for a quick
weeknight dinner.
You can pick up all the
ingredients for this humble
pot roast at your local
farmers market.
Excerpted from the book
“Local Dirt” by Andrea
Bemis. Copyright 2020 by
Andrea Bemis. Published
on October 13, 2020 by
Harper Wave, an imprint of
HarperCollins Publishers.
Reprinted by permission.
WINTER PEBBLE TART
SERVES 4
1 large potato, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 large carrot, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 medium parsnip, peeled and sliced into 1/2-
inch rounds
5 Brussels sprouts, sliced in half
1 small red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
10-ounce piece of goat cheese, crumbled
1 rolled piece of pie dough or pizza dough (or you
B3
Substitutes Exist
Like many of us, thanks to Samin Nosrat,
I’ve learned that most successful meals are
composed of a balance of salt, fat, acid, and
heat. I’m a recipe person, so I keep finding
awesome recipes, but these days I look at
the ingredients more as food groups, which
allows me to swap in local foods.
So, if a recipe calls for coconut oil, I use
real butter or a local nut oil. If it calls for
halibut, but I have rainbow trout, I try it
with rainbow trout. If it calls for cumin
and turmeric, I try using a bunch of leafy
herbs instead for a pop of flavor. It won’t be
the same flavor, but it will fulfill the same
purpose in the overall dish.
I experiment with chopped or dried local hot
peppers rather than cracked black pepper
for the heat in some of my dishes. I live in
wine and orchard country, so I found folks
producing local fruit vinegar that I can use
instead of lemon juice or rice vinegar.
I use a spiralizer to make noodles out of any
sturdy vegetable (sweet potatoes, zucchini,
regular potatoes, eggplant) for pasta dish
recipes. I sub local honey for sugar in my
baking recipes and morning coffee.
Do It Together
I think this is the most important tip. I’m
not eating locally alone. I often share
meals (simple ones at that) and enjoy the
company of good friends and neighbors. I
think of eating locally as an opportunity for
us all to strengthen our connection to our
food, but it’s just as much about deepening
our bonds with each other.
Excerpted from the book “Local Dirt”
by Andrea Bemis. Copyright 2020 by
Andrea Bemis. Published on October
13, 2020 by Harper Wave, an imprint of
HarperCollins Publishers.
Reprinted by permission.
ANDREA BEMIS
Don’t get me wrong,
getting creative in the
kitchen is one of my
favorite pastimes, but
eating locally has brought
me back to simplicity.
Andrea Bemis, author, “Local Dirt”
can skip this part and proceed with the roots)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss the sliced roots in oil and season with salt and
pepper. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking
pan. Roast until golden and tender, about 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
In a thick-bottomed saucepan on medium heat,
cook the sugar in 2 tablespoons of water, stirring as
necessary to prevent burning, until the mixture is
amber colored, about 8 minutes. Turn off the heat, add
the vinegar and a pinch of salt, and stir it in.
Pour the vinegar into a 9-inch pie pan. Scatter the
rosemary and sage over the caramel. Arrange the
sliced roots artfully atop the herbs, using pieces to
stuff the holes. Sprinkle with the onion slices and
crumbled goat cheese, and cover the whole thing
with the rolled dough. Bake it at 400 for another 20
minutes, or until the dough is nicely crusted.
Remove from the oven to cool, and invert the pan over
a plate to serve.
B4
Korean Bone Broth
to Soothe the Soul
Seolleongtang, Korea’s creamy, milky-white ox bone soup,
gets its characteristic color from hours and hours of boiling
Continued from B1
Anything from cow feet, knuckles and
legs, head, tongue, gristle, to even intes-
tines can be thrown into the mix, and
the broth is continuously skimmed of
any impurities. Although inexpensive to
make, the soup is rich in nutrients, espe-
cially protein and calcium, and a deeply
savory flavor.
Murky Origins
The origins of seolleongtang, much like
the broth itself, are somewhat cloudy.
One theory dates the soup back to
Korea’s Joseon dynasty (1392—1910).
During this time, nationwide sacrificial
ceremonies were held every lunar new
year to pray for a bountiful harvest. The
sacrifice was called seonnongje
(seonnong meaning “venerated
farmer”), and was performed
on a sacrificial altar. One
altar was built in Bojewon,
a medical facility used
to aid the poor, in what
is now in modern-day
Seoul.
Pigs and oxen were
usually slaughtered,
and the king himself
always attended these
honored rituals. As a re-
sult, large crowds often
gathered, bringing along
with them hearty appe-
tites. The king wished to
feed these citizens who had
traveled so far and long, and
thus requested that the cooks in-
vent dishes to feed as many people
as possible with few ingredients—
namely the sacrificial ox. Seonnong-
tang—tang meaning soup—was thus
created. Over time, the pronunciation of
seonnongtang changed to seollongtang
for ease, and the romanization evolved
into seolleongtang.
Another theory is that the Mongols
brought the dish over during their inva-
sions of Korea in the 13th century, during
the Goryeo dynasty. A Mongolian text-
book published later in the Joseon era,
during King Yeongjo’s rule (1724—1776),
documented the Mongols making large
quantities of soup by boiling cows, goats,
or sheep in water, and later seasoning
it with salt, to feed their armies. The
Mongolians also had a dish of sliced and
boiled beef with scallions, called sulen,
that could have eventually evolved into
seolleongtang in Korea.
Whatever the historical origin, the
humble soup has become a source of
national pride for Seoul, so much so that
the city’s government has placed it on
the Seoul Future Heritage list, declaring
it worthy of preservation.
An elderly man stands
next to the cauldrons
with a long, dark wooden
paddle and slowly stirs
the silky, milky-white
liquid inside—the magical
broth that everyone has
come for.
A Master’s Secrets
Hyung Kee Choi, a Seoulite and
founder of Gammeeok restaurant, with
locations in New York City and New
Jersey, researched and developed his
legendary seolleongtang recipe for
years before opening his fi rst restaurant
in New York in 1990.
He uses a combination of 80 percent
cow knuckles and 20 percent cow feet—
he says the feet are essential to achieving
his signature thick, gelatinous broth—
and soaks and washes the bones well to
remove any blood before he boils them.
He then places the bones in a well-used
and seasoned gamasot and boils them
over high heat for 10 to 12 hours.
But the real secret to his recipe, he says,
HER O
T OW N/SH U T T E R S TO C
K Traditionally, rice was added, but
A bowl of seolleongtang
with sliced boiled beef,
noodles, and green onions.
Giant pots of seolleongtang boiling away at Gammeok.
lies in what he calls “babysitting the
broth.” During these long hours of cook-
ing, someone must watch and continu-
ously stir the broth, skimming it and
adding water at just the right times.
I vividly remember that no matter what
hour of the day I went to Gammeeok,
there was always someone standing
over the pots, watching their contents
intently, stirring the soup with care. It is
a meticulous process, a labor of love, but
the resulting creamy, silky broth is worth
the effort.
Finishing Touches
Once the broth is ready, some simple in-
gredients are added to complete the soup.
wheat noodles were introduced after the
Korean War, due to a rice shortage
and an abundance of white flour.
In fact, the government forced
certain soups to be served
with wheat noodles instead
of rice, to reduce demand.
Thus, a tradition was
created, and to this day
you’ll often find noodles
served in seolleong-
tang.
Sliced boiled beef is
another typical add-on.
Historically, off-cuts
of meat were tossed in,
but nowadays, brisket
is commonly used. Choi
takes pride in his choice of
beef: He only uses meat from
large cattle weighing at least
900 pounds. These bigger cows
are fattier, and boast nicer marbling,
thus adding a rich, beefy flavor to the
broth.
Seolleongtang is also served with a
myriad of side condiments. Notably, salt
is always only added at the table, never
during the cooking process, so each
diner can season their soup as they pre-
fer. Korean red chile flakes (gochugaru)
or black pepper are also options, but the
vital garnish is freshly sliced scallions,
with diners usually scooping heaping
spoonfuls at a time.
Kimchi, specifically radish kimchi
(kkakdugi), is an essential side dish, as its
sharp tang and spice nicely cut the rich-
ness of the soup. A little bit of the kimchi
juice can also be added to the broth, to
give it a fresher taste.
Conventionally, seolleongtang is
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
served in an unassuming earthenware
bowl called a ttukbaegi. Gammeeok also
offers each table a ttukbaegi full of sliced
scallions and a ceramic urn full of home-
made kkakdugi radish kimchi, which is
cut tableside with scissors.
But the real secret to
his recipe, he says,
lies in what he calls
‘babysitting the broth.’
A Waiting Game
Gammeeok’s longevity on New York
City’s restaurant scene is a testament
to the popularity of seolleongtang, and
Choi’s much loved recipe: He celebrated
Gammeeok’s 30th anniversary last year.
(Note that the restaurant moved to a new
location on 32nd Street.)
To this day, Choi still enjoys a bowl of
his seolleongtang 3 to 4 times a week.
He says that he is especially passionate
about the “purity” of his broth, and the
natural, deeply savory flavor derived
only from the best ingredients.
I asked him why he feels that Gam-
meeok’s seolleongtang is so loved.
“We are a culture of broths,” he said.
“All Koreans crave broth.”
I am no exception. Even as I write this
story in London, I cannot wait until I can sit
at Gammeeok again for a piping-hot bowl
of seolleongtang. But for now, I will have to
babysit my own broth on my own stove.
A proper seolleongtang needs to be
boiled for at least 10 hours; as a result,
I have only made it a few times at home.
Still, if you can sacrifice half a day, it’s a
worthy endeavor, as you can make a big
batch to freeze and enjoy time and time
again. It is the perfect soup to make
during lockdown—make no bones
about it.
I am even finding the whole process
somewhat meditative: gently skimming
the broth, watching it slowly cloud over. In
the end, the reward is a bowl of comforting
goodness, from modest beginnings made
rich with time and patience, warming and
restoring you from the inside out.
Judy Joo is a chef, restaurateur, author,
and TV personality. Her newest book is
“Judy Joo’s Korean Soul Food.”
COURTESY OF GAMMEOK
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 B5
JUDY JOO

SEOLLEONGTANG
(KOREAN BEEF BONE SOUP)
A proper seolleongtang requires boiling
beef bones for at least 10 hours, with
constant babysitting to skim impurities,
add water, and maintain the right heat.
Still, it’s a worthy endeavor, as you can
make a big batch to freeze and enjoy time
and time again.
I was eager to use Mr. Choi’s winning
formula of cow’s feet and knuckles, but
found that it can be very hard to source
these types of bones at non-Asian
butchers. Thus, I had to settle for using
oxtails and marrow bones. The oxtails
add some meat into the broth, and are not
traditional, but it was still a successful
combination.
This recipe calls for boiling the bones for
12 hours, but you can go longer, too. I
have an electric stove, so I filled my pot
of bones with water, covered it with a
lid, and let it gently boil overnight. In the
morning, I added water and continued to
babysit the broth for the rest of the day. In
the end, I had a gorgeously creamy, silky,
milky-white soup, full of rich, beefy flavor.
A note on using organic bones: Toxins are
stored in fatty tissues and marrow, and if
the animal has been given hormones and
antibiotics, you may be compromising the
nutritive quality of your soup.
5 1/2 pounds oxtails, organic
1 pound beef marrow bones, organic
1 pound beef brisket, organic,
trimmed
TO SERVE
Rice or thin wheat noodles (somyeon)
Chopped scallions
Korean radish kimchi (kkakdugi)
Kosher salt
Place all of the bones in a large bowl and
wash them under cold water. Fill the
bowl up with cold water until the bones
are fully submerged. Place the brisket in
another bowl and cover with cold water.
Allow the bones and brisket to soak at
Serve your soup with rice, scallions, radish kimchi, and kosher salt, to season to taste. room temperature for 3 hours, to draw
out the blood. Drain and rinse the bones
well again.
Place the bones in a large pot with
enough water to cover, and then set over
high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for
about 10 minutes. Place a large colander
in a sink and drain the bones, discarding
the hot water and scum. Repeat once
more.
Meanwhile, place the brisket into a
medium pot with enough water to cover,
then set over high heat and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer for about 10
minutes, or until just cooked through.
Remove the meat using tongs and allow
to cool. Once cooled, slice the meat thinly
on a cutting board, wrap with plastic
wrap, and store in the fridge until ready
to use.
Once you have boiled and drained your
bones for a second time, rinse the bones
with cold water and clean the pot well.
Place the clean bones in the clean pot
and fill with water to cover the bones by
about 3 inches. Put back on the stove
over high heat and bring to a boil. Skim off
any fat, scum, and other impurities. Cook
at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by
a third. You must continuously boil—not
simmer—the bones to get a milky white
broth, so adjust the heat as necessary to
maintain a low active boil.
Add water to keep the liquid at the same
level, and continue boiling, repeating this
process of skimming and adding water as
necessary, for 12 hours (or longer—it just
keeps getting better and better!), until
the broth is very white, creamy, and thick.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool,
then place the pot in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, use a spoon to remove
the layer of fat that solidifies on top of the
soup. Carefully remove the bones using a
large slotted spoon, and strain the soup
through a fine mesh strainer. Pick out any
pieces of meat and reserve.
Return the soup to the pot and reheat
over high heat. Stir in the sliced brisket
and any of the reserved oxtail meat. Pour
the soup into bowls and serve with rice,
chopped scallions, radish kimchi, and
kosher salt on the side.

CHINESE HOME COOKING

TOMATO EGG DROP SOUP

Egg Drop Soup, PREP & COOKING TIME

Prep Time: 5 minutes
covered, for 20 minutes.

Simple and Satisfying Cook Time: 30 minutes

CRYSTAL SHI & CICI LI
Egg drop soup, or dan hua tang—literally
“egg flower soup”—is a Chinese home
cooking staple. It’s simple, quick, and
comforting, especially as the weather
turns colder.
The “flower” refers to the soup’s charac-
teristic soft, wispy ribbons of egg, formed
by slowly pouring in beaten eggs near
the end of the cooking process. They add
color and texture to the simple chicken
broth base, slightly thickened with corn-
starch and made fragrant with ginger,
scallions, and white pepper.
Egg drop soup is very adaptable, so
feel free to throw in other ingredients,
such as quick-cooking vegetables or your
protein of choice. In this version, diced
tomatoes add some welcome brightness.
This recipe calls for making your own
basic chicken stock for the base, which
is easy if you plan ahead: When cook-
ing other dishes that require cutting
chicken meat off the bone, leave a bit
of meat on the bones and save them for
your future stock. Store-bought or pre-
viously homemade chicken stock works
great, too.
Finally, two pieces of advice for the
perfect eggy swirls: Separate your yolks
and whites before streaming them in, to
create ribbons of two distinct colors for
a prettier presentation; and add a dash
of rice vinegar to both, for super soft and
silky results.
Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients: Separate
the eggs, dividing the yolks and whites into two
bowls. Whisk 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar into the
SERVES 6
yolks, then whisk 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar into the
FOR THE CHICKEN STOCK (SEE NOTE) whites.
12 cups water, divided Cut the tomatoes into 1-inch cubes. Mince the
scallions, keeping the white and green parts
1/2 pound chicken bones, some meat attached
separate.
6 thin slices ginger
In a small pan over low heat, add the extra-light olive
FOR THE SOUP oil and the white parts of the scallions. Cook until
aromatic, about 1 minute. Set aside.
6 eggs
Now, make the soup: After the chicken stock has
1 teaspoon rice vinegar, divided
simmered for 20 minutes, discard the chicken bones,
2 tablespoons extra-light olive oil ginger, and any impurities.
5 tomatoes Turn the heat to high. Add the tomatoes and cook
until softened, about 3 minutes. Skim off any foam.
4 stalks scallions, white and green parts
Add the scallion oil and season with salt, sugar, and
separated
white pepper to taste.
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
In a small bowl, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing
1/2 teaspoon sugar together 3 tablespoons cornstarch and 3 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon white pepper water until smooth. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the
3 tablespoons cornstarch soup in a circular motion and stir until thickened.

3 tablespoons water Bring the soup back to a boil. Slowly pour in the egg
whites in a circular motion, then do the same with the
Drizzle of sesame oil egg yolks. Stir gently. Top with the green parts of the
Diced
scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil, and serve.
tomatoes Make the chicken stock: In a large pot over high
add welcome heat, add 6 cups of water and the chicken bones. NOTE:
brightness to this Cover, bring to a boil, and let boil for about 3 minutes. You can also use 6 cups store-bought or previously
simple egg drop Drain and discard the water; this will remove blood homemade chicken stock, and use less salt to season
soup. and other impurities, and any gamey flavor. the soup as needed.
Return the bones to the pot over high heat, and add Recipe by CiCi Li, the producer and presenter of “CiCi’s
the remaining 6 cups of water and the ginger. Cover, Food Paradise” on NTD. Join her in discovering the
bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, world of Asian home cooking at CiCiLi.tv
NESAVINOV/SHUTTERSTOCK

It’s simple, quick, and comforting,

especially as the weather turns colder.

Call for Food Writers

Are you an experienced food writer? We’re looking to commission
stories about unique, time-honored food traditions and recipes from
FOOD
across the country—and around the world. If interested, send your
pitch, author bio, and 2 to 3 writing samples to food@epochtimes.com S!
E FOR U
W RIT
B6 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021

CROSSWORD CONSTRUCTED BY TOM HOUSTON

EPOCH TIMES STAFF 12. Accessory worn by 4NUMBERS CONSTRUCTED BY C. CHANG
AT 4NUMS.COM DAILY BRIDGE CLUB
one doing a bank job Millard’s overtake
Use the four numbers in the corners, and
13. The lizard family the operands (+, - X, and ÷) to build an BY FRANK STEWART, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
equation to get the solution in the middle.
14. Hand out There may be more than one “unique” so- ©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
15. Supposes, old style lution but, there may also be “equivalent”
solutions. For example: 6 + (7 X 3) +1 = 28 “Declare this contract,” Cy the Cynic said,
20. Pub order and 1+ (7 X 3) + 6 = 28 showing me today’ s North-South cards.
21. _____ in plain sight “You’re at four spades. West leads the
queen of hearts.”
26. Ab machines, e.g. I said I would play low from dummy, ruff
27. Geologist’s tool the third heart and take the K-Q of trumps.
If trumps broke 3-2, I would draw the last
28. “... you get the idea”: trump and play a low club from both hands
Abbr. in case of a 4-1 break. If East won and led a
diamond, I could take the ace and run the
29. Lens cover? clubs to discard diamonds.
32. Paving stone “What if trumps split 4-1?” the Cynic
asked.
33. Dolly ___ of “Hello, “Then I start the clubs at Trick Six,
Dolly!” hoping they break 3-2,” I said. “When a
defender ruffs, I win any return and go to
34. Minor the ace of trumps to finish the clubs.”
38. “Man is a ___-using Hard 1 - 1 Solution
SAME PLAN
animal”: Thomas Carlyle “My plan was the same,” Cy said. He filled
39. Sight from Messina in the East-West cards. “But East was
Millard.”
40. “Do-It-Yourself Tor- Millard Pringle is a quiet little man who
nado Kit” manufacturer often gets lost in the maze of defensive
rules.
41. Gently persuade “When dummy played low on the
42. Vacant. second heart,” Cy said, “Millard played the
ace! I hope I never find out why. He then led
43. Gather on the sur- a diamond. Make four spades now.”
face, chemically
DAILY QUESTION
45. National fruits of You hold: { A 8 5 K 4 2 6 2
Jamaica yAQ 7 32. You open one club, and your
Hard 2 - 1 Solution partner bids one spade. North in today’s
48. Certain Japanese deal raised to two spades with this hand.
Across 37. Sky box? 74. Choir part 49. Small fry Do you agree with thatcall?
1. Turkish porter 40. Critical 75. Like an angry cleric? 50. Burg
ANSWER: I agree. In my experience, raising
a major-suit response with decent three-
6. Acid neutralizer 43. 5th in NYC, e.g. 80. Encounter card support in a suitable hand is a winning
56. Cords from sheep
12. Popular side 44. Meadow 81. “Brilliant!” action. Anyway, no other bid is attractive.
46. Fortune 82. “Peter and the Wolf” 58. ___ Day A rebid of two clubs would promise a
16. Black
59. 1933 Physicist Paul six-card suit. A bid of 1NT with two low
17. Sounded like a Persian 47. Ollie North’s claim to bird diamonds doesn’ t appeal.
18. Dough fame 83. “Against All ___” who shared the Nobel North dealer
19. Side-by-side, e.g. 51. Yoga class need 84. Go by, as time Prize with Schrodinger Neither side vulnerable
22. June honorees 52. Family address 85. Varieties 61. Not now
23. “... came a-bubblin’ 53. Knave 62. V.I.P.
crude, ___ that is,...” 54. Aussie “bear” Down 63. Bring to mind Easy 1 - 1 Solution
24. “St. ___ Stylites” 55. Biz bigwig 1. Lead, as a department 64. What’s left behind
(Tennyson poem) 57. Bedouin 2. Erode 65. Coasts
25. Arapaho foe 59. Kind of line 3. Crumble 66. Doofus
26. Sound of contempt 60. Physics, chemistry, 4. Some colonists 67. Courted
27. Pipe joint et al. 5. Caustic cleaner
72. Margin
30. Pub game 66. Lawn mower’s path 6. Hindu’s ambrosial drink
31. Assessment that may 68. Departure announce- 7. Faithful, in old poetry 73. In this way
determine how well you ment 8. Auspicious fishes 74. Friend in war
work with others 69. Mins. and mins. 9. Bristle 76. Unagi, at a sushi bar
35. “Childhood’s ___” 70. Refuse 10. “My Name Is Asher 77. Part of a cell nucleus
Kiss 71. Rice porridge ___” (Chaim Potok novel) 78. End
36. Run the show 73. Lipton product 11. Midmonth time 79. Frequently, in verse Easy 2 - 1 Solution

WORDSEARCH CONSTRUCTED BY TOM HOUSTON

EPOCH TIMES STAFF SUPER KAKURO CONSTRUCTED
BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF

Help with Today’s Crossword Puzzle? Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords that use numbers instead of words. The goal is to fill the blank squares associated with a clue (called a “run”) with the numbers
1-9 so that the numbers add up to the corresponding clues. Like Sudoku, digits in a run cannot repeat. When the grid is filled, the puzzle is complete.

ABLATE CONGEE GENIUS SHORES

ACKEES DARTS HAMAL SIMEON
ACUTE DIRAC HEAD UP SKI MASK
ADSORB EBONY KOALA SWATH
ALKALI ELAPSE MEOWED TIME SCALE
ALLOT EMCEE MOLDER TONERS
AMRITA ESTATE NOMAD TYPES
CALL UP EYELID ROUND WEENS
CHEESE FLUTE SCHMO WOOED

SOLUTIONS
CROSSWORD SUPER KAKURO
4 NUMBERS
HARD 1

HARD 2

EASY 1

EASY 2
 THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 B7

SUDOKU CONSTRUCTED
BY KANNAN SANKARAN SUPERSUDOKU CONSTRUCTED
BY KANNAN SANKARAN

Fill in the boxes using numbers between 1 and 9 so that each column, each Fill in the boxes using numbers from 0 to 9 and letters from A to F so that each column, each row, and
row, and each 3x3 square contain all nine numbers only once. each 4x4 square contain all ten numbers and six letters only once.
Hard

Easy FEEDBACK@EPOCHTIMES.COM

WE HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES TO

OUR PUZZLE PAGE IN RESPONSE TO
PUZZLER’S FEEDBACK. LET US KNOW
WHAT YOU THINK!
FEEDBACK@EPOCHTIMES.COM

CRYPTIC QUOTE

EPOCH DOKU CONSTRUCTED

BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF

WORK SPACE

KAKURO CONSTRUCTED
BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF JUMBLE BY DAVID L. HOYT
& JEFF KNUREK

Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords that use numbers instead of words. The goal THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME
is to fill the blank squares associated with a clue (called a “run”) with the numbers By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek
1-9 so that the numbers add up to the corresponding clues. Like Sudoku, digits Unscramble these Jumbles,
Get the free JUST JUMBLEDSS‡)ROORZXVRQ7ZLWWHU@PlayJumble

in a run cannot repeat. When the grid is filled, the puzzle is complete. one letter to each square,
to form four ordinary words.
Easy
RUYRH
EPOCH ESCAPE MAZE
*5)22

/26,3+

)/$7$2
Now arrange the circled letters
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC to form the surprise answer, as
All Rights Reserved. suggested by the above cartoon.

THE

WORK SPACE

SOLUTIONS
SUPERSUDOKU SUDOKU: EASY JUMBLE EASY KAKURO
THE ROOF
were going — THROUGH
fancy new fireplace
Costs of installing their
Answers:
AFLOAT
POLISH
FORGO
HURRY
Jumbles:
SUDOKU: HARD EPOCH DOKU

CRYPTIC QUOTE
darn good shaving cream.
three days, peanut butter is
like peanut butter for two or
If you don’t mind smelling
B8
MARKO POPLASEN/SHUTTERSTOCK
WINE TALK
The Cork Problem
ROBERT WHITLEY
You may recall the issue of so-called cork
taint that ravaged the wine industry not
so long ago.
Many natural corks were infected with
a compound called TCA (short for trichlo-
roanisole, which forms through interac-
tions between plant phenols, chlorine, and
mold). TCA was a huge problem until re-
cently, spoiling many bottles of wine, in-
cluding some of the most expensive, with
an unpleasant, musty aroma.
The TCA issue prompted many winer-
ies to switch to screwcap closures despite
initial resistance from the distribution
chain, which feared a consumer backlash
because screwcaps had previously been
used mostly for cheap wines or jug wines.
Some producers of fine wine resisted the
transition and moved away from natural
corks to what are described as “composite”
corks made up of various materials. Now
we have a different problem.
Many of the composite corks are dif-
ficult to work with and, in some cases,
dangerous because of the sheer force re-
quired to extract them from the bottle. Be
careful when you encounter one of these
monstrosities. I’ve had the lever on the
corkscrew slip off the top of the bottle
COURTESY OF POLIZIANO
It’s high time to return
to natural cork as the
primary wine closure,
especially for age-
worthy red wines.
COURTESY OF CHAPPELLET
and stab my hand because of the force
required to simply get the cork to move
a fraction of an inch. I’ve bent several of
my less-sturdy corkscrews.
Extracting a cork from a bottle of wine
shouldn’t be that difficult, and it definitely
shouldn’t be dangerous. There are compos-
ite corks that work, permitting soft entry
with the corkscrew and easy extraction,
but they are few and far between.
My solution is a return to natural corks for
wineries that insist on having a cork in the
bottle. The cork industry has cleaned up its
act and solved most of the problems that
promoted the spread of TCA. At the wine
competitions I oversee, we open thousands
of bottles over the course of a weekend. We
have seen a dramatic drop in the number
of wines rejected because of TCA, from
double digits at the peak of the problem
to less than 1 percent today.
It’s high time to return to natural cork as
the primary wine closure, especially for
age-worthy red wines.
To find out more about Robert Whitley
and read features by other Creators
Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the
Creators Syndicate website at Creators.
com. Email Robert at whitleyonwine@
yahoo.com. Copyright 2020 Creators.com
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
...................................
Tasting Notes ...................................
Wines are rated on a 100-point scale. Wines are chosen for
review because they represent outstanding quality or value, and
the scores are simply a measure of this reviewer’s enthusiasm
for the recommended wine.
Poliziano 2019 Rosso di Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy ($19):
You wouldn’t expect to find some of Italy’s greatest values in red wine
in the hallowed vineyards of Tuscany, yet there it is, the Montepulciano
district that lies south of the Chianti region and east of the Montalcino
district. Montepulciano hasn’t caught up to its neighbors in popularity,
hence why the prices lag a bit. Poliziano is one of the finest producers
from the region. The rosso is its base wine, 80 percent sangiovese
and 20 percent merlot, and it has plenty of oomph. Showing notes of
black cherry, plum, and spice, it’s an excellent match for grilled poultry,
sausages, and red pasta sauces. While not exactly cheap, the quality far
surpasses the price. Best Value. Rating: 91.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
Chappellet 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Pritchard Hill ($250):
There are a handful of Napa Valley cabernets that are deserving
of iconic status, having demonstrated over decades that they
are anything but a fluke of nature. Pritchard Hill is Chappellet’s
contribution to the pantheon of truly great Napa Valley cab. This is
the 20th anniversary for this iconic cab from the iconic 50-year-old
winery located off the Silverado Trail along the eastern side of the
valley. The 2017 is rich, deep, and impressive, with polished tannins
despite its muscular structure; dark-fruit notes of blackberry, cassis,
and blueberry; and remarkable depth and length. It’s a wine for the
ages. Rating: 100.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
Duckhorn 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley ($32):
Consistently among the finest sauvignons produced in California, the 2019
Duckhorn follows in that vein, showing beautiful aromas of citrus, tropical fruit,
and peach; exquisite balance; and impressive length with a subtle note of wood
spice on the finish. Rating: 93.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
Château Lassègue 2017 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France ($60):
Château Lassègue is a Right Bank gem operated by vignerons Pierre and
Nicolas Seillan. This, the chateau’s flagship wine, is sourced from the hillsides
surrounding the chateau and is undoubtedly one of the finest values in Bordeaux
today. The 2017 vintage is nearly equal parts merlot and cabernet franc, with
a hint of cabernet sauvignon in the blend. The nose offers a hint of violets and
spice, leading to a palate that is supple and smooth, with richly layered red-fruit
aromas and a subtle note of wood spice. It needs another few years in the cellar
to be at its best, but it will be worth the wait. Rating: 93.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................................
Tinto Figuero 12, 2017 Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain ($31):
Though a bit pricy for a crianza (aged 12 months in barrel), it’s what’s in the
bottle that counts. This is a richly layered, beautifully structured red from Ribera
del Duero that is drinkable now but has the guts for the long haul. With complex
aromas of blackberry, blueberry and raspberry, and a dash of sweet oak vanillin,
it’s a crowd pleaser. Rating: 92.
Unmoved
Oil on canvas
Size: 29 1/2 x 39 1/2 in
Original artworks, canvas wraps,
art posters, and framed prints of
Award-winninvg oil paintings
now available for purchase at
I ns piredOrigina l.Org