Xi Jinping Explained Why China Fought for Every Life, Especially the Elderly, During Pandemic

May 24, 2020 (EIRNS)—In a talk with lawmakers at the National People’s Congress legislative session, Xinhua reported, Chinese President Xi Jinping said: “What is ‘people first’? So many people worked together to save a single patient. This, in essence, embodies doing whatever it takes (to save lives).” Xi cited the case of one hospital in Hubei, where medical workers in one hospital spent 47 days saving an 87-year-old COVID-19 patient. “About 10 medical workers meticulously took care of the patient for dozens of days, and finally saved the patient’s life. I am really impressed.”

Xinhua went on, describing:

“In Hubei alone, more than 3,600 COVID-19 patients over the age of 80 have been cured. In the provincial capital Wuhan, seven centenarian patients have been cured. ‘We mobilized from around the nation the best doctors, the most advanced equipment and the most needed resources to Hubei and Wuhan, going all out to save lives,’ Xi said during the deliberations, adding that the oldest patient cured is 108 years old. ‘We are willing to save lives at all costs. No matter how old the patients are and how serious their conditions have become, we never give up, Xi said.”

Xinhua noted that “Epidemic response is a reflection of China’s governing philosophy. The nation’s average life expectancy reached 77 years in 2018, more than double that in 1949, when the People’s Republic was founded.”