Mr. Cheng: It was officially announced that there were 3,184 deaths in Wuhan. I don’t believe it at all. If it is 30,000 and more, I’ll believe it. I’ll believe it if it’s ten times more.

I have relatives and friends in Wuhan. I understand the situation. Of the people I know, 7 of them have died.

It was under strict control. Two of my sisters are in Wuhan. They can’t go in or out. They have been locked in with door panels and fences. Many elderly were starved to death. Many died of starvation. This data will not be officially recognized.

No one believes in the official data, whether you are associated with the government or not.

Reporter: Are there many families where everyone has died?

Mr. Cheng: Right, right. I personally know there are 7 families that are gone. One of them was a deputy director of Jiangxia District. He died. He was infected on Jan. 6, and died on the 10th. His father and mother were in their 80s. One died on Jan. 12, the other died on Jan. 16. His wife was infected, not dead yet. He was my father’s classmate. They knew each other well.
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Small Businesses Being Sucked Dry

Mr. Cheng: There is a logistic company nearby. For us small businesses, if we want to send out goods, we must go through these logistics companies. But they will not allow you to run a business unless you pay a fee of 5,000 to 10,000 yuan ($711.71-$1,423.42). They’re robbing people with the fee. The government is too corrupt, and we can’t do anything about it.

On March 1, I brought my products to the logistics for delivery. They charged 5,000 yuan ($711.71) for one receiving company, $15,000 ($2,135.09) for three receiving companies. The next day, the logistics handed me another note with the stamp from the local novel coronavirus command center. It charges 5,000 yuan ($711.71). Without paying it, you can’t run your business for the entire year.

Reporter: The fee is making it worse for you, isn’t it?

Mr. Cheng: It’s a big blow. The market was already bad last year, now there’s no workers. The key is that you can’t get workers. They can’t come.

Some said that back to work is committing suicide. But not resuming business is a bigger hit on us. The government workers have wages. But small businesses like us are hit the worst.

There is a QR code [on your mobile phone].
It easily reveals with a scan if you are within a 50 kilometer range [of this region] in the past 14-30 days. If it’s green, you are fine. If it’s orange, you have to be isolated at home. If it’s red, you are subject to quarantine. It’s 1,000 yuan ($142.16) a day, including hotel, two tests a day, three meals. That’s 1,000 yuan ($142.16) a day for 14 days. It’s 14,000 yuan ($1988.58) a person. That’s how the government will suck you dry, the poor Chinese.

Reporter: During the isolation, did people pay the fee on their own?

Mr. Cheng: You have to pay. It is 1,000 yuan ($142.16) a day in Zhuzhou.
If you are a worker from Guizhou who takes a bus or train to get here, with a scan of the QR code, it will show red. You’ll be sent to the hotel for quarantine. You won’t dare to come, it’s 14,000 yuan ($1988.58) a person.
We’ll get back to business tomorrow (March 14). But we won’t have other workers to come.
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Cover Up the Pandemic

Mr. Cheng:
You can’t send any sensitive information on WeChat. A friend of mine was imprisoned for 15 days because of that. A cousin’s relative was also jailed for 15 days because of messaging regarding the epidemic. My wife’s cousin also was sentenced for a year and a half after texting about several confirmed cases in the village.

There are many people talking about the epidemic on WeChat, Weibo. Officials have acknowledged that more than 1,400 people have been jailed for, as they say, “spreading rumors.” That actually means that the 1,452 people were sentenced for speaking the truth. This is official data, from a report on March 6.

Reporter: Does that mean most people in Wuhan have awakened?

Mr. Cheng: How can they not be awakened, like my sister, sister-in-law, my two sisters in Wuhan. But there’s nothing you can do. Without a gun, rebellion is impractical in China.