Sitting in my February 2020 Beijing hotel room, I had plans to move forwards to Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. What was this news that I was hearing about Wuhan? Wuhan, the same Hubei city which I had lived in during those formative China years from July 2015 for two years! Miss Rona was about to do us all wrong but Miss Mainstream Western Media needed her meds!
Those clammy Summer nights had me craving that Lumo Road street food within Wuhan's pulsing Guanggu 'Optics Valley' Area. How was hearing this 2020 news that a deadly virus had been first detected in my former expat Chinese home? I did not believe this! No! Not my Wuhan! Ah, those colourful flavourful snacks always helped me get ready for those drinks at Wuhan Prison. Miss Rona may have been about to strike, her ground zero made way for one serious China blame game! From day one, I knew Miss Mainstream Western Media could never be trusted when something has supposedly arisen from the Middle Kingdom because then it gets messed up! With those lights, Lumo Road saw many wild nights out in the city of Wuhan, never did I ever see a world pandemic on the cards? No! I stand firmly with China, Miss Rona lost her senses with those news outlets overseas spouting their vicious lies and rumours! Wuhan kept me on my toes during those 2015 to 2017 moments but in the end it was just love. BBC, don't ever!
Like after any night-out in Wuhan, I would always be reminded of my antics the next day by my friend Fiona. We would get up to some right old things but it was all in the name of the weekends and we respected Lady Wuhan! Forget the noise, that 2020 noise that placed a lot upon Wuhan because that was some shady business indeed. The people of that city were getting along with their pre-Chinese New Year things, the biggest holiday of the year was fast approaching. Out of the dark, the sun rose to produce another reel of headlines that the messy 'MSM' had produced, their tone grew more bitter than normal. For me Wuhan was always a happy and jovial place during those Chinese New Year happenings, everybody would always welcome the new year in with the best of intentions for the year that lay ahead of them. Like a hangover, the tension from drinking too much translated in those headlines! Wuhan and its millions of residents had nothing to do with this happening, the city for me stands innocent. OK!
Now, 2015 brought me to Wuhan with many things to accomplish, unlike Shanghai or Beijing, I knew nothing about Wuhan before my arrival. Wuhan's Wuchang District presented itself to me, as one of Wuhan's forming districts I had the immense privilege to acquaint myself with every single part! The 1911 Uprising Memorial had me educated, Wuhan was no war-flower, she could be ready and waiting for any eventuality because she's made of strong stuff! My 2020 hotel stay in Beijing turned into a longer program, scheduling the alarm for an actual full on humanitarian calamity on the cards. Being within Mainland China, I had every faith that my Wuhan and the capital would fight away this virus like a hoard of Kung-Fu masters! Masking up for the world to see, we had been wearing masks before the world had heard of Miss Rona! Miss Mainstream Western Media, that trick tried to build her dossier of fake facts because those western outlets can't work China out, they don't have the nerve! Wuhan's Uprising Memorial welcomes you all!
One thing led to another, finding myself back in England wasn't what I had wanted to happen, I couldn't argue with that. As I felt more removed from that former Beijing and Wuhan life, the unfolding 2020 drama that Miss Rona had progressively unleashed gained momentum. Other countries told their people to wash their hands, some like the United States of America acted like nothing had happened. Oh, Miss Mainstream Western Media had a deal with old Mr. Trump because he chose to mess with the wrong city, Wuhan stood ready for his orange ass foolishness! For me those Spring into Summer settings that I spent in Wuhan had the seasons changing immaculately, new flowers thrived and the sun shined mostly every single day. What I am getting at was the world didn't know Wuhan, they tried to judge a book they hadn't read, not even the cover! Those secret settings, I knew their formula, I knew the vigour of the Wuhan people wouldn't be beaten by this pandemic! 1911 or 2020, Wuhan stayed ready! 武汉市, 加油!
Strong and forever surging forwards, Wuhan's Yangtze River always gave me that sense of renewal and energy whenever I would take a walk along its riverfront. No matter, looking over to Wuchang, Hankou or Hanyang Districts, each point of view would instil a sense of what Wuhan stood for. As I sat at home in England, during those lockdowns that I had to endure, the people in the United Kingdom did not listen to the rules. Wuhan and the rest of China hunkered down, they locked down tight and got on with their four month 'stay at home' order. Every country did things differently, Wuhan had the world watch its every move and I knew that that Hubei capital would knock it out of the park! Miss Rona did her best to wreck Wuhan's isolation, they stayed at home as to keep the virus at bay. That orange former leader from the 'land of the free' kept on with his anti-China chat and for a moment leaders closer to home also had their words heard. Like Wuhan's ever-flowing section of the Yangtze River, this Central Chinese city carried on! 走!
How does a river connect with my ever passionate display for Wuhan? During my time spent beside the Yangtze River from the Hanyang side, that 2018 moment filled me with the love and admiration for that city, the pulsing river symbolised the fast paced nature of the city. Once the world reopens fully, you should really visit Wuhan's branch of the Yangtze River because only your ignorance will be to blame for missing out on such a sight! I would cringe when the news would try and go there, when they would try and blame Wuhan for this unforeseen worldwide health crisis. How dare that toxic Miss Mainstream Western Media place the blame on a city of tens of millions, some of those who had no idea their city was being so directly vilified for Miss Rona's mess! Wuhan stood strong, those people who had come back on a repatriation flight from Wuhan to England realised quick that China was a much safer place as cases sky-rocketed in the UK! If I had the choice, I would have chosen China for that period of lockdown but that was life.
Having faith took on a whole different meaning during my time living in Wuhan, China. My first day out saw me getting lost to find Wuchang's own Changchun Guan Taoist Temple. For that first temple visit, I was blessed with a feeling of immense calm even though the city moved outside. I plan to return to China when the time allows me, when its my time I want to pay appreciation to the faith that has kept me almost sane during this period where Wuhan had its name shamed. People who are close to me, people like family have had their views because they have been caught up with the hate Miss Mainstream Western Media has been spouting. For me to hear members of my dearest and nearest speak poorly about a place that I called home, that hurts beyond any pain that could be caused by a physical attack. Those closest to me have never been to Wuhan, they cannot comment on the city, the people, they can't comment on my time spent there. What hurts is that both Miss MSM and Miss Rona have poisoned those close to me.
COVID-19 really tried to do Wuhan wrong, Miss Mainstream Western Media played her evil tricks to poison the news feeds but that Central China City rose above those present evils. I won't ever forget being told not to visit Wuhan by my former Chinese Principal, that Hubei city will forever be a place that I will return to. I stand with China, I stand with Wuhan, what I stand against is racism related to people who are Chinese, who are of East Asian Heritage and those political figures who continually wish bad on the Middle Kingdom. Like Changchun Taoist Temple and the other places of worship in Wuhan, those calming places center my mind when I think about the future. Sure, we will have to live alongside COVID-19, we can make it back to some kind of life that allows borders and movements to resume. Wuhan won't suffer, she will move forwards and I will cut down any haters who haven't even visited that Hubei city! Knowing from experience, Boris could learn many things from Wuhan, like the lockdown! COVID, who?
武汉, 加油! ... 中国, 加油! ... 世界, 加油!
Joseph Harrison
