[RayChuang88]

I think the people of China are more vulnerable because of a couple of decades of exposure to air pollution from coal-fired power plants and the fact many Chinese are notorious heavy smokers of cigarettes.

[datura]

Very true. Most people there have compromised lungs from those things, plus bad hygiene habits. No one covers their mouth when they cough or sneeze there - helping spread any virus.

[RckyRaCoCo]

Eating (sick)dogs and bats doesn’t help.

[Zhang Fei]

[I think the people of China are more vulnerable because of a couple of decades of exposure to air pollution from coal-fired power plants and the fact many Chinese are notorious heavy smokers of cigarettes.]

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I gotta wonder if the communal dining using chopsticks without intermediate utensils like serving spoons or ladles is a factor. I’ve seen a Chinese acquaintance lick morsels off his chopsticks, presumably to clean them the way a cat would lick its paws. I think that’s the moral equivalent of double-dipping at a salad bar. Maybe I’m overly-sensitive, but that can’t be hygienic.

[dowcaet]

Good point. They have some of the worst environmental conditions in the world. Polluted water, polluted air, trash everywhere and horrible sanitation conditions! The same conditions prevail in Russia as a consequence of the old Soviet regime. Remind the left in this country those are/were communist governments that did this to those two countries!

[catnipman]

“I think the people of China are more vulnerable because of a couple of decades of exposure to air pollution from coal-fired power plants and the fact many Chinese are notorious heavy smokers of cigarettes.”

some freepers are claiming it’s asian genetics, but that doesn’t really ring true to me ... however, what you say is dead bang on accurate ... i traveled throughout the PRC in the early 80’s on business, and the air quality from both unfiltered coal burning, untuned vehicles, ungodly amounts of cigarette smoking, and massive amounts of fine dust blowing towards the eastern cities in the autumn from the Gobi desert, pretty much induced lung problems in the entire population. it was so bad, that it was against the law to spit on the sidewalks because practically everyone had chronic lung issues, even relatively healthy younger people in the prime of their lives ... it really was tragic, but just part of the price the communist government was willing to pay to quickly industrialize, namely sacrifice their people because basically they didn’t give a damn about them ...