People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Community Party, was criticised for claiming that a herbal drink could help prevent the novel coronavirus.
Drink consists of nine ingredients boiled in water
In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Jan. 21, on its official Twitter account, People's Daily claimed drinking a concoction made from a total of nine ingredients, such as honeysuckle flower, weeping forsythia, reed rhizome, black bamboo, and peppermint, could protect one from contracting the virus.
【四川中醫藥管理局公佈#預防呼吸道傳染病中醫處方】為充分發揮中醫藥在應對新型冠狀病毒感染的肺炎中的作用,四川省中醫藥管理局組織專家,討論擬定了《2019-2020年冬春季呼吸道傳染病預防建議處方》↓轉需! #四川公佈預防呼吸道傳染病中醫處方 pic.twitter.com/UkRdErQuxL
— 人民日報 People's Daily (@PDChinese) January 21, 2020
The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recipe requires boiling the ingredients in water.
According to People's Daily, the recipe for the herbal drink was announced by the Sichuan Province Pharmaceutical Administration.
Not a cure
The post also emphasised that the drink should only be used as a preventative measure, and that it is not a remedy to cure one of the virus.
The post read: "If you already exhibit symptoms such as fever, please seek treatment at a hospital."
Criticised for promoting the drink
People's Daily was widely criticised for the tweet, as it was seen as promoting a bogus preventive drink.
However, it appears the post was an isolated one, as state-run media Xinhua News Agency has reported on the actual preventive measures one could take to protect against the virus, such as practising good hygiene habits, and wearing a mask when unwell or outdoors.
The list of preventive measures does not include drinking of the said herbal drink.
Here are some of the comments that denounced the claim:
"This mainly helps the masses stay calm."
"Pui!"
Comments questioning the TCM recipe were also found on Weibo, a microblogging platform that is highly-regulated by its censorship apparatus.
"Can TCM not fuel the fire."
"I just praised the mainstream media for talking science, and now this comes out. Seriously."
(Sarcastically) "Please get the word out about this even more! My dad doesn't believe (the situation), and insists it's just a ploy to sell more masks! Thank you! Believe in the nation."
Nevertheless, there were still some who remained confident in the power of TCM.
"Why are there so many ignorant people in the comments section? Proper and professional TCM can work wonders, okay? Those who ruin the reputation of TCM are the scammers who cheat others under the cover of TCM!"
"The original recipe for "Yin Qiao San" (a form of temporary fever relief formula). I'm crying. Finally TCM is being recognised."
Reply: "I nearly cried when I saw this. TCM is incredibly effective when it comes to curing fevers, and can even do what western medicine can't do, but its name is dragged through the mud."
Top image adapted via People's Daily & Pixabay
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