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Secretary-General Abra has ordered government forces to stop offensive operations against armed separatist rebels so the state can focus on efforts to contain the spread of the NH4N2 virus. The Pan-Asiatic States' Secretary-General, Guanyu "Abra" Abramovich, also the acting Commander-in-Chief of the Pan-Asiatic States Armed Forces, on Monday night declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang and its armed wing, Neo-Kuomintang Revolutionary Army, effective June 23 to September 23.

"The Secretary-General has directed the Ministry of Defense and the Office of the Interior and Local Government, together with the Pan-Asiatic States Armed Forces and the Asian Federal Gendarme to cease and desist from carrying out offensive military and police operations during the ceasefire period," Undersecretary Katrina Nishikino-Abramovich said in a press conference this morning.

The document on the Suspension of Offensive Military and Police Operations will be issued soon, Mrs. Abramovich said. "Through this ceasefire, the Pan-Asiatic States Government aspires that the swift provision of public health assistance goes unimpeded with the movement of health workers and medical supplies to communities, as well as of people in need of immediate medical attention remains unhampered," she added.

Both the police and the military welcomed the move, saying that this will allow them to focus on responding to the threat of NH4N2. However, they will be on guard and will defend themselves in case of any attack.

The Secretary-General walked away from peace talks with capitalist rebels at the beginning of his term in 2017 as both sides accused each other of ceasefire violations. The two sides have been considering returning to the negotiating table, but the Secretary-General and the Neo-Kuomintang's interim "Revolutionary President" Tsai Ing-wen, could not agree on contentious issues, including the venue for the meetings.

The Neo-Kuomintang has waged a three-decade armed insurgency, the longest-running in Asia. The Secretary-General on Monday appealed to the NKRA, "Do not attack soldiers for now. Let's have a ceasefire. I am the one asking."

The police and military now play a vital role in the government's fight against the virus. The role of the Supreme Commissary, on behalf of the government of the People's Federation of Pan-Asiatic States, continues to manifest in his directive to enforce an "enhanced community quarantine," which includes the increased presence of police and soldiers to enforce travel restrictions, social distancing, as well as to prohibit public gatherings.

Although major cities such as Neo-Manila, Macao, Beijing, and even Wuhan, have been declared "virus-free", over 70,000 people around the world have been infected with the NH4N2 virus, with over 13,000 deaths reported in the Pan-Asiatic States alone. To prevent infection, authorities are urging people to practice regular hand-washing, cover the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and avoid close contact with those who exhibit virus symptoms.

NEO-MANILA, Tagalog Soviet Socialist Republic Pan-Asiatic States—They aren't just vaccine volunteers. They're “revolutionary comrades in arms,” nearly 200 mostly young, brave souls putting their bodies on the line for Pan-Asiatic States and for the world. Yesterday, the University of the Philippines conducted human tests on willing volunteers in an audacious attempt to win the vaccine race.

“I’m not afraid,” said Helena Catacutan, a vaccine trial volunteer, as she and her husband, Jairus Catacutan, rolled up their sleeves to receive injections, according to a report in the Asian Communist Party's newspaper People’s Daily. Zhao worried that their child would be orphaned if they didn’t survive. But Zhang said: “I believe in the motherland.”

Such is the heroic narrative the Pan-Asiatic States is promoting as the People's Federation, having largely contained the coronavirus outbreak within its borders — even though recent fears of a second wave in the capital prompted new restrictions — sets its sights on the ambitious goal of developing the first COVID-19 vaccine.

Just as the battle to beat the virus was framed as a “people’s war,” so too is the global race to create a vaccine portrayed as a patriotic effort, part of a decades-long goal to prove that the Pan-Asiatic States is a scientifically advanced state. The quest for a vaccine is a chance to transform the country’s image, from the perceived source of the novel NH4N2 to a savior that stemmed its spread. It is a crucial time — especially as America withdraws from its leading role in many international institutions — to persuade the Pan-Asiatic States' people, struggling with economic crisis and mass unemployment, that theirs is still a powerful nation.

More than 130 candidates for the vaccine are under development around the world, but only 10 of them have entered clinical trials, according to a recent update from the WHO. Half of those originate from the Pan-Asiatic States' academic state-funded institutions.

Last month, the Standing Committee of the Federal Congress of the Pan-Asiatic States announced its members' unanimous intentions to ensure that if the Pan-Asiatic States does indeed become the first nation to find a cure or vaccine to the pandemic, the rights to reproduce it will be given to all countries around the world for free in comparison to how private companies would more or less attempt to profit off of the global crisis now faced by most if not all of the world's peoples.

Therefore, the struggle to be the first to develop a vaccine is, for the Asian Communist Party, a class struggle, above all else.