By Jurgen Ceder
At the end of his speech to the French nation on March 16 asked President Macron that, after the final victory over the coronavirus, «must take all the consequences.» He said it with emphasis again «all the consequences.» I do not know exactly what he envisioned, but there is one debate that we should not go out of the way: how big is China’s responsibility for the global corona crisis? And what lessons should we draw for our future dealings with that country? After the outbreak of “bird” flu in Hong Kong in 1997 came the science concluded that the cause was found in the contact of animals and each animal with people in the game market in the Chinese rural areas One of the recommendations of the research was a call to keep henceforth closely monitor outbreaks of contagious diseases in the vicinity of these markets. That did not happen. China denied any responsibility and even when kept grotesque insisted that all chickens in China still healthy core remained.
Always the same pattern of denial when the SARS epidemic broke out in 2002, again with the wild markets domestically as well, the Chinese government tried the news, as long as possible, to keep quiet. The virus could spread unchecked, ran to the outer limits. Only in February 2003 did China is obliged to report to the World Health Organization. Two months later, thousands of people were infected.
In 2017 appeared in the Smithsonian magazine wrote an article entitled «Is China ground zero for a new epidemic?» The decision of the scientists who were cited in the articles, was obvious: the gourmet taste of Chinese entrees with many kinds of uncooked wild, along with the data from wildlife markets where all kinds of animals together and people come into contact, a new epidemic very probably. The prediction proved correct three years later. China is a communist, authoritarian state. One of the advantages of such regimes is that they can impose strong measures without debate. China was able to prohibit the wild markets or make them subject to tight control, but did not. One of the disadvantages of authoritarian regimes is sometimes a tendency to supress bad news and debate of social problems, which also worked late solutions. This drawback allowed himself a few months ago are valid in all its fatalities, with serious consequences for the rest of the world.
Secrecy and lies
On December 1, the first patient was included who suffered from the disease. Although one could not know that a new strain of coronavirus had surfaced, should be pretty quick alarms sounded. All the virus was detected on 12 December.
On December 26 it was recognized by Chinese laboratories as a form of coronavirus. A local charge gave the order to pursue the investigation and to destroy the samples. Some doctors from Wuhan attracted early January sounding the alarm about the various illnesses that showed much consistent with infection by the SARS virus. They were called on the carpet by the Chinese authorities and asked no further spread these rumors. While the observant Chinese rivals already in early January of Taiwan passenger traffic with the mainland began to strictly monitor the PRC was still millions of people cross the borders of Wuhan. It is certain that leader Xi Jinping for weeks was aware of the new coronavirus before he spoke publicly about it. Until 20 January China recognized that it is transmitted from human to human. At each stage of the outbreak, the regime was only concerned with his own reputation and showed the criminal indifference to the potential effects of the disease. The ingrained paranoia and uncertainty of the Chinese government gave the virus ahead of a month, estimated James Palmer, a contribution in Foreign Policy. On January 31, the first cases of Covid-19 established in Italy (in Chinese tourists), but virologists suspected that there was already weeks to proliferate. The propaganda machine in action in our media are very few questions about the criminal negligence of the Chinese regime. Xi Jinping is not Trump. Meanwhile, the Chinese propaganda machine went into high gear to do harm. China fears that once the West will no longer be under the spell of his own fight against the virus, conclusions will be drawn concerns about China’s responsibility and dependence on Chinese supply lines under some other medical equipment and medicines. That debate could easily spread to a general debate on China’s strategic dependence on other areas. The propaganda offensive against already results. Construction of hospitals in barely 10 days played up by the regime and raised in the West admiration, like the bold quarantine measures. Although the Chinese government has long mismeesterd the crisis, it remains for the outside world todominate the image of a Chinese firm approach Covid-19 has overcome. The Communist Party of China published already on 29 February, a propaganda book about the final victory over the virus. Images of medical teams to leave Wuhan, welcomed by a grateful population, were shared everywhere. Virologists, however, believe that the Chinese method is not permitted to build any group immunity and that more waves will follow . Renowned specialist Michael Osterholm says China suppresses the virus, but not defeated. The regime’s propaganda already prepared: recent new infections are already mentioned blamed «foreign visitors». You just must be able to sell this to the world. China then sent medical teams and equipment to other countries, most notably in the hard-hit Italy. The EU Member States, which gave no response to an explicit request for help from Italy, made the Chinese propagandazet succeeded masterfully. Dare to ask questions about globalization the truth is that the approach of the Chinese government of the coronavirus was catastrophically bad for weekss and that the regime all the warning voices in their own country were brutally silenced, such as the now deceased Dr. Li Wenliang. For propaganda reasons lies were told by their own people and the rest of the world, that is were weeks gotlost and caused the biggest crisis of this century. We have only just begun to take damage from the human suffering and economic disaster caused by the virus by Trump – up and to the outrage of the communist regime – the «China virus» or «Wuhan virus» is called. This is not a plea for outright sanctions. But the world must be aware of the brutal and cynical nature of the Communist regime of China and the responsibility it bears for the cataclysm with Covid-19. The events will have taught us hopefully we don’t want to depend in times of crisis on this regime. That applies not only to the ability to own ourselves a short time production of large quantities of essential drugs and medical equipment. There are worse crises possible than the one we are experiencing now. I strongly believe in the many benefits of free trade, but we must gradually dare to ask questions at a globalization that has caused many strategically important industries to divert to a nation that is not our ally.
«The world must be aware of the brutal and cynical nature of the Communist regime of China and the responsibility it bears for the cataclysm with Covid-19.«
