For example the Director General has spent quite a long time praising China in the press conference. Some of this is 'diplomacy', and some of it is a completely reasonable response given that a number of aspects of the Chinese response and data sharing have been quite impressive, and some of the criticism of them unfair or unrealistic. But there will be contradictions, eg some steps China have taken are unlikely to be considered to be proportionate by WHO doctrine in normal times.
I think it's worth reiterating how much the political direction under Xi Jinping is to blame for this crisis. There is too much stuff in western media praising the CCP for a swift response, but the reality is that they are only making a show of doing a lot now that it is already out of control, and they initially tried to sweep it under the rug. They deserve criticism, not praise for this, and Xi Jinping in particular deserves to burn for it.
The first case was reported December 8th, and it was hushed up. Nothing was done.
By December 31st, there were 27 confirmed cases. Still nothing was done.
In early January, the Wuhan government started arresting people who posted about it online for "spreading rumours" even though they were reporting the truth. This was embarrassing to the Wuhan government who swept it under the rug.
From January 6th to January 17th, Wuhan hosted two important political conferences and prioritized suppressing any embarrassment during this time.
The first death was January 11th. Still nothing was done.
On January 14th, journalists who reported on it were arrested.
The government continued to lie, insisting that human to human transmission was impossible, and arresting those who reported otherwise.
On January 16th, 49 cases were confirmed. Still the government downplayed it and claimed human to human transmission was impossible.
On January 18th, a record breaking attempt at a New Year's Banquet was held in Wuhan for 40,000 families, with people eating from the same dishes, only 3km away from market where it originated. The government issued 200,000 free travel tickets to get people to the event.
On January 19th, Chinese officials published a statement saying that it was not infectious and there was no need for concern.
On January 20th, pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan confirmed human to human transmission.
On January 21st, a New Year Celebration event was held in which several performers were ill. State media praised them for continuing despite the illness.
January 22nd, the government finally warns people in Wuhan to wear masks.
January 23rd, quarantine, after 5 million people had already left Wuhan to return to hometowns for Spring Festival.
The Central Government is blaming the Wuhan local government for this. But it is the central government under Xi Jinping who have decimated civil society and banned the vast majority of NGOs from operating, it is the central government under Xi Jinping who has tightened internet censorship to an extreme degree and created over active censors, and it is the central government under Xi Jinping who have continually promoted an ideology of "positive energy" which in essence means ignoring bad news, and it is the central government under Xi Jinping who have purged all opponents in the party to create a yes-man culture.
Their reaction now is extreme as a way of compensating and looking like they are doing a lot, but they are to blame for this. In fact, the Mayor of Wuhan who has been forced to resign has claimed that he was unable to alert people due to rules that required Beijing's approval to release sensitive information. So again, the centralisation of political power in the hands of the "Chairman of Everything" Xi Jinping is to blame.
Wuhan Mayor Says Beijing Rules Partially Responsible for Lack of Transparency
I leave you with a message from a Wuhan resident, in quite beautiful and clear Mandarin:
edmontonsun.com
