When it comes to the global coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is acting as both the arsonist and the firefighter.
The first response of China’s authoritarian government was intimidation. The CCP actively suppressed knowledge of the virus’s existence in Wuhan by silencing physicians and prohibiting medical professionals from publishing findings that could have saved lives. When the party could no longer deny the viral outbreak, it dithered in December and January as cases of the disease in Wuhan and neighboring cities skyrocketed, caring more about its monopoly on power than the welfare of its people. And in February, as the coronavirus spread throughout the world, foreign minister Wang Yi pressured neighboring countries to keep travel with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) open for reputational reasons. Now, however, China is seeking to whitewash its failings — and blame the virus on other nations, such as the United States.
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