While the world battles the deadly pandemic of coronavirus that started from China’s Wuhan, a media campaign fanned by the Chinese government seems to be keen on peddling victimhood and shift the focus to vague claims of ‘racism’ and ‘bias’ instead, with active support from the so-called ‘liberals’ in the international media and political sphere.
While it is well known now that the coronavirus infection had started and was spreading as early as November 2019, till January 14, the Chinese authorities have claimed that the Covid-19 did not show human to human transmission. A tweet by WHO that has now gone viral on social media reveals how China has been misleading the world about the pandemic.
The WHO tweet cites the claim by the Chinese authorities that the novel coronavirus does not show human transmission, a claim that now lies shattered as thousands of deaths are reported from China and now in Italy, apart from other nations in the world, with large-scale human to human transmissions being one of the main causes of the spread.
The coronavirus is a family of viruses that are zoonotic, which spread from animals to humans and among people. Coronavirus is a highly contagious, deadly respiratory disease, the outbreak of which was first reported from Wuhan, China. The transmission of the virus takes place when someone who is infected comes in contact with another person. According to medical experts, coughing, sneezing or even shaking hands with an infected person can cause exposure.
In South Korea, 1 ‘super spreader’ who had defied quarantine and had attended services of the controversial Sinchionji Church is believed to have spread the disease to over 1160 people. Italy, which received a large number of Chinese travellers through business and tourism, is the second most affected nation.
Reports have now emerged on how the Chinese authorities actively tried to silence doctors and researchers who had tried to raise alarm about the disease and its potential dangers.
Ai Fen, a doctor from Wuhan central hospital’s emergency department had reportedly shared diagnostic reports with colleagues on December 30, expressing concerns about a SARS-like epidemic, but was criticised by the hospital authorities over ‘spreading rumours’. The doctor was even forbidden from speaking about it to her family.
Dr Li Wenliang, the doctor who had tried to warn others about a SARS-like epidemic in Wuhan, had died on February 7, after days of treating coronavirus infected patients at a hospital in Wuhan. He was also one of the doctors who were warned by Wuhan authorities not to ‘spread rumours’.
China had also brought in travel restrictions and lockdown very late. Chinese officials even allegedly destroyed test samples of patients, threatened whistleblowers and even actively covered up concerns and reports of a potential epidemic spreading fast. Now it has even emerged that genomics samples being tested were destroyed by the order of Wuhan authorities. On January 3, China’s National Health Commissioner had reportedly ordered all the labs not to publish any information and took away all the test samples of the virus. A report by WION has summarised the developments.
#Gravitas | China is now trying to shift blame for the coronavirus outbreak.
— WION (@WIONews) March 18, 2020
But, fresh reports have emerged that expose how China destroyed the evidence to cover-up the outbreak. @palkisu tells you more. pic.twitter.com/AfOYQ35pox
After countries worldwide fell victim to the pandemic and started imposing travel restrictions, China even tried to cry racism and peddled wild conspiracy theories about the US Army being responsible for the pandemic.
As US President Donald Trump asserted the term ‘Chinese virus’ the Chinese media, international ‘liberals’ and many organisations across the world have been trying to peddle victimhood, claiming that calling the pandemic a Chinese disease and terms like Chinese virus and Wuhan virus is ‘racism’.
China’s hyperactive propaganda machinery is also working overtime to claim racism and guilt-trip the rest of the world about relating to them a global pandemic that was started on their soil and made worse by their efforts to cover up.
Despite India sending medical help to China, Chinese media is actively claiming that India is spreading ‘anti-Chinese’ conspiracy theories about the pandemic.
A study by the University of Southampton states that had the Chinese authorities started their taking active measures in preventing the spread of the disease at least 1 week, 2 weeks or 3 weeks earlier, they could have prevented the coronavirus spread globally by 66%, 86% and 95% respectively.
The Wuhan coronavirus started in China’s wildlife and seafood markets. China’s demand and consumption of wildlife have contributed significantly to a number of species being driven to the brink of extinction. The negligence and cover-up of Chinese authorities have pushed the world to battle a pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives and impacted global economies heavily. But China is ‘offended’ at the disease being called ‘Chinese’, let that sink in.
