> Don't get me wrong, China's attacks on free speech and persecution of muslims is a terrible terrible thing, but I get the feeling that they are managing the o

> Don't get me wrong, China's attacks on free speech and persecution of muslims is a terrible terrible thing, but I get the feeling that they are managing the outbreak and the economy far more effectively than their western counterparts. Of course it's "effective" to shut off an entire city, patrolling the streets and arresting everyone with an elevated temperature, putting them into detainment camps with no protection from each other whatsoever. And that's without fudging the numbers. What would've been even more effective: Not lying about the outbreak, not suppressing information for two months, not downplaying the risk and keeping everything running as usual, just to save face. Until shit hits the fan, at which point local government becomes the scapegoat. Seriously, if you want to look at effective management, look at Hong Kong, Singapore or South Korea, but even that was only possible because they had procedures in place due to the earlier SARS outbreak. Mainland China has started this, has completely mismanaged the initial outbreak, and now blames it on foreigners. In Europe, you can see a clear pattern between liberalism and authoritarianism: Those countries that espouse liberal virtues, that didn't want to instate border controls, that were wary of taking away people's freedoms - those were hit harder. Authoritarians, on the other hand, have been strengthened. Recognize the trade-off.