7 ms·

The funny thing in this case is there was no reason for the CCP to cover this up. If they had just responded to the outbreak instead of trying to cover it up i

The funny thing in this case is there was no reason for the CCP to cover this up. If they had just responded to the outbreak instead of trying to cover it up initially and been a little more open with the international community they would have been lauded for their handling of the situation.

WaxProlix 6y ago
Is that true? It's hard for me to imagine anything China does being 'lauded' in western media, they're very much a media/political boogeyman (not necessarily saying that's unwarranted).
- kmonsen 6y ago
  I kind of find it the opposite? They run concentration camps and acknowledge mass rape but the western media mostly shrugged. I find it hard to find anything the media take seriously these days. We are all so easily distracted, myself included.
  - MattGaiser 6y ago
    The problem is that news stops being, well, new after it has been reported and if nothing changes, attention goes elsewhere. The people were informed, they reacted as much as they are going to, and until new information comes out, the issue is where it is.
ashtonkem 6y ago
Authoritarian regimes develop a knee jerk response to anything that might reflect negatively on them, even if it ends up actually harming their long term interests.
- cratermoon 6y ago
  As evidenced by the fate of a certain former occupant of the Oval Office.
- YaSamPoSebe 6y ago
  "Authoritarian regimes.." - oh I see, it is the "authoritarian regimes".. Now go and check (it contains a story about FOIA requests to the UK government on Assange's case) https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/18/signs-of-u-k-misconduct-in-assange-case/ https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/18/signs-of-u-k-misconduc... It is the 6th (!) year that the litigation to obtain the information goes on.
cratermoon 6y ago
> If they had just responded to the outbreak instead of trying to cover it up initially and been a little more open with the international community they would have been lauded for their handling of the situation Are we talking about China or the Trump administration?
- Wowfunhappy 6y ago
  I'm no fan of the Trump administration or their handling of COVID, but they didn't throw doctors in jail or censor their research. Entirely different level of screwup.
  - fma 6y ago
    We don't have the exact same things, but similar: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/24/birx-says-someone-was-giving-trump-parallel-data-about-covid-pandemic.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/24/birx-says-someone-was-giving... Dr. Deborah Birx, the Trump White House coronavirus response coordinator, said in a CBS interview released on Sunday that former President Donald Trump had been reviewing “parallel” data sets on the coronavirus pandemic from someone inside the administration. "Rebekah Jones, the data scientist who helped create Florida's COVID-19 dashboard, has turned herself in to police, in response to an arrest warrant issued by the state. " https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/18/957914495/data-scientist-rebekah-jones-facing-arrest-turns-herself-in-to-florida-authoriti https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/0...
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - onethought 6y ago
    They didn't throw doctors in jail. They questioned a number of doctors, and then censored them. Not unlike Fauci and the CDC being censored and forced to send information through the DHS... So you are right entirely different level of screwup - China Censored a single Dr, US censored the CDC.
  - 6y ago
boomboomsubban 6y ago
The ongoing trade war with the US provided at least some reason to cover it up, they weren't yet sure how bad it was and it would give the US additional leverage in negotiations. The government certainly started being more open about the virus after a deal was signed on January 15th. Obviously I wish they hadn't done this, but they didn't arbitrarily try to hide it.
qubit000 6y ago
That's a false narrative western politicians/media want people to believe. If there was a 'coverup' it was by local municipal authorities which should not be conflated with central govt. Even if true, the actual reporting of first case was only delayed by 1 week with the genome sequenced shared w/WHO rest of world less 2wks later.

WaxProlix 6y ago

Is that true? It's hard for me to imagine anything China does being 'lauded' in western media, they're very much a media/political boogeyman (not necessarily saying that's unwarranted).

kmonsen 6y ago
I kind of find it the opposite? They run concentration camps and acknowledge mass rape but the western media mostly shrugged. I find it hard to find anything the media take seriously these days. We are all so easily distracted, myself included.
- MattGaiser 6y ago
  The problem is that news stops being, well, new after it has been reported and if nothing changes, attention goes elsewhere. The people were informed, they reacted as much as they are going to, and until new information comes out, the issue is where it is.

ashtonkem 6y ago

Authoritarian regimes develop a knee jerk response to anything that might reflect negatively on them, even if it ends up actually harming their long term interests.

cratermoon 6y ago
As evidenced by the fate of a certain former occupant of the Oval Office.
YaSamPoSebe 6y ago
"Authoritarian regimes.." - oh I see, it is the "authoritarian regimes".. Now go and check (it contains a story about FOIA requests to the UK government on Assange's case) https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/18/signs-of-u-k-misconduct-in-assange-case/ https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/18/signs-of-u-k-misconduc... It is the 6th (!) year that the litigation to obtain the information goes on.

cratermoon 6y ago

> If they had just responded to the outbreak instead of trying to cover it up initially and been a little more open with the international community they would have been lauded for their handling of the situation Are we talking about China or the Trump administration?

Wowfunhappy 6y ago
I'm no fan of the Trump administration or their handling of COVID, but they didn't throw doctors in jail or censor their research. Entirely different level of screwup.
- fma 6y ago
  We don't have the exact same things, but similar: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/24/birx-says-someone-was-giving-trump-parallel-data-about-covid-pandemic.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/24/birx-says-someone-was-giving... Dr. Deborah Birx, the Trump White House coronavirus response coordinator, said in a CBS interview released on Sunday that former President Donald Trump had been reviewing “parallel” data sets on the coronavirus pandemic from someone inside the administration. "Rebekah Jones, the data scientist who helped create Florida's COVID-19 dashboard, has turned herself in to police, in response to an arrest warrant issued by the state. " https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/18/957914495/data-scientist-rebekah-jones-facing-arrest-turns-herself-in-to-florida-authoriti https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/0...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- onethought 6y ago
  They didn't throw doctors in jail. They questioned a number of doctors, and then censored them. Not unlike Fauci and the CDC being censored and forced to send information through the DHS... So you are right entirely different level of screwup - China Censored a single Dr, US censored the CDC.
- 6y ago

boomboomsubban 6y ago

The ongoing trade war with the US provided at least some reason to cover it up, they weren't yet sure how bad it was and it would give the US additional leverage in negotiations. The government certainly started being more open about the virus after a deal was signed on January 15th. Obviously I wish they hadn't done this, but they didn't arbitrarily try to hide it.

qubit000 6y ago

That's a false narrative western politicians/media want people to believe. If there was a 'coverup' it was by local municipal authorities which should not be conflated with central govt. Even if true, the actual reporting of first case was only delayed by 1 week with the genome sequenced shared w/WHO rest of world less 2wks later.