Rita Panahi: We can’t ignore China’s role in

this virus tragedy

Forget the snivelling deference of WHO and the work of communist
propagandists — China’s central role in the coronavirus tragedy must never
be forgotten, writes Rita Panahi.
Rita Panahi, Herald Sun
|
March 20, 2020 3:37pm
H E R A L D S U N . C O M . A U 2:35
Birds, pigs and pangolins: why do viruses keep appearing in China?
SARS and coronavirus have both been traced back to China's wet markets, so why are they still allowed to operate?

The Chinese regime has, through its ineptitude, dishonesty and recklessness, unleashed
a virus that will leave tens of thousands dead and likely cause a global recession.

China not only lied, destroyed evidence and allowed the virus to spread but it arrested
doctors who in December tried to warn the world about what was happening in Wuhan.

At least one of the doctors arrested and accused of “fabricating, disseminating and
spreading rumours” has since died, reportedly from the disease.

Other domestic critics of China’s response to the virus have “vanished” including tycoon
Ren Zhiqiang.

And the World Health Organisation uncritically believed China’s word instead of
properly investigating the outbreak.

As late as mid-January WHO was disseminating Chinese propaganda: “Preliminary

investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of
human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in
Wuhan, China.”

WHO’s complicity is extensive; it has praised China’s response and pushed its preferred
narratives while ignoring the regime’s malfeasance.

China’s cover-up included destroying lab samples that established in December the
cause of unexplained viral infections in the Hubei province.

How many lives would have been saved if China had listened to experts instead of
silencing them?
The Barefoot Investor is set to help fire victims Scott Pape: Road to Recovery
A study by the University of Southampton suggests China could have prevented 95 per
cent of infections if it had implemented tough measures three weeks earlier.

But the regime only took decisive action to contain the virus four weeks after arresting
doctors and other whistleblowers.

Volunteers farewell China’s national emergency medical team in Wuhan.

Meanwhile, WHO refused to declare a pandemic until last week and as late as February
it parroted China in criticising travel restrictions.

When Donald Trump and Scott Morrison implemented travel bans against China in late
January, they did so against WHO advice.

Indeed WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said travel bans would
“unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade” and could “have the effect
of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit”.

And he praised China’s “transparency” while claiming the virus’s spread was “minimal
and slow”.

We now know just how wrong he was with immunologists saying the decision to close
borders was crucial in slowing the spread of the disease.

How many other countries would have closed their borders if WHO had encouraged
bans instead of condemning them?
How many would be spared loss and suffering if WHO did its job instead of lecturing the
world about not referring to the Chinese origins of the disease?

If we want to stop the next pandemic it’s important to hold China’s feet to the fire and
ensure they take meaningful measures to mitigate the risks of another crisis.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised China’s “transparency’’.

COVID-19 or Wuhan coronavirus is not the first pandemic to originate from a Chinese
wet market.

SARS and Bird Flu also originated from wet markets where livestock, sea life and wild
animals are kept and killed in horrific conditions.

The cruelty of wet markets, that sees exotic animals like pangolins and civets along with
cats, dogs and wolf pups kept and killed in filthy conditions, is well known.

But the markets and the wider wildlife meat trade are also central to spreading disease.

China pledged to crack down on illegal wildlife markets after the SARS epidemic of
2002 to 2004. But the enforcement was relaxed and the country’s Wildlife Protection
Laws are considered a joke.

China’s propaganda campaign hasn’t been restricted to lying to WHO. The regime has
also pushed back against any notion that it mishandled the crisis and is responsible for
the global mayhem.

At home, China sent hundreds of propagandists, employed by its Central Propaganda

Department, to Wuhan to “strengthen public opinion guidance”.
But the regime’s efforts overseas are just as nefarious.

The current message being pushed is that China’s response to the virus was impeccable
while the US is responsible for the virus’s spread.

The deputy director of China’s Foreign Ministry Information Department, Lijian Zhao,
even claimed the Wuhan coronavirus originated in the US.

That is why Trump refer to the virus’s real origins despite the hysterical reaction from
the media.

The number of journalists in the West volunteering to be China’s useful idiots, praising
the country’s response and condemning any references to COVID-19’s origins, has been
staggering.

Much of the US media, who up until recently were referring to the Chinese or Wuhan
coronavirus, now claim that Trump’s use of the terms is racist.

If it damages Trump, they are happy to back a brutal regime that executes dissidents,
locks up religious minorities and, this week, expelled American journalists.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist