[scilro]

But this is kind of the opposite of Chernobyl, right?

As you laid out, Chernobyl revealed the weakness of the Soviet Union and played some part in its collapse.

COVID19 has laid bare the superiority of the Chinese model in terms of quick mass mobilization. The entire world saw how quickly and drastically China acted and how slowly the US is acting. And now they're sending masks and respirators to the rest of the developing world.

[simonh]

The Chinese government utterly and completely dropped the ball for the first two whole months of the crisis. They censored and punished doctors trying to raise awareness, and suppressed news of the outbreak allowing mass gatherings to go ahead for political reasons.

After that the severe crackdown came after the virus had been spread internationally, and has precipitated a humanitarian crisis which, again, they are covering up and suppressing.

The Chinese people have been fantastic. They've put up with appalling hardships and suffered greatly for the incompetence and heavy handed ness of their leaders.

[fragmede]

The Chinese government didn't just drop the ball. They actively stole the ball, stabbed it with a knife, and stuffed it down their pants. When asked where the ball went, they very angrily yelled "it wasn't me!"

The culture the government promotes results in mid-level party members to total cowards who are so afraid of looking bad, that they hid evidence that anything might possibly be wrong.

WHICH LEAD TO BIGGER PROBLEMS.

The word to describe the situation is "dysfunctional". Which our healthcare system is, also.

[ajmurmann]

That's only half of what happened though. Initially China was pretending nothing was happening and arresting researchers who talked about it. If their initial response had been open, the more extreme measures (that worked really well) might not have been necessary.

[BoiledCabbage]

If this same outbreak had started somewhere other than under the CCP there is a good chance it would've been squashed within the first month or so. China's continued attemps to put a good face on things rather than admit the disaster that was happening is what caused this to be such a large issue.

It's essentially saying: China is so great for pulling out a knife so quickly. Yes the same knife that they stabbed with just before. You don't get credit for fixing a problem that your ineptitude and philosophy made significantly worse.

[bassman9000]

Yeah, not that way. That's not quick

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/first-covid-19...

hiding info

https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/...

not like they had a chance when forced to quarantine at gun point

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1239100397597253633

and silenced if dared to criticize

https://twitter.com/nathanlawkc/status/1239184465961811970?s...

Is silencing doctors, not sharing info with the global community for weeks, if not months, forcing their people at gun point, sealing their houses, and then attempting to blame the US a superior model?

I fail to see how. Soviet model 100%.

[baryphonic]

The first cases of what we now call COVID-19 were identified at the end of November 2019. By mid-December, medical professionals in Wuhan were aware of the virus. The government did not begin the massive lockdowns till mid-January. This was partly a result of the regional party's incompetence (as is mentioned in the article), and partly a result of pressure from Beijing to ensure that lunar new year celebrations went on without a hitch. (My personal mental model for China is that the state wishes to portray the country as Disney World while actually running it like an ultra-dysfunctional Jurassic Park.) Dr Li Wenliang was even harassed by police and made to sign a confession for "disrupting the peace" by daring to tell the truth about the illness on the Internet; for his trouble, he himself succumbed to the disease.

The mass mobilization was a show meant to distract the Chinese people and the world from the fact that this crisis was actively covered up and allowed to fester for 40 days for purely political reasons.

So, no, I don't think this proves anything about the "superiority" of the Chinese model. South Korea has a very different model, and they have had a much better response. Even the US response hasn't been too bad. And the US and other countries have been actively harmed by the Chinese cover-ups and censorship of information, along with the concomitant spread of disinformation.

I place the blame for this becoming a pandemic firmly at the hands of the Chinese Communist government at every layer.

[foogazi]

> COVID19 has laid bare the superiority of the Chinese model in terms of quick mass mobilization.

Uh what? Define quick - They could have shit it down in December and spared the whole world

[Bayart]

>COVID19 has laid bare the superiority of the Chinese model in terms of quick mass mobilization.

If that's what people actually think, all that demonstrates is China terrifying power at spinning information in its favour.

[duxup]

Depends on how the locals feel, if they feel saved, or if they feel oppressed.