We have no idea of knowing how China is actually doing, since they haven't reported a single death since April *2020*. And even the numbers they have reported are highly unlikely to be accurate.
> We have no idea of knowing how China is actually doing, since they haven't reported [...]
That assumes that the only way we could get information is by whatever China reports.
In reality there are a large number of people from Western countries who spend a large amount of time in China and regularly interact with the population. There are business people there to deal with Chinese factories that make their good. Many Western companies have offices in China. There are diplomatic offices [1].
That puts a limit on how much China can successfully downplay mass events like a pandemic that affect the population at large because there are too many independent observers interacting with the population with means of communication to outside of China that China cannot block or censure.
[1] The US has an embassy in Beijing as do 172 other countries, and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan. Most of the biggest EU countries and Japan and South Korea also have several consulates there.
That assumes that the only way we could get information is by whatever China reports.
In reality there are a large number of people from Western countries who spend a large amount of time in China and regularly interact with the population. There are business people there to deal with Chinese factories that make their good. Many Western companies have offices in China. There are diplomatic offices [1].
That puts a limit on how much China can successfully downplay mass events like a pandemic that affect the population at large because there are too many independent observers interacting with the population with means of communication to outside of China that China cannot block or censure.
[1] The US has an embassy in Beijing as do 172 other countries, and consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Wuhan. Most of the biggest EU countries and Japan and South Korea also have several consulates there.