Thread by @AndrewSErickson

"Commenters have especially condemned the perceived absence of the local, provincial &even nat'l authorities in the heart of the outbreak..Xi had made few public remarks about the disease bf Sat, when he called for officials to “stand @ the front line to safeguard social stablty”

"'Where is that person? He is not on the front line,' 1 user wrote on #Weibo, a Twitterlike platform, an apparent reference to Mr Xi. The posts were quickly deleted."
nytimes.com/2020/01/25/wor…

"Beijing’s response highlights longstanding tensions between national & local officials"

"A professor of infectious diseases in #HongKong who helped identify #SARS, Guan Yi, has accused #Chinese authorities of delaying action & of obstructing his efforts to investigate the #outbreak."

nytimes.com/2020/01/25/wor…

#Wuhan
#coronavirus
#CoronaOutbreak
#coronoavirusoutbreak

"Local officials in China have long had incentives to avoid revealing problems that might invite..wrath of party bosses. But..Xi’s efforts to centralize power in Beijing have further weakened local authorities & increased their incentive to deny problems." nytimes.com/2020/01/25/wor…

"It’s part of a longstanding pattern that can make both levels of government slow to acknowledge problems, then blame each other once a problem is revealed.

State media has maintained a steady drumbeat of positive news as the outbreak has spread, praising... sacrifices...."

“This is a continuous theme in central-local relations in #China. You do not want to be the one to bring bad news,” said Vivienne Shue, a prominent China scholar @UniofOxford.

ttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/world/asia/china-coronavirus.html