Thread by @HRF

Information suppression by authoritarian regimes should come as no surprise.

So why did the international community (and the WHO) take China at its word in regards to the spread of the coronavirus? THREAD

bit.ly/coronavirus-ccp

Early coverage of the crisis made clear that the CCP’s authoritarian instincts and internal climate of fear were a direct threat to global health. But on Jan 23, WHO members praised the CCP for its “transparency.”

At @HRF we find it obvious that the CCP isn’t telling the public the full story. How can anyone trust the CCP’s “official” data, given its long history of censorship?

Here are the facts: In mid-January, when the international media caught wind of the #coronavirus, credible reports emerged suggesting that China’s official numbers were seriously misleading: bbc.com/news/health-51…

Xi Jinping and his allies feared that international criticism would lead to anti-regime dissent at home. So they shifted the narrative, and made it clear that anyone suppressing numbers would be “nailed on the pillar of shame for eternity.” The official # of reported cases jumped

The Chinese government has admitted that it has been in close contact with the US’s Center for Disease Control since Jan. 3. Yet, it wasn’t until just before Chinese New Year that the CCP sounded the alarm to its own citizens.

Because the CCP failed to warn Chinese citizens of the health risk in a timely manner, they continued to travel during Chinese New Year at the end of January.

The CCP’s well-trained, knee-jerk reaction to the crisis has put the rest of the world at risk.

The CCP lies all the time – from the size of its population, to its coal consumption, to its crime rates. And it’s not alone – many other authoritarian regimes lie about development data.

theguardian.com/world/2015/nov…

The WHO probably doesn’t want to criticize the regime in case that would lead the CCP to end its cooperation with the international health community.

But that praise has emboldened the CCP to disappear citizen journalists and delete trending calls for freedom of expression.

If you live in a democracy like the U.S., it's easy to believe that an autocrat’s habit of crushing bad news and faking data does not really affect you.

The outbreak of a new infectious disease proves that our supposed safety from authoritarianism is an illusion.

The CCP’s need for control has posed a direct threat to the health of individuals far beyond its borders. But pressure works.

If we want justice — we must question leadership, insist on facts, and hold power accountable.

Op-ed by @PrachiVidwans

bit.ly/coronavirus-ccp