Opinion | China dares to be different by choosing to put people's lives first
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
"Now, Mr. Biden's national security team is debating which China will be harder to handle: a confident, rising power or the one that, in recent months, seems to be stumbling, unable to manage the COVID-19 virus, and increasingly stressed as it tries to restore the spectacular economic growth that was the key to its power." Said David E. Sanger, reporting for the New York Times.
This consequential question reflects the West's concerns about China – which dared to be different and opted for a rigidly doctrinal response with the theme, "People's lives matter."
China's unique approach takes into serious consideration its huge amount of old people, and its rural population may be facing challenging hygienic conditions plus the lack of a proper support system when compared with urban dwellers in Shanghai and Beijing.
As the outside world watched, in the defense of Shanghai and Beijing, when these two major Chinese cities were under a state of siege, social control and support mechanisms in the form of volunteers were being organized. China showed its strengths, self-discipline and determination.
To Westerners, it all seemed like a daring gamble. Really, it was a well-calculated risk.
The following is an excerpt of China Daily editorial in defense of the nation's controversial anti-Covid-19 policy amid a hard-hit economy.
"No matter how many countries choose to co-exist with the novel coronavirus, China will continue to stick to its tried and proved dynamic clearing policy, as that remains the best way to save people's lives for the time being."
True, in the process of implementing the policy, some problems have emerged. But these are mainly the result of the rigidity with which those [leaderships] at the grassroots level are carrying out the policy, rather than the policy itself.
"That China remains one of the few large countries to have effectively tamed the virus so far can be attributed to the nation's resolute implementation of the dynamic clearing policy under the leadership of the central authorities and with the cooperation of the people."
"That some developed countries have reopened in the face of the raging Omicron variant is not because so-called herd immunity has been realized – but because they have given up all virus control measures under the social and economic pressure."
The cost of doing so is clear. The number of deaths attributable to the Omicron variant of the virus is more than those caused by the Delta variant. The WHO has rightly called the death toll "beyond tragic". The Omicron variant had claimed half a million lives and infected more than 130 million people as of early February since it first appeared in November. In China, nearly half a million local cases have been reported since March.
"Given China's large population of senior citizens, about 20 percent of its 1.4 billion population, and the uneven distribution of medical resources throughout the country, to join the "herd immunity" club would mean not only discarding what it has already achieved but also paying an expensive price in terms of people's lives, socioeconomic development and social stability, which would far outweigh the short-time inconveniences and problems caused by the current virus control measures."
China is making the most of what it has and its institutional strengths to save people's lives, guarantee their livelihoods, and keep the economic developing on its charted courses.
Given the high infectiousness of the Omicron variant and the geometric progression of the risks it imposes on public health compared with its predecessor, China has done a good job – in controlling the virus at the minimum cost.
"Before a more effective way to fight the virus is devised, China will unswervingly adhere to its current dynamic clearing virus control policy. But while this is still the right course of action for the country given its circumstances, it should at the same time try to make its implementation on the ground more flexible and responsive to the needs of the people." (Source: China Daily)
CONCLUSION
China responded swiftly when protests came like waves after a long period of lockdowns, causing them great inconvenience. But China boldly held its resistance to the pandemic, being the last country to beat its drum of retreat. The nation, therefore, saved lives!
All the countries in the world equally got hit by the COVID-19 and its variants, but each of their reactions have shown to be different, and so are the results: The Western leaders and the citizens of the so-called democracies displayed individualism, preferring to cash in on their cherished personal freedom – by refusing to wear masks and observe social distancing rules; whereas in China, people obeyed the mandatory mask-wearing policy – strictly imposed by the state.
In the beginning – several Western leaders succumbed to the prey of Covid-19, and Boris Johnson of the UK and Donald Trump of the US were examples of human casualties, but none of the Chinese leaders fell victim to Covid-19 and its variants – in the end. Why?
Value differences may be the answer: In the West, people value freedom to the exclusion of public security or safety; whereas, in socialist China, people are organized in such a way that they followed their leaders – who respect their health experts.
Social control and organization also made the difference. Taking Shanghai for example, volunteers organized themselves as they delivered food and supplies and visited families in distress.
The battle of Shanghai had brought tears to Westerners, when they learned that the march of the volunteers was activated for the public good.
For the concern of Mr. Sanger, the New York Times reporter, Biden's national security team that is debating "which China will be harder to handle", the likely prospect or picture is "a confident, rising power". According to the Chinese CDC's prediction "by the end of the first quarter of 2023, China will be coming out of three successive waves of COVID-19 infections and with economic activity returning to normal."
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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