Chinese propaganda has been a marvel these last few weeks. They have “bent the curve” of history and rewritten the narrative to make themselves out to be heroic saviors of the world. They pretend that their initial response to the coronavirus was superior to any other nation’s and besides, the virus was let loose upon China by someone else; it didn’t originate there.
Any thinking person knows it’s all a lie. But there are many who choose to play along with Chinese propaganda — especially if it gives them the chance to criticize America.
Count Russian President Vladimir Putin as an enthusiastic booster of China’s lies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with his Russian counterpart on the phone on Thursday, and “Putin commended the Chinese government for taking effective measures to not only contain the spread of the virus at home but also contribute to safeguarding the health and safety of people across the world,” according to a readout of the call Friday by China’s Foreign Ministry.
Putin also told Xi, “China has set an example for the international community and responded, loud and clear, to the provocation and stigmatization by some country,” in a clear reference to the U.S.
Well, it IS a virus and it DID come from China. It’s logical and reasonable to call it the “Chinese virus” — unless you’re China and need to find an excuse to avoid blame.
Of course, it wasn’t only that the virus originated in China. For several weeks, the Chinese denied there was any problem. Despite doctors in Wuhan pleading for help on the internet, the Chinese government sought to suppress the truth at every turn. Thousands of international travelers went home to spread the virus to their home countries because China didn’t want the bad publicity from taking responsibility for failing to act promptly.
“This disinformation campaign, which began when we began to call out this risk that was created not only for the Chinese people, but now we can see people all across the world, where the Chinese government knew about this risk, had identified it. They were the first to know, and they wasted valuable days at the front end, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to leave Wuhan to go to places like Italy that’s now suffering so badly,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week. “They tried to suppress this information … instead of trying to actually do the work to suppress the virus … and the Chinese Communist Party didn’t get it right and put countless lives at risk as a result of that.”
Why is Putin playing the Chinese game? The gullible Western media is making it easy for propagandists like Putin and Xi to amplify their message They’re either too ignorant or too besotted with Trump-hate to ignore them.
The “Russian side has praised the results, achieved by the Chinese government and the entire Chinese people, in countering of the spread of the disease,” said Russia’s TASS news agency.
According to China, “Xi expressed confidence that, under the leadership of President Putin, the Russian people will rally together and achieve new success.”
A report by the European Union’s External Action Service this week concluded that “a significant disinformation campaign by Russian state media and pro-Kremlin outlets regarding COVID-19 is ongoing,” which “is designed to exacerbate confusion, panic, and fear and to prevent people from accessing reliable information about the virus and public safety provisions.”
Those “results” in containing the virus came about as a result of strong-arm tactics by the Chinese government who ruthlessly enforced quarantines. People who disobeyed were arrested — and have yet to be seen again. No doubt Putin enthusiastically approves of those tactics.
Some Americans are predisposed to believe the absolute worst about their country. The lies and propaganda from China and Russia will no doubt resonate with those people whose grasp of reality is suspect.
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