A patient is tested for COVID-19 in Germany. (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The Global Community Challenges China’s Narratives

Beyond U.S. efforts to challenge the Chinese Communist Party’s false statements about the COVID-19 outbreak, leading nations are speaking up about the damage caused by the CCP’s efforts to obscure vital information about the virus.

Last week, Hudson Institute hosted top diplomats from Israel, Germany, and Taiwan to discuss their own nations’ outbreak response and the CCP’s efforts to shift responsibility for the outbreak.  See their perspectives below, and be sure to visit Hudson’s new timeline chronicling the origins of the coronavirus and the CCP’s response to the crisis, which will be updated as new information emerges.

German Ambassador to the U.S. Emily Haber, in conversation with Walter Russell Mead, likened China’s efforts to the “Russian playbook”:

"China portrays itself now as a rescuing actor with regard to European nations and easily forgets to what extent we've supported China in the early phases of its crisis when we provided medical gear, doctors, and sent in planes. We cannot accept, if China instrumentalizes the crisis now in order to sew divisions, in order to place false narratives, and in order to put out their divisive narratives targeting discussions we are having in our countries, actually, a strategy that reminds me very much of the Russian playbook."

At an event hosted by Seth Cropsey, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu outlined his country’s swift actions to contain coronavirus and the broader threat of China’s authoritarian narrative:

"Whatever China has tried to do, Taiwan's experience shows that for free and open democracies there is a better path forward in dealing with the outbreak. The most dangerous narrative to arise out of this global pandemic seems to me are the talking points China is pushing around the world, that only authoritarian regimes have the resources and capabilities to deal with the problem. While the outbreak will subside eventually, my concern is that this narrative may persist."

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon sat down with Michael Doran to discuss his nation’s quick response to the pandemic, and why the global community needs to hold China accountable:

"People today criticize China for not sharing the information on time and not allowing experts to come in. And that's what we should expect from anyone you work with, that if you had a problem, if you had a red flag, you will say, ‘Listen, I invite your experts to come and help me with that.’ They didn't do it. I don't know if they will do it in the future.

That's a thing we can demand, not only from China, but from other countries. But they are not democracies, they don't have accountability to the people, they don't have proper elections, but we can demand from them to have specific guidelines or procedures to handle future epidemics. Because otherwise it's only a matter of time until we will sit down and discuss ... I don't know what would be the name of the virus, but something else will be there."

Quotes have been edited for length and clarity

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