What America Should Learn From Wuhan China’s Lies (watch video)

This demonstrates a culture of control and propaganda spreading that refuses to allow the truth to prevail.

A COIVD-19 Special Report

By Dave Devereaux

I was sitting and watching the HBO documentary In the Same Breath, by Nanfu Wang that follows the pandemic beginning in Wuhan China, and it became obvious from those early days that Chinese government  was willing to make this a political issue by silencing the professionals on the front line and even going so far as to jail them should they talk outside of government lines, or worse, making them disappear.  Being such a controlled society, it is obvious that all facets of communication and life should be monitored in the communist regime. In that effort, valuable time was lost that could have possibly led to greater cooperation and a better outcome to this horrific pandemic by all countries affected. 

I learned that many Chinese were concerned that there was something worse and that the communist media was not telling them, yet they were helpless to question or even talk about it for fear of going to prison. This demonstrates a culture of control and propaganda spreading that refuses to allow the truth to prevail. But none of this is news. We have known that this is the way China has operated as a communist country since October 1, 1949 when leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China or PRC. All facets of society are controlled from political comments, to the number of children a couple is allowed to reproduce.

During the early days of the pandemic, the news platforms in China actually refuted any virus existed, as well as whether any person had fallen ill to it. They called it nothing more than a flu. Yet in Wang’s documentary she has undercover footage that shows people were actually dying in the streets from COVID-19. There were teams that went out to collect those bodies and dispose of them with few questions asked and the idea that there was no evidence to prove such incidents had occurred. She showed how the communist government was actually willing to lie to its citizens in order to retain control of any news getting out to other countries of the things taking place in Wuhan. They were especially careful to craft scripted responses to the Americans as the competition for supremacy was always at play between the two powerhouse countries. 

Eventually, the Chinese were forced to make a statement publicly that confirmed the virus’ existence and safety protocols were then put into effect to stave the spread of COVID-19. O apologies or explanations of prior actions were offered. Their tactics were much more hardlined that what America would eventually put in place because people were actually arrested in Wuhan and imprisoned for breaking quarantine and violating state health laws. There were scenes of people being roughed up by police and carted off under guard and later put into prison and some have never been seen again by their families or friends. 

It was then that America took notice and realized what would become our next public health crisis. Our biggest obstacle was the last administration who failed to heed the warnings of a China in disarray and publicly being observed trying to contain panic and fear. Had Trump acted earlier here at home, just as Xi Jinping failed to do, perhaps America could have enacted policies that could have worked to prevent so much death to our people. Trump’s administration sidestepped the serious nature of this virus in the interest of politics also, just like China had. He feared it would affect his chances at re-election, and of course we now know his failures cost him this past election. The Trump administration’s policy to not tell the truth and subsequent failure to implement the most effective measures that could have prevented the infection of more than 39 million Americans and  640,000 deaths. He danced around science and continued for months to not tell the truth about the behavior of the virus. He focused on its origins, fueling more mistrust between the US and China, and failed to address the mitigation of a virus that morphed as it spread, wreaking havoc on the entire population. Instead, he began to sow the seeds of discord on our soil by discrediting the CDC, Dr. Anthony Faucci, and the whole medical establishment. Even catching COVID-19 himself did not warrant a change of his toxic behavior toward these experts. He was successful in establishing doubt in the minds of his most staunch supporters. This fueled a new fight along with disbelief at the severity of COVID-19, wearing masks and now getting vaccinated. 

The documentary showing the horrors observed in Wuhan was eye opening and incredibly alarming. For a while now, nobody has mentioned the atrocities those people faced. However, this documentary exposed the urgency of how a government system must be prepared with plans and protocols for viral infections such as COVID-19. The fact that all hospital beds were occupied during this wave was another example of poor emergency management that caused many lives. The tragedy of not being able to say goodbye to infected loved ones in hospital is the part that makes one reflect tearfully about what we all have been through the past twenty months.

More importantly, beyond calling front line workers “heroes”, it appears little has been said about these professionals reaching burnout and potentially needing some mental health support themselves. The sadness of this is that they remained on the job and continued to be in there with very sick people who died daily. Doctors and nurses are used to making people well.  Nurses have that nurturing spirit that goes a long way to bolster an ill person’s desire to improve. Shift that paradigm and now they are having to say last rites without any familial support for their patients along with the increased frequency of death and you have a recipe for professional disaster and burnout. 

All first responders, from  EMT personnel to the custodial staff deserve medals of honor. From picking up patients too ill to come in on their own, to either release or burial, these brave individuals have given their lives to make sure the infirmed are looked after day in and day out by a beleaguered medical establishment.  We should also recognize their families, as many of them were unable to come home and have dinner, much less interact with their families for fear of spreading this virus to them. They became quarantined in their own homes, without the privilege of being in the same room or able to even touch them. Anyone with small children will understand the irony of that completely.

As this documentary should receive some award notice this year, it should be viewed by all Americans so that we see what a regime such as China’s will do to silence the truth. If we keep grappling with obstinance and interpretation based on our own personal beliefs without the benefit of science, we will be just like China. We allowed Trump to manipulate America’s belief system to think that much of that type behavior is your right and must be protected, even if it is unnecessary or makes you look ignorant. 

Over all, we should follow the science and be aware of what is being reported to us. We must make informed decisions that will guide us to our own best outcomes. I will admit, not everyone can make the same decisions, but it’s important to respect each person’s right to do so without getting on a soap box to create a movement. 

A grim and final note is that there will be another COVID-19, and the challenge at that time will be if the United States and the rest of the world are prepared. 

**** China reported 95, 064 cases of COVID-19, with 4,636  deaths from February 2020 to August 2021. With so little access to the country, it is doubtful that these figures are remotely accurate, citing their history of covering up the truth and based on interviews included in the documentary, In The Same Breath.