An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald urges the countries of the world to “come together” to fight the coronavirus outbreak:
Australia and other countries must start to work together to fight this virus. For one thing, given that China has the vast majority of known cases, it is vital to share its experience of things like how to track the disease and how to treat it. The WHO says China is now playing a very positive role in this regard.
Another area where international co-operation is vital is increasing aid to countries with weak health systems. The major hotspots outside China include Iran and Italy but scores of other countries are on high alert for major infection. While Australians panic-buy toilet paper, it is in our interest to send aid to Indonesia or the Pacific islands. A full-blown coronavirus epidemic there could threaten regional stability.
The US in 2014 deployed troops to Liberia as part of a global effort to stop the disease.
Trust between countries will also be crucial when Australia eventually is ready to drop the hugely costly travel bans that are strangling the tourism and education industries. If the WHO, an independent arbiter, says China has been successful in confining the outbreak to Hubei, it might be possible to reconsider.
It’s hard for me to determine what that means we should do that has not or is not already being done.
China’s lack of cooperation is not in the distant past. The first World Health Organization investigation team wasn’t allowed into the country until less than a month ago, at least two months and maybe more after the outbreak was first detected. China continues to complain that things like travel bans are overreactions.
China’s being a lot less protective and sensitive would go a long way to facilitating more international cooperation. Maybe the Chinese authorities are beginning to realize that.
“China’s being a lot less protective and sensitive”
At the risk of telling you something you already know, Xi, the only man in China who’s opinion matters, cannot command openness, honesty, and timely adverse reports from party underlings. Their very lives and those of their extended families depend upon pleasing Xi. Every report up the levels of party command must pass through the filter. How will this effect me, my family. When an official report is prepared fear will always trump honesty and effectiveness.
Honesty and effectiveness being awarded posthumously.