Chinese authorities set up a nine-person national coronavirus control team on Jan. 25, which does not include any medical professionals, experts from the National Health Commission, or epidemic control specialists. A scholar pointed out that the goal of this team, comprised only of personnel from the Central Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Public Security, was not to prevent and provide treatment for the epidemic, but to focus on propaganda, arrest people, and block information dissemination.
Some Chinese netizens shared similar comments, and renamed the team the “uprising control team.”
Team Set Up After the First US Case Appeared
During an interview with the Chinese-language Epoch Times, Professor Tung Li-wen, a China expert and member of Taiwan Think Tank advisory committee, shared his opinion on why Wuhan City (the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak) was locked down on Jan. 23 and why a national coronavirus control team was established on Jan. 25. Tung believes that once the first COVID-19 case was identified in Seattle on Jan. 21, the Chinese authorities couldn’t “hide elephants in mouse holes” any longer.No Medical Professionals on the Team
According to Tung, of the nine members on the team, the leader is Li Keqiang, premier of the State Council, and the deputy leader is Wang Huning, China’s propaganda boss. The other members in the group include Ding Xuexiang, director of the General Office; Sun Chunlan, vice premier of the State Council; Huang Kunming, minister of the Publicity Department (formerly known as Central Propaganda Department); Cai Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee; Wang Yi, foreign affairs minister; Xiao Jie, secretary general of the State Council; and Zhao Kezhi, minister of public security. However, there is no expert from the National Health Commission or any public health specialist in the group.
