Commentary
China’s disinformation about the CCP virus has been in the news lately. The spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter that “it might be the U.S. Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.”
This tweet was widely mocked, but don’t be so sure that China’s lies aren’t having an effect. Western media often repeat its false claims about the number of infections and deaths in China, and Western audiences, when they hear this, may not realize that’s the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) disinformation.
The message comes from a trusted source, and so the CCP builds a case, almost invisibly, for a twisted account of the CCP virus, also known as novel coronavirus, that lets the CCP off the hook.
If you want to see the full force of the CCP’s disinformation, take a look at things inside China.
‘American Virus’
The Chinese people have had great respect for the United States and the American people for a long time, but because of the recent CCP media campaign, in many cities inside China people are calling Americans “American Virus.”
Day and night, the Chinese media says every new confirmed virus case is “imported.” As a result, Americans and other foreigners are often denied service in restaurants, hotels, and even subways.
One of my contacts in northeast China wrote to me: “In general, as Americans, we are looked down upon or avoided. Today I went to the vet because our dog was sick. I was wearing a mask but I took it off because the doctor said I didn’t need to wear it in his office.”
“When I walked back out into the main area where they sell pet products to pay for the blood test a lady saw me without a mask and freaked out and started yelling at the lady at the front desk where you pay. She threatened to call the police for allowing Americans to not wear a mask. Then she went off about how America’s situation is 10 times worse than China because we don’t care about people and don’t obey rules and blah blah blah.
“A week ago, I was denied entry to the subway because I was from America. I was able to show the people denying my entry that I had entered in January and hadn’t left and after their boss came down from somewhere and talked to me. Finally, I was allowed to enter the subway with my kids.
“My friends went to a foot massage place to celebrate the end of wearing masks and to do their part to stimulate the economy by spending money.
“After sitting down and starting the massages other guests in the place started complaining and threatening to call the police and the shequ (community manager). The manager called the shequ and the shequ said they should kick out the foreigners. My friends were politely asked to leave and were given small gifts as an apology by the staff of the massage place.”
Americans aren’t the only foreigners suffering from the effects of the regime’s propaganda. Over the past few days, in the southern city of Guangzhou, landlords kicked Africans out of apartments in the middle of the night. Hotels and restaurants refuse to serve Africans. They end up sleeping on streets and police chase them down and round them up. Social media are filled with discriminating words and pictures, asking Africans to leave the country.
When we call our relatives in China, even 80-year-olds ask us: “Why do America and Europe want to ask for damages from China? They managed their own countries poorly.”
In fact, even though the Chinese people are under the sway of the CCP’s disinformation, they know something isn’t right.
My correspondent in northeast China wrote: “People on the street like taxi drivers and restaurant waitstaff and our friends all say they don’t believe the government numbers of 80,000 infected and 3,000 dead. Most people say ‘add a zero.’ So they are saying more like 800,000 infected and 30,000 died.”
“There’s no proof of that, but there are a ton of stories shared through the rumor mill. Some say people in Wuhan were told they cannot go to the hospital unless they get a ticket through the lottery to go. There are many stories of people dying in their homes, bodies collected and immediately cremated so no post mortem tests can be done to determine cause of death. Crematoriums were rumored to be open 24/7 and running continually.”
By covering up the real number of deaths and cases, not only did the CCP catch other countries unawares, but those countries have since paid a high price in lives.
CCP’s Survival
This coverup is also a way to prove to the Chinese people that the communist system is superior.
Some people have asked me, why does the CCP have to say this virus is from America, at this point in time? It’s not going anywhere.
Disinformation is critical for the CCP’s survival. The CCP can’t face the questions from people inside China and from around the world about the origin of the virus, about the coverup of the real death numbers—which could be in the millions—or about the mishandling of the virus. It has to pick a target outside to deflect responsibility.
If not because of continuous disinformation—non-stop lying—the CCP would have fallen apart a long time ago. The CCP has said it has two weapons: guns and pens. It has used these two weapons to take and maintain power.
The CCP has always fabricated stories to defame a group when they wanted to persecute it, including Tibetans in the 1950s, landlords in the 1950s, intellectuals in the 1960s, the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s, the spiritual practice of Falun Gong in 1999, and so on. This is the first time that they have openly used their routine method on the United States. The whole world is watching.
It’s sad that the West hasn’t been able to understand communism. The globalization that included communist China as a normal country gave the CCP the opportunity to globalize its influence, and today, to globalize its virus.
After China entered the World Trade Organization, Hong Kong business people and Taiwan business people helped China set up manufacturing to be able to connect with the West. America opened its market to China, the key to building wealth.
When communist China got into the global system, it literally took over Hong Kong, and used its disinformation to attack the Hong Kong people and attack the people of Taiwan. Now, they are attacking Americans.
How much more do we need to know to understand that the CCP is not a human entity? How much more do we need to know to understand the danger of the CCP?
Can we wake up now?
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
