Peter Hartcher is a punter.
I don't understand the logic behind the CCP's secrecy at the beginning of all this. If you deny, cover it up and lie about it that somehow makes it all go away? That is like covering your face so that you don't see the car that is about to run you down. It is infantile, literally infantile, it is the logic of an infant.
Communist governments have this in common. Eg, the Russian lies and cover up about Chernobyl in the beginning was somehow going to make it all go away. Meanwhile the radioactive poison was spreading to western Europe.
The facts don't care what we think.
Governments all over the world change all the time. It is not a big deal. It leads to fresh ideas. They vote you out - hey, then they might vote you back in again later. If the Chinese people like the CCP so much they could vote them back in again. Like, probably sometime in the next millenium or so.
Don't think this is particular to just communist govt. But lots of countries have been in denial and cover up. Look at Turkey, Indonesia and now the USA. Number went from nothing all of a sudden thousands.
Or during the sub-prime GFC. All the banks were bailed out by govt & taxpayers. Bankers who caused it cashed out on their yatchs, Not one single banker was charged or went to jail. But thousands of ppl lost everything.
Not trying to defend them. But having worked in large corporates, they all behave similarly to the Titanic. The person at the front of the ship yells iceberg. Man in the middle wants to double check, triple check, than next level up wants to do another set of double checks and this goes on and on... Until it finally reaches the captain who ask "can we verify that there really is an iceberg and do some extra checks 1st ???" [emoji6]
These countries did not cover up the numbers.
THEY WERE NOT TESTING ANYONE.....
This is the big fuck up from all countries, No one tested anyone coming from China.....
It's absolutely mind blowing and then there is the pathetic "WHO" or as it should be know Chinese Health Org.......
One country that isn’t “officially a friend” with the CCP is Taiwan and I believe they shut their border from All visitors from main land China right from the start ! The reward for their government’s decisive action: still only 322 cases today . Damn , how much would we be willing to pay to get that figures just for NSW here today ?
in all fairness, this happened before Covid19 hit Australia. They brought supplies to send to china for the relief effort. This is normal activity no?
Google, Microsoft.. many other companies and countries also sent aid to china around that time too, I fail to see how their actions are any different.
It has been revealed that China stockpiled 2 billion face masks and 25 million medical items (sourced from news com.au). For example, it showed Australian surgical masks at Perth airport being sent to China in February 8. When the virus originated in Wuhun, the Chinese government went on a global campaign to recruit Chinese owned companies in foreign countries to raid stocks of the necessary items including masks, gloves, hand santisers, hazmat suits and ventilators.
I can see why this is a problem - but emotions aside, if they paid for the face masks, i.e., a legal transaction, then they've committed no crime.
Abe willing to give 2 masks per household
Tbh.... I think mainland Chinese should be kept in China.
the problem was the companies in question did not have export licenses, they had a systematic way of stripping local shops, and then somehow (corruption ??) getting these out of the country through customs & ports.
So yes while the purchase were legal the shipping out of Australia was in some maybe not all cases “illegal” so yes crimes have been committed.
And I think in the case of one company CEO a jail term of 5 years is being proposed.
People need to understand in “peace time setting” companies with a foreign allegiance chose to act in a way that significantly impacted the health system of Australia and other countries.
Capitalist systems don’t go about stock piling huge quantities as the supply systems and chains are meant to handle surges... however such systems are not designed to operate in against a sustained / systematic way of disrupting essential supplies and certainly not from businesses given license to operate here in “peace time”
If it is aid, it doesn't need an export license, because it is not a business.
If you send your mother in Columbia some biscuits, you don't need an export license to send her those biscuits.
The only difference here is that:
1. Its done en masse
2. It was a Chinese people sending it
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/b...-supplies.html
Absolutely. This was back in Jan, Feb when China was at their peak of the virus and medical practitioners didn't have any PPE left to use.
The rest of the world was still going to footy games and going "she'll be right mate"
Now it's the opposite, China factories are reopen and ramping up production of these PPE. Why do you think our govt are shipping food to China and containers will come back with PPE.