Under continued fire for its early mishandling of the coronavirus, the Chinese government vigorously defended its actions in a new, detailed account on Sunday that portrays the country’s approach to combating the outbreak as a model for the world.Calling the epidemic a “test of fire,” Beijing builds a comprehensive picture of its “painstaking efforts” to identify the virus, stop its spread and warn other countries — a narrative that discounts and ignores missteps by the government at the outset of the outbreak.
In the report, local and provincial officials are described as acting decisively. The World Health Organization is said to have been kept informed in detail starting from Jan. 3, while Chinese scientists quickly released the genome sequence. China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, is described as playing a pivotal role throughout the crisis.
“Confronted by this virus, the Chinese people have joined together as one and united their efforts,” the report said. “They have succeeded in containing the spread of the virus. In this battle, China will always stand together with other countries.”
There is no mention of the doctor who was reprimanded by the police for raising an early alarm about the virus or the young Chinese bloggers who were taken into custody after creating videos of the suffering in Wuhan.