China is the master of stealth in diplomacy. It flows from ancient Chinese political wisdom. India tasted the Chinese medicine of stealth in 1962 in a war that still haunts the Indian psyche like a nightmare but which “never happened” for millions of Chinese youth. China did not teach them about its aggression on India. Stealth in diplomacy.
This is what China seems to be striving for right now in the case of the novel coronavirus pandemic. China is on prowl looking for a candidate nation to fix the blame for the Covid-19 pandemic. China’s current strategy seems to revolve around sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of the international audience and convincing its own people about the “foreign origin” of the novel coronavirus.
The game of finding a villain for the novel coronavirus had begun soon after the viral outbreak started making international headlines late last year. The first targets were those who blamed Chinese eating habits. It was rebutted by health experts. But by that time, it surfaced that China initially attempted to hide the outbreak.
Reports appeared saying that the doctor who alerted about the novel coronavirus outbreak and went public with his views was harassed by the Chinese authorities. That was the time when prompt action by China could have nipped this viral enemy in the bud.
On December 31, China formally informed the World Health Organisation about the novel coronavirus outbreak. In next three weeks, China had to enforce a lockdown not only in the epicentre of Wuhan but in all the provinces and districts affected by Covid-19.
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