In any time of crisis in a country that boasts a democratic process, the opposition party will most likely find reasons to criticize the handling of a disaster by the party in power. Some of those reasons may be valid, and some may be political machinations to regain control and highlight how much better “we would have handled it.” Calamities are “Prime Time” for those hoping to gain political points and “Sink or Swim” time for those in power. In non-democratic countries, however- like the so called “People’s Republic of China,” there is no opposing party to find fault with how a catastrophe unfolds.
In Communist countries like China, those in power still have the job of demonstrating their competence, but there is no one (at least officially) who can hold them to account. Instead, they use their iron grip to silence dissent and keep the appearance of peace and prosperity. If they allow resistance to foster and the people to become dissatisfied and unified, they won’t just lose an election, but rather an entire regime and form of government. Thus, there are no checks and balances on those in power, and anyone who voices opposition is at great risk of retribution. This is what we are currently seeing in the Chinese government’s handling of the Coronavirus- or COVID-19- first with the silencing of early whistleblowers during the virus’s outbreak in Wuhan and now with the disappearance of a billionaire who dared to question China’s revered leader.
By now, many have heard of the tragic case of Dr. Li Wenliang, the brave physician who tried to alert the people about the spread of COVID-19 in December of 2019, prior to contracting the virus himself and dying in early February of this year. After making a social media post about the mysterious new illness, Li was reprimanded by the Chinese police and forced to sign a document stating that he understood that he was “making untrue comments” and that continued efforts to do so would result in his being “brought to justice.” Li indicated that he understood. 
In the wake of his death and his unheeded warning about the virus, many have spoken out on social media with outrage and seen their posts censored and removed. Others have been brought in for questioning merely for telling his story. Li was not the only Coronavirus whistleblower who claims to have been ignored and intimidated by the Chinese government, but his death has made him the most famous. To those of us in the West, it is a terrifying example of a government’s chokehold on inconvenient information.
Even more recently, Chinese billionaire Ren Zhiqiang “disappeared” after penning a biting article criticizing President Xi Jinping’s handling of the Coronavirus. A longtime critic of Xi, Ren had been censored and disciplined previously, but nevertheless he had harsh words for Xi in an essay shared first with friends and then eventually online. Ren wrote, “I saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his ‘new clothes’, but a clown stripped naked who insisted on continuing being emperor.” After the criticism 
was publicized, the Chinese tycoon abruptly vanished. As of March 12, he is still missing and has been unable to be reached in person or contacted on any device. The sudden vanishing of such a prominent critical voice has made international news and points to a nefarious act by a government who has warned him before to stop speaking out against their leadership.
When we in the West hear stories like these, it is impressed upon us how little we can do for those who speak out in nations where free speech is not a virtue. The Chinese government is all-powerful within its own sphere. Its grip on global finance and business makes it unlikely that other nations will sanction a country who they still allow to sit on the UN Human Rights Council. Instead, the Chinese government’s continued abuses to individual citizens who break its speech rules are likely to go unanswered and unpunished, except for the occasional article from an outraged foreign journalist. Nevertheless, those rare slaps on the wrist by the global press are not in vain. They remind the rest of the world that free speech matters, and perhaps if they do manage to reach the eyes and ears of the Chinese population, eventually enough pressure will be put on their government to change.
What we should do in free nations, however, is to count our blessings. Even in the time of a global pandemic, our free speech is something to be appreciated and prized. The fact that we can go on our social media and see some people praising the president and others rebuking him is a good thing. If some blame the Democrats for capitalizing on a crisis and some blame the Republicans for downplaying it- so be it. Let us hope and pray that our government can put aside their differences and work together for our common good, but let us also be grateful that we have the ability to openly question our officials and directly request what we need from them in times of trouble.
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Jackie Chea is a blogger from San Antonio, Texas who holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Community Counseling from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She writes on political and cultural issues from a conservative, religious standpoint. She lives in the Lone Star State with her husband Nick, her 5-year-old son Lincoln, and her rescue dogs. |
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