The COVID-19 crisis is the greatest disaster and blunder the world has seen since World War II. It is therefore high time for China and the World Health Organization to fess up, to be transparent and to ensure that it does not happen again. The Australian government’s proposal for an independent international enquiry on the origin and handling of the COVID-19 crisis, including the role of the WHO, is a much-needed initiative.
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the bankruptcy of China’s authoritarian governance, which not only greatly facilitates cover-ups and fake narratives, but in that process evidently puts the health of the world’s population at risk.
China’s management of COVID-19 started with a domestic coverup and manipulation of the WHO. For example, China refused the visit of WHO experts until WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with President Xi Jinping at the end of January, even though the virus was already out of control. China then progressed very quickly to bumbling attempts at touting the superiority of its authoritarian system.