The Chinese government has sought to influence news sites around the globe that the COVID19 virus is decidedly not of Chinese origins. They are clearly afraid of the damage being done to their “brand.”
Let’s face it: a brand, once diminished can take years to recover. No one understands that more than the Chinese government. Turns out, Commies are often the best marketers there are. Bernie Sanders anyone?
Brands, however, are the cumulative positive reputation built over years of consistent (not perfect, just consistent) delivery of what is expected. To wit, McDonald’s is successful because virtually every time you order a Big Mac, it is virtually always of the same construction, taste, look, and feel. Coca Cola too. An Apple product. Read about Suzuki’s problems from years ago, or Audi’s. I could go on.
Like Audi, Suzuki, Coke, and others, solid brands are quick to fall on their swords when problems arise. Case in point: The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. Ryder Truck Rentals, whose once-ubiquitous “yellow trucks” could be seen on every street and highway in the land, was sadly the delivery vehicle for mass destruction. They were no more responsible for that horror than I was. But the yellow truck became synonymous with it in short order. What did Ryder do? Instead of blathering on about innocence and coincidence, they changed the color of their trucks.
Or “New Coke” from the 1980s. Once it was clear that “new” Coke was a failure, the Coca Cola Company dropped it like a hot-potato and moved on. They didn’t flap their gums about unfairness and hurt feelings.
But not the Chicoms. They want to somehow convince the world that their brand is still intact, despite the existence of so-called “wet markets” and utterly filthy inner-cities (I have been there. I know). And I am surprised that something like the China Virus hasn’t popped up before this. Maybe it has, for along with being great marketers, the Chinese Communists are delightfully good at repression.
Anyway, they took issue with a recent article in the Daily Telegraph. What follows is the Telegraph’s response. I loved it!
Beijing Officially Disapproves
By Tim Blair, The Daily Telegraph
April 4, 2020
The Daily Telegraph this week received a letter from the Australian Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, who took issue with our excellent coverage of the coronavirus crisis.
What follows is a point-by-point response to the Consulate General and China’s communist dictatorship (Editor’s Note: the Chinese Consulate’s critiques are indented and italicized):
The Chicoms begin with this:
Recently the Daily Telegraph has published a number of reports and opinions about China’s response to COVID-19 that are full of ignorance, prejudice and arrogance.
The Telegraph begins their responses with this: If a state-owned newspaper in China received this kind of complaint, subsequent days would involve journalists waking up in prison with their organs harvested.
Tracing the origin of the virus is a scientific issue that requires professional, science-based assessment.
Sure it does. How “professional- and science-based” was the claim published on March 12 by China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian that “it might be US Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan”?
The origin of the virus is still undetermined, and the World Health Organization has named the novel coronavirus “COVID-19.”
The World Health Organization also appointed Zimbabwean murderer Robert Mugabe as its “Goodwill Ambassador” and declared on March 2 that the “stigma” of the coronavirus “is more dangerous than the virus itself.” The World Health Organization does a lot of stupid stuff.
So what is the real motive behind your attempt to repeatedly link the virus to China and even stating that the novel coronavirus was “Made in China”?
Our motive is accuracy. That’s why we don’t say that it was “Made in Panama.”
The people of Wuhan made a huge effort and personal sacrifice to stop the spread of the epidemic.
Yep. Wuhan’s Dr Li Wenliang indeed made a huge effort to warn people about the coronavirus outbreak. Then, as The New York Times reported, “In early January, he was called in by both medical officials and the police, and forced to sign a statement denouncing his warning as an unfounded and illegal rumor.” And now he’s dead, so that was a “personal sacrifice” covered as well. (See below for more about “denunciation statements”).
Nevertheless, in order to capture attention and gain more internet hits, you called Wuhan the “Zombieland” and Wuhan seafood market the “bat market.” How low can you go?
Bat is a word. Bat is an animal. In Wuhan, it’s the name of a restaurant.
The effectiveness of China’s epidemic prevention and control has fully underlined the people-centered philosophy of the Communist Party of China and the strong advantages of the Chinese system.
In 2018, Amnesty International reported that China executed more citizens than the rest of the world combined. Please tell us more about your “people-centered philosophy” and how many bullets it requires.
Instead of admitting and facing facts, the articles in your newspaper have wantonly attacked and smeared the CPC and the Chinese government with vicious language.
And yet we haven’t been jailed or shot! By golly, where’s the justice in that?
Is your judgement based on the well-being of the people or do you have an ideological prejudice?
We will admit to an ideological prejudice against deadly tyranny. It’s a tragic failing on our part.
Since 3 January, China has been updating the WHO and the international community in a timely and transparent manner.
Really? On January 14, following 11 days of “timely and transparent” updates, the WHO broadcast this ridiculous Chinese misinformation, “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus.” Really? Come on.
The epidemic is spreading rapidly around the globe, and China is doing its utmost to support other severely affected countries.
Thousands of Chinese-made coronavirus testing kits and medical masks exported to Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands turned out to be “below standard or defective,” according to the BBC. And the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC) this week reported that more than 800,000 masks have been seized by Australian Border Force officers after the masks were “found to be counterfeit or otherwise faulty.” Thanks for all your help, guys.
Virus respects no borders.
Why, then, did China close its own borders on March 28 – even while claiming victory over the spread of coronavirus?
You have repeatedly questioned the WHO’s positive assessment of China’s epidemic prevention and control, but surely you know that the WHO is the most authoritative international organization in global public health, with more than 190 members including Australia?
Keep an eye on that number, sunshine. [Editor’s Note: I do hope that the US withdraws from this absolutely useless organization. Just today, several US Senators called for the resignation of WHO’s CEO.]
In disregard of the authoritative information provided by China and the WHO’s professional opinions, you instead quoted several so-called “strategic analysts…” Were you aware that the institution where these people work have been exposed as long accepting financial support from the US government … ?
The US last year contributed nearly $900 million to the sacred WHO. Your point, sir?
Your recent coverage on the epidemic in China are exaggerated, full of irresponsible rumors and highly politicized.
Naughty us. Please send an official Dr Li Wenliang “unfounded and illegal rumor denunciation statement” so we can sign it and be on our way.
