'For Xi Jinping, political self-preservation more important than saving lives amid coronavirus crisis'

At the time when the world is reeling from China-origiated pandemic, Covid-19, its President Xi Jinping is more concerned about political self-preservation than saving lives globally.

Xi-led Communist Party, which is infamous for controlling information, has waged a media war against the United States.

China last week announced that it will expel American journalists working in the country for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Aaron Rhodes, human rights editor of Dissident Magazine, and Jianli Yang, president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that even in the time of crisis, Communist Party cares more about controlling information regarding the pandemic than about controlling the virus itself.

 

Coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan city of China, has so far contracted 335,000 people around the world. At least 14,641 have died in just three months, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Countries like the US accused China of letting the virus spread around the world. US president recently said that the "Chinese Virus" could have stopped at its origin itself.

It is clear that for Xi, political self-preservation is more important than lives that can be saved, in China and around the world, by accurate media coverage, stated Rhodes and Yang.

Xi Jinping, surrounded by unprecedented anger, criticism and ridicule, is being confronted with resistance from within and without the party, which has been present, in latent form, since he removed term limits from China's constitution, clearly revealing his ambition to become president for life.

China has resorted to game-playing at such a time, risking a crisis in international relations.

A tit-for-tat battle between the US and China began on February 17 China revoked the press passes of three reporters of Wall Street Journal after they wrote an article with the "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia." referencing the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that originated in the country.

Next day, the United States government had designated five Chinese media agencies as "foreign missions".

In response, on March 2, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed a cap on the number of individuals permitted to work for Chinese government-controlled media organizations in the United States. The move cut the number of employees to 100, down from 160.

The writers said that the Chinese government's disproportionate retaliation is particularly despicable because it comes in the midst of an unprecedented made-in-China global crisis.