[planetzero]

The Chinese government caused many virus-related deaths around the world. They covered it up for months and silenced any medical professionals that attempted to warn the rest of the world.

The press has also recently tried to float the conspiracy theory that the US government planted the virus in Wuhan back in October.

Chinese government officials should be put on trial for mass murder. I'm glad he's expelling the Chinese press. They are basically just arms of the government and most likely there to exfiltrate information.

[xenocyon]

Your first paragraph makes clear why freedom of the press is necessary.

Expelling journalists is a strike against freedom of the press.

[FooBarWidget]

> Your first paragraph makes clear why freedom of the press is necessary.

Like I said in my other post: the claim that they "covered it up for months" is nonsense.

I get that freedom of speech is an important value to you, but this is a strawman argument to try to support the ideal of freedom of speech, while completely ignoring the reality. The US has had 2 months to prepare for COVID-19, and what happened in the US even though you had freedom of speech? Cover-ups, or -- a more charitable interpretation -- incompetence in information sharing.

Free speech is an important value. But don't pretend like it's some kind of panacea. You will do the ideal of freedom of speech much more justice by recognizing its limitations, because only then can you truly leverage its benefits while mitigating its weaknesses. Anything else is like driving with your eyes closed and thinking "I'll be fine".

[planetzero]

"Your first paragraph makes clear why freedom of the press is necessary."

All press isn't being banned, just specific press from China. Our Freedom of the press is still in place.

I also don't really consider the press from China as the press when everything is filtered through the Chinese government.

[FooBarWidget]

Look, I understand that you don't like China, but your claims are wildly exaggerated.

> They covered it up for months and silenced any medical professionals that attempted to warn the rest of the world.

Here's the timeline: https://miro.medium.com/max/3584/1*r-ddYhoUtP_se6x-NOEinA.pn... (see parent post: https://[e-mail]/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act...)

Dec 26: 4 unusual cases detected

Dec 31: reported to Chinese CDC, reported to WHO (confirmed by New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html)

5 days to report the case to national authorities and to the WHO.

Okay, there are sources out there that state that the first case may be from as early as mid-November. But come on: it's a new virus. They had no idea what this is until late December. It's literally recognizing a needle in a haystack while not knowing that there's a needle. What can you reasonably expect from them?

> The press has also recently tried to float the conspiracy theory that the US government planted the virus in Wuhan back in October.

That's not what China claims.

China says this is a possibility that the virus naturally originated from the US. Huge difference from "planting". This claim is based on DNA research of the virus, as well as timing:

1. The US seems to have older generations of the virus than China. How I have no idea how they identify virus generations but supposedly it is possible to see this in the DNA. Maybe someone who is more knowledgeable can fill in.

2. The start of the virus coincided with some military games event where the US army visited Wuhan.

China is not saying the US engineered and planted the virus. It is saying the virus might naturally have started in the US, where it went undetected and brushed away as an abnormally bad flu season.

Now, this is still very much speculation and there's no hard evidence, I will give you that. But the US CDC isn't exactly doing a good job with investigating the general situation in the US population. This claim by China is easily refuted so why isn't the US doing it?

Again: I get that you dislike China, but that's no reason for throwing exaggerated or wrong accusations around.

[jmnicolas]

> China says this is a possibility that the virus naturally originated from the US. Huge difference from "planting". This claim is based on DNA research of the virus

Their theory doesn't hold : if the virus first started in the US there should have been loads of cases of "flu", hospitals flooded with patients etc like we saw in China and see in Europe now.

In absolute this virus is not that deadly (what's a few thousand more deaths for a country ?), what makes it so problematic is the massive number of people needing intensive care for up to a month.

I think the Chinese are trying to counter the bad propaganda they're receiving from the West so that they're not held accountable for it in the eyes of the rest of the world.

[UnFleshedOne]

Should the same be applied to other governments dragging their feet with measures or trying to buy up exclusive rights to the vaccine?