In the next few months we will likely learn that China has suffered far more casualties than we have been told. The CCP has worked very hard to control social media, alternative or independent news, and the flow of information from inside China to the rest of the world. Does anyone buy that they have suddenly had zero deaths the past few months?
They have failed to suppress this story. I suspect that there is growing anger in China as this pandemic had to spread throughout the nation. People in those areas will likely have the same thought we do - had they acted earlier and not suppressed the story lives would have been saved.
Communism is a brittle form of government. When you promote the state as a religion and the leader as the chosen one who is incapable of mistakes you tend to suppress bad news. Anything that harms this false narrative is viewed instinctively as a threat to each persons position between the pandemic and Xi. It is a severe flaw and it was best illustrated by Chernobyl in the USSR. Chernobyl created panic in the West, but NOTHING even remotely close to the damage of this pandemic.
In typical communist fashion, they have searched endlessly for another entity to blame. First, they tried to push the narrative that the US was responsible. That did not work and it was aimed at both internal and external people. Now it appears they are blaming African immigrants/workers. That tells us people inside China are made because it is not a narrative that sells well outside of China. Does this tell us Xi is worried about his internal reputation more than his external?
Chernobyl helped lead to the downfall of a USSR that was in dire condition financially. China is allegedly in a better financial position, but communism is also known for smoke and mirrors and the CCP has inflated their numbers so much that few know the truth.
I read somewhere that 21 million Chinese cancelled their cell phone accounts over the past few months. I’ll have to see if I can find the link.