People often misunderstand what technology does for authoritarianism and that's there is more than one path. The way China handled its digital public sphere *before* Xi made it more responsive and resilient. Xi turned back to the Orwellian lane—repressive but brittle. So we see.
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Wow. AP says Wuhan authorities covered up *up the chain as well* until Jan 14th (clearly spreading human-to-human by then). Then, only after a Thailand case, top leadership was forced to consider the possibility. Still unclear what happened till Jan 20th. https://twitter.com/gerryshih/status/1250318531050131461 …pic.twitter.com/dxgzww5TNU
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Updating my February 22 piece with latest information. Top Chinese scientist Dr. Zhong Nanshan says that Wuhan authorities did cover up information about the epidemic. "The local authorities, they didn't like to tell the truth at that time," Zhong said. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/asia/zhong-nanshan-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html …pic.twitter.com/B1pDQ03ibd
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Updating thread with new details on how Chinese authorities blocked crucial information. But note: once again, Chinese scientists defied the authorities. A professor published the SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequence without authorization. His lab was shuttered. https://apnews.com/3c061794970661042b18d5aeaaed9fae …pic.twitter.com/QFjqDktHpQ
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Well. US intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded the same thing as my February article on top of this thread: that local Wuhan officials kept central Chinese government in the dark, well into mid-January. Authoritarians encourage lying to them. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/world/asia/china-coronavirus-beijing-trump.html …pic.twitter.com/wuGKhIJDoo
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End of conversation
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I missed your theory and indeed i find it plausible.
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It's certainly plausible, but on the other hand the Chinese Communist Party has every incentive to put all blame on the provincial government to protect the public image of their glorious leader.
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