Instigator / Pro
Crocodile's avatar
7
Crocodile
1436
rating
22
debates
38.64%
won
Topic
#2031

China's Response to the Coronavirus was Inadequate

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
3
0
Better sources
2
2
Better legibility
1
1
Better conduct
1
1

After 1 vote and with 3 points ahead, the winner is...

Crocodile
Tags
Politics
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
2
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
30,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
User_2006's avatar
4
User_2006
1470
rating
50
debates
40.0%
won
Description

R1- Opening Statements
R2- Rebuttals

Definitions:
Inadequate: not satisfactory or acceptable in quality (Provided by the Cambridge English Dictionary)
China: The Chinese Communist Party

Rules:
1. Make sure not to use profanity.
2. Forfeiting awards automatic conduct points to the opponent.

Round 1
Crocodile's avatar
Crocodile
Pro
#1
China’s Response to the Coronavirus was Inadequate
Round 1

I would like to begin by thanking my opponent User_2006. They have kindly accepted this debate. I shall begin my argument henceforth.

PRELUDE
The definitions that shall be used in this debate shall be listed here, and have been provided in the rules and outline of this debate above.

Inadequate: “not satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity.”

China: The PRC government, also known as the Chinese Communist Party.
========================================================================

Burden of Proof (BoP)
The Burden of Proof rests on “PRO”.

Acronyms

Chinese Communist Party- “CCP”
========================================================================

C1. ORIGIN OF COVID-19

COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, a large city in the Hubei Province of China. In December of 2019, the coronavirus was believed to have spread throughout the Hunan Seafood Market, an unsanitary, live food, market. According to the Chinese government, the first person had fallen ill on December 1st 2019. However, according to reports from both The Epoch Times, and the South China Morning Post, both reputable news sources in Asia, the first person had fallen ill on November 17th 2019. After this, China repeatedly refused help from the CDC and the United States. China’s direct ignorance and stupidity, led to the virus being spread all around the world, until Mid-January, when it notified the WHO, and continued on to use draconian lock-down measures, which could have been prevented if it had taken action sooner. It then mounted a misinformation and censorship campaign, leading to my next contention-

C2. MISINFORMATION, LIES, AND CENSORSHIP

It is believed that China has censored discussions on chinese social media sites and messaging sites, such as TikTok, Weibo, and WeChat. It notified and made (forced) many doctors sign agreements that they misinformed, and spread lies about the virus. Of course, the now-famous whistleblower, Dr. Li Wenliang, was not spreading lies about the virus. He shared a report with details and fears about the then-new and mysterious virus, which was leaked on the internet. He was summoned by the Wuhan Police [1], which forced him to admit, he was “making false comments on the Internet about unconfirmed SARS outbreak”. (The published letter can be found here [2]) But, I’m certain both CON and the VOTERS know the horrible ending to this story. Dr. Li Wenliang returned to work, and subsequently passed away from the same virus he dedicated the last portion of his life to fighting. China then later revoked their admonishment of him. More misinformation occurred later when Taiwan found many signs of human to human transmission, but China ignored them. The WHO even said in a tweet, dating January 14th that: “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus” China’s lack of international communication and cooperation, it’s censorship campaign, and it’s inner corruption brings me to my next contention.

C3. CORRUPTION IN THE WHO

Corruption has occurred extensively within the WHO and the United Nations as a whole and has contributed to the spread of the virus around the world. According to several sources, including The Lancet, The Atlantic, The National Review, and even left-wing news sources such as ABC News, BBC News, and CNN, the WHO’s response to the pandemic was heavily influenced by the Chinese Communist Party. It’s response to coronavirus should be considered as the most corrupted and worst response to a pandemic in modern history. It’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, is not a physician, and is not qualified. During this pandemic, he has spent most of his time as director-general reassuring authoritarian regimes such as China, and praising China. I would say that the failure of the WHO and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, is directly related to China’s response to the coronavirus itself. This further proves that the coronavirus response of China was inadequate due to the corruption it caused in the WHO.

C4. FURTHER MISCELLANEOUS POINTS
  1. China downplayed the severity of the coronavirus since it started.
  2. China has been using its power and leverage within the WHO to stop Taiwan (which has crucial information about the virus, and would need help from other nations) from entering the organisation.
  3. Chinese hackers targeted the US for information about a coronavirus vaccine.
  4. There might be a possibility that the coronavirus originated in a lab. 
  5. Dr. Tedros and the President of China, arranged a phone call (according to US intelligence, denied by the WHO) on January 21st, for plans to cover up and downplay the virus.



SUMMARY
I have fulfilled my side of the BoP by providing 3 contentions and several miscellaneous facts in favor of the idea that China’s response to the coronavirus was inadequate. According to the definition of inadequate, which I have provided both in the rules and the prelude of this debate, it means “not satisfactory”. Due to the 3 points I have provided, I expect VOTERS and CON, to think I have fulfilled my portion of the BoP.

Thank you VOTERS for hearing my argument and I am excited to hear from CON.




Sources listed:
  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Wenliang
  2.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Wenliang#/media/File:李文亮的训诫书.png



 

User_2006's avatar
User_2006
Con
#2
My opening point will be around China's good performance about CURING the COVID-19 patients. I am aware that my opponent had made points that relates to the media, but not about curing and containing the virus itself. 

My points will be made up of two:
  1. China has been adequate handing and curing people with the virus
  2. The Chinese obeyed the governmental orders to stay at home, which, even if the statistics were fabricated, still did better than the US and Italy, etc. 
And no, all of the people are pro-governmental. There is no private hospitals used. They are a part of the state. They loved the nation and are happy. 

My first piece of evidence is here:

This evidence shows that China had built an entire facility dedicated to eradicate coronavirus. You can't fake an entire construction. 

This image shows that while other developed or great nations have their curves skyrocketing, China had their curves immediately stopping at February and reducing in March. This is the official count. You can't prove any other counts because otherwise pro-American websites won't be using the statistics China provided. China had flattened the curve so quickly among such vast amounts of population, that an entire hospital erected within two weeks! How you calling this inadequate?

Conclusion 1: China had really put their effort into curing the virus and their effect is evident. 

I will give you time to prove why the US media is right. I am not refuting yet.

China had a better preparation for this crisis. People are obeying the orders and caring for their own health. I won't go into detail because I am typing this from by bed 12PM into the night. However economy is prepared and the people are voluntarily ready for such an event, for themselves, the nation and the world. 

Schools are opening in China. Even if they can fool the US they can't fool the students.

Conclusion: Infrastructure-wise, China is doing good dealing with the pandemic. 


Round 2
Crocodile's avatar
Crocodile
Pro
#3
Thanks User_2006 for the reply, and I shall begin to refute your assertions.



“China has been adequate handling and curing people with the virus.”
This is most certainly wrong. There is no known cure for the virus.

“The Chinese obeyed the governmental orders to stay at home, which, even if the statistics were fabricated, still did better than the US and Italy, etc.”
Exactly, the statistics were fabricated. Which means, we will never know the full extent of the virus in China. There is no known proof that they did better than the US. We are not arguing if the US did better than China. We are arguing that the Chinese Government's response itself was inadequate. The government orders came too late. The Chinese people are not at fault, the Chinese government is.

“And no, all of the people are pro-governmental. There are no private hospitals used. They are a part of the state. They loved the nation and are happy”
My opponent says that every single person in China loves the government. He also suggests that everyone loves the government in China and are very happy. Well, I shall provide several powerful photos that proves this is in fact wrong.

That, my opponent and voters, is the HONG KONG PROTEST.

Those are Uyghur “Re-education Camps” (Concentration Camps)).  Judges and CON can find more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps

And, most importantly, and finally, this:
That is the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which is so subtly covered up by the Chinese Government.
 
This evidence shows that China had built an entire facility dedicated to eradicate coronavirus. You can't fake an entire construction. 
Exactly. Why would they need to build such a gargantuan facility, when they could've stopped it at the source.
This image shows that while other developed or great nations have their curves skyrocketing, China had their curves immediately stopping at February and reducing in March.
Whose statistics are those images basing their claims off of? China.

This is the official count. You can't prove any other counts because otherwise pro-American websites won't be using the statistics China provided. China had flattened the curve so quickly among such vast amounts of population, that an entire hospital erected within two weeks! How you calling this inadequate?
I in fact can prove other counts. I shall take a source from TIME, possibly the most centered newspaper there is in America. This isn't Pro-American.

If you believe the Chinese authorities, the country’s battle against the novel coronavirus is all but won. But that claim is clouded by a fog of skewed data, political imperatives—and unreported cases and possibly deaths. (https://time.com/5813628/china-coronavirus-statistics-wuhan/)

The Chinese, even, raised their death toll by several thousands in one day, due to misreporting. There must be more.


Conclusion 1: China had really put their effort into curing the virus and their effect is evident. 
I have saved my most powerful point for last. Research by the University of Southampton suggests 95% of infections could have been avoided if China had acted three weeks earlier. The entire reason millions are locked at home right now is because of China's failure to act on coronavirus. 

DEATHS, CASES, AND LOCKDOWNS AROUND THE WORLD RELATED TO CORONAVIRUS ARE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE AND DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE CHINESE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT.

I will give you time to prove why the US media is right. I am not refuting yet.
See above.
China had a better preparation for this crisis. People are obeying the orders and caring for their own health. I won't go into detail because I am typing this from by bed 12PM into the night. However economy is prepared and the people are voluntarily ready for such an event, for themselves, the nation and the world. 

Correct. The Chinese people are staying at home. But, what about the Chinese government? China purposefully horded masks, PPE, and other medical equipment from other countries, knowing the devastating effect. Take it from this simple New York Times, left centered, headline.

The World Needs Masks. China Makes Them, but Has Been Hoarding Them. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/business/masks-china-coronavirus.html
Hoarding masks is bad, right?

Schools are opening in China. Even if they can fool the US they can't fool the students.
China is ignoring crucial signs that a second wave of COVID cases is coming. While schools are online in several countries, China seems to be opening these up while not taking steps before hand. Studies have shown that masks cannot fully protect you from COVID. They are repeating the same mistake. 
Conclusion: Infrastructure-wise, China is doing good dealing with the pandemic. 

I have proved this wrong.

-----------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS

C1: FACE MASK HORDING.

I mentioned this a bit in the rebuttals above, but I shall expand on the idea greatly.
China made half the world’s masks before the coronavirus emerged there, and it has expanded production nearly 12-fold since then. But it has claimed mask factory output for itself. Purchases and donations also brought China a big chunk of the world’s supply from elsewhere.
This is taken from the New York Times. In late February and March, China had begun to rapidly increase their face mask supply and produced millions of face masks. However, when the pandemic had gone to other places such as the US, Italy, Iran, and Japan, China refused to share their mask supply until later times. Even now, China is reportedly sharing terrible quality masks.

The European Commission halted the delivery of 10 million masks.

C2: STORIES IN CHINA

As my opponent started his argument by stating how everyone was happy in China, I would like to bring up the tragic story of a woman living in Wuhan.

Her mother was refused attendance into a hospital.
“I was really angry and scared at that moment,” she cried.
Her mother was not even able to be tested, instead, the Chinese Government shoved useless placebos into her arms and forced her to go home. 
... I don’t believe it, I think the death were 10 times more than reported.”
This is what she said, when questioned about the Chinese authority. She is not happy, she is not pro government. 

According to analysis by Radio Free Asia, the official death toll in Wuhan of 2,535 (at that time) may have been underreported by almost a factor of 20.

That's 50,000 deaths in just Wuhan. That's twice the amount of New York.

CONCLUSION:
I have rebutted all of my opponents contentions, and my side of the Burden of Proof remains fulfilled. Thank you CON for this fantastic debate, and thank you JUDGES for considering everything in this argument. 

VOTE PRO!
User_2006's avatar
User_2006
Con
#4
I will, again, take a more economic and less political approach to this problem. 

That may not be the case. You may be bearing the stereotypical view that "Made-in-China is bad". One of the sources may disprove you:

Many Western retail brands realize that they can get more sales of their products by selling them at a lower price. To do this, they very consciously choose to sacrifice quality.
That just might be the companies in the West demanded cheaper works. You get what you pay for. You can't convict a company for not making luxury supercars at $1000 per new car. In such an economic crisis, how could China maintain everything in good quality when the workers are risking their life, working tirelessly? I understand that you may say that China should have halted it alone, but it is simply impossible. China is tired. You can't say that an ill athlete is not trying his best when he is even if his scores are below his average. I have even more sources. 

Because I have 30000 characters handed over, I have a lot of translation to do. 

1. Issues regarding Taiwan(Basically, all your points have been refuted)

Lie 12: China prevents Taiwan from joining the WHO and endangers the health of Taiwanese.

The truth: Taiwan, as a part of China, has no right to participate in the WHO that only sovereign states can join. The channels of technical cooperation between Taiwan and WHO in China are always open.

◆ WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations composed of sovereign states. Only members of the United Nations are eligible to join, and Taiwan as a part of China has no right to join.

◆ When China joined the International Health Regulations, it stated that the Regulations apply to the entire territory of the People's Republic of China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province.

◆ According to the consensus reached between the Chinese government and WHO, the WHO International Health Regulations Contact Point has been established in Taiwan, China, and has an account logged in to the WHO event information website to obtain timely access to the global emergencies released by WHO. Information on public health events. There is no obstacle to the technical cooperation between Taiwan and China and WHO. From the beginning of 2019 to the beginning of May 2020, 16 groups of 24 experts from Taiwan participated in the technical conference organized by WHO.

◆ After the outbreak, the Chinese National Health and Health Commission promptly notified the Taiwan area of the outbreak information. As of May 6, the mainland has notified the Taiwan side of the epidemic information 148 times. In mid-January, the mainland arranged for Taiwan experts to visit Wuhan for field visits to understand the diagnosis, treatment and epidemic situation of patients diagnosed with new coronavirus pneumonia.

Lie 13: As early as December 31, 2019, Taiwan issued a warning to WHO on the human-to-human transmission of the new coronary pneumonia, but it was not taken seriously.

Fact: The Taiwan region of China did not issue a warning to WHO, but sought additional information from the WHO after the Wuhan Health Commission issued an epidemic report.

◆ Wuhan City issued a circular on the outbreak of unexplained pneumonia on December 31, 2019. Taiwan ’s health department sent a letter to the National Health and Welfare Committee to understand the information released by the Wuhan Health and Welfare Committee. A written reply was promptly given. On the same day, Taiwan's health department sent a so-called "warning" email to WHO. The email did not mention "person-to-person", mainly to get information from WHO. The facts are very clear. The mainland first released the information and the Taiwan health department made a retell. There is no such thing as the so-called Taiwan first reporting to the WHO.

◆ The WHO has clarified many times that the Taiwan region of China did not "warn" it, but only raised hopes for more information. Long before the mail was sent in Taiwan, WHO had received a number of other requests for epidemic information notification. On April 20, the WHO again clarified this clearly at a press conference. The first case of new coronary pneumonia was not diagnosed in Taiwan, China until January 21. Prior to this, Taiwan did not have information on clinical cases of the epidemic, and it was even more impossible to "draw conclusions from person to person."
This is an adequately translated text. You get the point. At this point the text speaks for itself. 

Myth 14: China hoards protective materials, uses the epidemic situation to make huge profits, and increases the export inspection of anti-epidemic materials, restricting the export of materials, especially the export of ventilators, resulting in insufficient US material reserves.

Facts: Although China's own epidemic prevention tasks are still arduous, China still provides anti-epidemic medical supplies to other countries within its ability.

◆ The Chinese government and private sector have provided or are providing many urgently needed medical supplies to more than 150 countries and international organizations. The Chinese side has also taken advantage of its production capacity and opened the medical supplies market and export channels in a timely manner.

◆ According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, from March 1 to May 6, China has exported epidemic prevention materials to 194 countries and regions through market-based procurement. Among them, 77 national and regional governments and 6 international organizations signed 216 batches of medical supplies commercial procurement contracts with me through official channels; 71 national and regional governments and 8 international organizations are conducting 128 batches of commercial procurement negotiations with our enterprises .

◆ According to statistics from the Chinese Customs, from March 1 to April 30, the country's total exports of major anti-epidemic materials were valued at 71.2 billion yuan. Including: 27.8 billion masks, 130 million protective clothing, 73.41 million new coronavirus detection kits, 12.57 million infrared thermometers, 49,100 ventilators, 124,000 patient monitors, 43.63 million pairs of goggles , 854 million pairs of surgical gloves.

◆ According to China Customs statistics, from March 1 to May 5, China provided more than 6.6 billion masks, 344 million pairs of surgical gloves, 44.09 million sets of protective clothing, 6.75 million pairs of goggles, and nearly 7500 ventilators to the United States.

◆ According to incomplete statistics, as of May 6, China's local provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, relevant agencies and enterprises have donated more than 9.6 million masks, 500,000 boxes of testing reagents, and 305,900 pairs of medical supplies to 30 states and 55 cities in the United States. And other medical supplies such as gloves and 135,500 pairs of goggles.

◆ China does not restrict the export of medical supplies. China issued the "Announcement on Further Strengthening the Quality Supervision of Epidemic Prevention Materials" and other policy measures, not to restrict exports, but to further strengthen the quality control of epidemic prevention materials and regulate the export order.

◆ China's invasive ventilator has limited production capacity, some spare parts are from abroad and are in short supply, enterprises are negotiating with importers in a market-oriented manner, and the Chinese government has never restricted its exports.

Lie 15: China's foreign aid for anti-epidemic is "aid politics" and "political propaganda".

Facts: China ’s foreign aid for the fight against epidemic disease is a pledge to support the country ’s fight against epidemic disease, and it is also a practical way to practice the concept of a community of human destiny.

◆ China widely shares prevention and control experience, provides medical protection materials to the outside world, and actively dispatches medical teams. As of early May, through the opening of an epidemic prevention and control online knowledge center, the 7th edition of the diagnosis and treatment plan and the 6th edition of the prevention and control plan were published. Set up 2 billion yuan of special funds for anti-epidemic cooperation, and held more than 120 video exchange meetings with more than 160 countries and international organizations. Provided medical material assistance to more than 150 countries and international organizations, and sent 21 medical expert groups to 19 countries. China and Europe established a joint expert group, and China and South Korea established a joint defense and joint control cooperation mechanism. Provide USD 50 million cash donation to WHO. Actively responding to the G20 “Deferred Debt Repayment Initiative for the Poorest Countries” and agreeing to postpone the debt repayment of principal and interest of 77 related developing countries due from May 1 to the end of this year. The international community generally appreciates China's support and support, and believes that China's actions reflect the help of suffering and mutual help, and further highlight the importance of building a community of shared future for mankind.

Lie 16: China has recently requested that exporting masks, testing kits, ventilator and other material enterprises must provide a declaration when they declare to the customs, indicating that China is prohibited from exporting anti-epidemic supplies in disguise.

The truth: The Chinese approach aims to strengthen quality supervision.

◆ The production and supply of epidemic prevention products are related to the safety of people in countries and regions affected by the epidemic situation, and the quality must be strictly controlled.

◆ The Chinese government attaches great importance to the quality and safety of epidemic prevention materials. The relevant departments have stepped up joint remediation efforts and adopted a series of measures to strengthen the quality control of export epidemic prevention materials and regulate the export order. China severely cracked down on counterfeit, shoddy and untrustworthy violations in accordance with law, earnestly guaranteed the quality and safety of exported epidemic prevention materials, and better supported global epidemic prevention and control.

◆ The relevant measures have been effective since the implementation, and the international community has made positive comments. China does not and will not restrict the export of anti-epidemic materials. It is understood that China Customs has taken active measures to speed up customs clearance and further improve the level of convenience under the premise of ensuring the export quality of anti-epidemic materials.
And yes, this is still taken from China. China has debunked all your reasons as if it were planned. Did you pick all the reasons from an anti-Chinese website?

My opponent had failed to prove why Chinese media was wrong. My opponent has failed to prove why the official count is not official and correct. My opponent has failed to answer this question: Why is the official count official if it is not? It is up to my opponent to prove every point above that does not seem rational. I am not the author of this. I merely piece evidence in and disprove people. Because it is Chinese it is wrong? Quit it already. The things above certainly make sense. All the statistics are true. Unless you are still saying that there is a conspiracy and China is still hiding. No evidence, no evidence. There is no evidence that China has been hiding resources, except for US news, which you can't disprove that they may be and might be lying because China is their opponent. 

C2: STORIES IN CHINA
No sources. Either you can't locate it, or it is fabricated in your head. 

Conclusion: I have debunked my opponent's points, and I have brought up a Chinese source that is reliable. I know I may not win this, but I tried by best.