On Hegemonic Narratives, and the Facts regarding China’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a multi-dimensional crisis that encompasses both the realm of public health and political economy. The divergences in the public health and economic policy responses among countries have resulted in an unleashing of a propaganda war. This paper is concerned with hegemonic narratives advocated by the mainstream media about China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the facts thereof. After examining in broad outline the temporal trajectory of the public health response in China and its underlying factors, the paper goes on to critically examine some contentious issues concerning the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China that have been highlighted in the hegemonic narrative in the propaganda war over the COVID-19 pandemic. It is submitted that the divergence in the public health response of different countries is intimately related to the varied state of the neoliberal project therein. The paper concludes with a brief engagement with the political economy of the hegemonic narrative in the propaganda war.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions in a generalized model of interactive dynamics between COVID-19 and the economy

“…When the outbreak of COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan and other cities of the Hubei province in China, the government responded to it with an effective lockdown (in the form of restrictions on travel and economic activities) in the centers of outbreak of the epidemic, in an effort to quarantine the affected areas [ 34 ]. WHO described this lockdown as “unprecedented in public health history” [ 7 ].…”

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in a Generalized Model of Interactive Dynamics Between COVID-19 and The Economy

“…When the outbreak of COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan and other cities of the Hubei province in China, the government responded to it with an effective lockdown (in the form of restrictions on travel and economic activities) in the centers of outbreak of the epidemic, in an effort to quarantine the affected areas (Saratchand and Kaur 2020). WHO described this lockdown as "unprecedented in public health history" (Crossley and Williams 2020).…”

Farkli Covi̇d-19 Pandemi̇ Yöneti̇mi̇ Modelleri̇ Ve Modelleri̇n Uluslararasi Kabulleri̇: Çi̇n Ve Güney Kore Örnekleri̇

“…Cai et al (2020) examined China's response to the shock created by Covid-19 by constructing an analytical framework of a campaign-style governance regime to understand the Chinese-style response to the pandemic. Saratchand and Kaur (2021) studied the propaganda campaign and hegemonic narratives of Chinese mainstream media about the country's response to the health crisis. Macheda (2021) examined the structural roots of China's effective response to the pandemic and claimed that the Chinese state's presence in the banking and industrial sectors helped the government to produce the necessary equipment in its fight against the virus.…”