In Chinese culture, a dragon is regarded as a righteous creature, seen as an all-powerful being that offers wisdom and protection to its people. But in the prevailing culture today, such a dragon seems to have abdicated its role, as seen in the present rulers’ reaction to a simple request from WHO for data on the coronavirus in the country. Their response is not their national privilege. It is a matter of concern for the whole world.
In the absence of critical data on the impact of the pandemic, it would not be possible to take timely measures to control the spread of new variants that might have emerged in China and are likely to escape the normal tests on travellers from China imposed by India and several other countries.
Though the Chinese government has since disclosed an apparently credible account of the number of deaths due to COVID-19, the monumental failure of its policy and implementation calls for analysis, if only to pinpoint the....
