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Beijing is trying to redraw the image of Wuhan as a victim who heroically faced the emerging corona virus, not its source, at a time when the world’s trust in China is waning.
The public relations campaign is reflected in daily statements by Chinese officials and extensive official media coverage promoting the “reborn” Wuhan and praising China’s efforts to control the epidemic and economic recovery, at a time when The United States is struggling to contain it.
The campaign reached its climax last week when Chinese elementary schools welcomed students amid great fanfare, and Wuhan also hosted executives from dozens of multinational companies, on an organized tour of central China.
“There are few places in the world today that do not need to wear a muzzle while inside, and where it is possible to meet,” Chinese official Lin Songtian told executives, noting that Wuhan is one such place.
“This is a testament to Wuhan’s victory over the virus and that (the city) has resumed its activities,” he added.
However, this version of the novel does not indicate that a market in Wuhan sold live wild animals for food, which was the likely epicenter of the epidemic late last year.
On August 28, the Chinese foreign minister proposed during a trip to Europe the hypothesis that the virus might not have started in China.
The motive behind the reverse narrative.
The motivation to polish Wuhan’s image shows that China is aware of the damage Covid-19 has inflicted on its reputation and wants to benefit from its relatively successful recovery to meet mounting international challenges, analysts said.
China is facing criticism from abroad over the virus and Wuhan officials are accused of trying to hide the spread of the virus. In addition, international complaints of Beijing’s tightening of Hong Kong, amid a more aggressive international position in general.
“Beijing wants the story to look like this: we have dealt with the epidemic and we can help it deal with it and (hope) to be the first to produce an effective vaccine,” said Eurasia Group analyst Kelsey Broderick.
The tour in Wuhan, which lasted three days and ended on Saturday, included foreign media.
It included a performance by elementary school students performing traditional Chinese opera and ballet, a tour of a food market that was restored and presented as a model for hygiene and health safety, as well as a cruise along the banks of the Yangtze River under a glittering horizon with huge light shows indicating virus recovery.
The city of 11 million inhabitants and which endured the worst part (more than 80 percent) of the total deaths resulting from Covid-19 in China, which reached 4,634, has come a long way since the first days of the epidemic that he forced it into a total blockade that lasted for weeks and turned it into a Dead City.
No local infection was reported for months, traffic jams have returned, shoppers crowd the malls, and al fresco diners huddle to eat the city’s spicy lobster dish.
The masks are relaxed on the neck or completely abandoned.
The growing confidence in victory over the epidemic was evident when thousands of people gathered in a swimming pool in Wuhan last month without masks, prompting external accusations of recklessness after the release of images from the event.
China responded by saying that this event indicates the country’s success in curbing the spread of the emerging coronavirus.
“What are the potential risks? I think Wuhan is now completely safe,” Qi Eiliang, a worker at a Wuhan plant, told AFP.
Winter is coming
Not all Wuhan residents are blessed with this positivity. Many city dwellers express continued concern that they have not been completely eliminated from the epidemic and fear of further outbreaks.
“The economy is down. Even the benefit of coming to work is questionable,” said Yi Chenhua, 51, who sells tofu from his stall in the Wuhan market.
The tofu blocks are ordered by shape and size, but there are few customers, Yi said, explaining that its sales are only half the level of what it was selling before the epidemic.
This is a common complaint in Wuhan, where many traders or stalls blame the constant fear of going out into public places and the perception that the millions who fled the city at the beginning of the outbreak have yet to return.
Memories of a resurgence of the virus outbreak in May are still fresh, as it sparked a city-wide effort to test millions.
“Everyone fears the return of the epidemic, as you know, summer is over and winter is coming,” Yi said, adding: “We have recovered a bit. But if the virus returns, we will be affected again.”
