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BEIJING: China has passed “a historic and extraordinary test” with its handling of the coronavirus, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday (September 8) at a triumphant awards ceremony for medical professionals decorated with cornet voices and applause.
The nation’s propaganda machine has praised China’s response to COVID-19, reframing the public health crisis as an example of the agility and organization of the communist leadership.
Xi handed out gold medals to four “heroes” of the medical field in front of hundreds of applauding delegates on Tuesday, all wearing face masks and surprisingly large red flower pins.
“We have passed an extraordinary and historic test,” Xi said, praising the country for a “heroic fight” against the disease.
“We quickly achieved initial success in the people’s war against coronavirus. We are leading the world in economic recovery and in the fight against COVID-19.”
China has come under intense global scrutiny for its response to the virus, and the United States and Australia have led accusations against Beijing that it covered up the origins and severity of the virus.
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Tuesday’s lavish ceremony in the Great Hall of the People began with a minute of silence for those who lost their lives during the outbreak.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (center) at a meeting to praise role models in China’s fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 8, 2020 ( Photo: Reuters).
The four winners included Zhong Nanshan, 83, the country’s most famous medical expert who emerged as the face of China’s fight against contagion.
Xi presented him with China’s highest national medal and placed it around Zhong’s neck.
“We will join with the … medical workers of the world to continue the fight to trace the origins of the virus,” Zhong said.
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Beijing has insisted the source of the virus, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, is still unknown.
Three others received the honorary title of “The Hero of the People”: biochemist Chen Wei, the director of a hospital in Wuhan, and a 72-year-old traditional Chinese medicine expert.
Some delegates wept during a series of speeches.
However, the whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who was one of the first to be silenced for raising the alarm about the outbreak, and later died from the disease, was not mentioned.
Before the ceremony, state broadcaster CCTV showed a video montage of Wuhan at the peak of the outbreak with rousing music, including images of medical personnel in hazmat suits and crowded hospitals.
According to official figures, there have been 4,634 deaths in China from COVID-19. The government has largely contained the outbreak through a series of strict closures and travel restrictions.
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