COVID-19: Restoring trust deficit in China

The delay of information dissemination when COVID-19 first hit China in December 2019 has led to a loss of social trust in the republic, said Professor Woo Wing Thye.

Professor Woo, who is the Research Professor in Sustainable Development from Sunway University said while the Chinese Communist Party led by Xi Jin Ping took firm action later on, the government needs to boost economic growth, suffering from the impact of COVID-19, to 'redeem itself' among its citizens.

“A very decisive action since mid-February has shown that the (Chinese) government is looking out for the lives of the population and it had redeemed (itself) from the negative image of incompetence at the local levels.

Nonetheless, the initial reaction towards the outbreak had led to a trust deficit.

“It does shake confidence that the lessons learnt in the SARs outbreak were not applied,” he added. “Why were the people picked to be in charge in Wuhan did not react appropriately? It is because they were incompetent or is it because there was something in the system that prevents them from reacting in time.”

Woo is in the view that the Chinese government overreacted to Dr Li Wen Liang, a doctor from Wuhan Central Hospital who tried to issue the first warning about the deadly virus.

The doctor was reprimanded by the Chinese police for spreading ‘false information’. He contracted the virus and died on February 7.

“What in the system that prevented the (local authorities) from reacting in time? The system could be overly paranoid about being undermined by the actions of individuals,” said Woo.


“I can understand why the government would be threatened by the actions of an organised group, but the action of a doctor?” he added.

“There is a lot of anger.”

Woo also added that the Chinese government should now work on restoring trust among its people by focusing on the economy.

“If they are able to bring growth to seven or eight per cent in 2021 and do that for four to five years, think that people would feel that the party, on balance, is good for China.”