The Chinese Communist Party’s continued insistence on its “zero-COVID” strategy to tackle local outbreaks is not so much about science, but rather the choice of its top leader Xi Jinping, who ties the success of the strategy to his own greatness, according to Jeffrey A. Tucker, president of Texas-based think tank the Brownstone Institute.
“Xi Jinping made a profound error in believing that his prowess and the personality cult that surrounds him was capable of taking on the greatest challenge in the history of humanity,” Tucker recently told EpochTV’s “China Insider” program.
On Jan. 23, 2020, Xi put Wuhan, a city of 11 million people where initial infection cases were reported, under a harsh lockdown. Tucker said the initial positive reactions from around the world to the Wuhan lockdown had gotten to Xi’s head, possibly making him “flush with pride” about his achievement in apparently preventing the spread of COVID-19.
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