N. Vavilov "The epidemic in China as a hidden coup" HD

Nikolay Vavilov, a famous Russian expert on China and specialist on Chinese domestic politics. nnvavilov@gmail.com www.t.me/shuohuaxia www.south-insight.com Nikolay Vavilov, a famous Russian expert on China and specialist on Chinese domestic politics. TV Host: Nikolay, these days the entire global mass media is literally intently covering the coronavirus epidemic, which began spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan. You were in Wuhan, you know the authorities in Wuhan, you are also one of the biggest experts on China in Russia, could you talk about what is really happening in China? Nikolay Vavilov: I’ll start first by touching on the recent, unexpected political events in Russia. In Russia, the most important news is the resignation of the government of the former president of Russia, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who had close relations with the U.S. Democratic Party and in particular with President Barack Obama. I’m starting from these events because nobody has looked at the virus problem from this perspective. Today in China, the political situation is extremely aggravated. In March this year, a special session of the Chinese parliament, which consists of regional leaders of China, will be held. Now there is a rotation of all regional authorities in China - all mayors, governors, all party leaders of the Communist Party, and in March there will be a session of the entire Chinese parliament, after all the changes have been finalized. 1.23 And in this light, the virus and the epidemic are of a completely different nature. The epidemic and actions of the authorities receive a different political tint. There are no conspiracy theories here, it’s simply an open policy. I am a professional Sinologist. I have been working in China for 20 years, of which 10 years from 2006 to 2016 I lived in the epicenter of epidemics - Hong Kong and Guangdong, and even got sick: sneezed, coughed, wore a mask, took Chinese pills, but as you can see, I am alive and well. 2.23 However, what is happening in China now - the city of Wuhan is closed, which is a river, air, road, and rail hub. As a result, transportation in the whole country is down. Winter transportation fell by 40%. Wuhan is China’s largest transportation hub, comparable to Moscow in Russia. What would happen now if we closed Moscow just because 100 people were sneezing? We see what a setback it is to the country's transport system. The authorities' measures are not proportional with the scale of the threat. Indeed, the virus is spreading faster than during the ordinary flu. However, the number of deaths in China is comparable to the number of people who have recovered, but the press mainly disseminates data on fatalities, which causes a panic. We see Wuhan is closed, Huanggang is closed, Hubei province is almost completely closed, and the cities of Suzhou and Wenzhou are closing and prolonging their holidays. The Beijing Transport Committee actually closes road transport, the head of