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New Delhi, India
The coronavirus pandemic has shaken not only our ways of life, but also our faith in governments and civic bodies based on their response to the pandemic. China, from where the virus originated, has remained in the direct line of fire. With reports of China hiding the severity of the pandemic, and informing the world of its intensity after all hell broke loose has already dented the Communist countryâs international persona.
Now, a survey of 26,000 across 25 countries conducted by YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project, in partnership with The Guardian has shed light on the public perception of all things China, while the pandemic rages.
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The largest survey of public opinion so far, it takes into account Chinaâs response to the pandemic, and how the countryâs leaders left no stone unturned to pin their shortcomings on external factors, going as far as peddling a conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was made by the US military.
The poll found that most people would get behind the idea of a US-led coalition against China, and its excesses.
Across the 25 countries (excluding China), people mostly agreed that the virus emanated from China. 98 per cent Nigerian respondents claimed that they were sure of the virus coming from China, followed by Greece and South Africa (97 per cent), and Spain with 96 per cent.
Among countries with the lowest belief in the origins of coronavirus from China were Saudi Arabia (with 83 per cent) and the United States (84 per cent).
Naturally, only 52 per cent Chinese respondents believed that the virus emerged from their country. Additionally, 12 per cent Chinese respondents claimed they do not know about the origins of the coronavirus. A third of these respondents believed that the virus was first detected in the United States.
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In terms of the transparency exhibited by Chinese regime, the majority across all countries believe that China did not show transparency when the virus first emerged in China towards the end of 2019.
In the United Kingdom, four out of five respondents believed that China hid the truth. In Japan, 84 per cent shared the same belief, closest followed by Spain, where 82 per cent respondents believed that China tried to hide the truth.
Reports emerged of China vilifying and punishing doctors that attempted to make information about the pandemic public early on. In response to this, majorities across European countries, with Greece being an exception believed that China âdefinitelyâ or âprobablyâ tried to punish doctors.
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In Great Britain, 67 per cent respondents believed that Chinaâs response disrupted the global response to the pandemic, and that the Chinese government could have prevented its spread had it responded quickly.
Globally, there emerged no clear winner in terms of the single country that may have shown the most leadership during the crisis.
But in China, nine out of ten respondents believed that China had exhibited global leadership.
In Europe, Chinaâs image is grim: Only 1 per cent Swedes praised China, same as the UK, followed by 2 per cent in Germany and Australia, and 3 per cent in Japan.