The Cost of Europe Bowing to China’s Disinformation and Pressure

Overcoming the coronavirus pandemic is also about the EU defending its own principles of transparency and truthfulness, both of which China is aggressively challenging.

 
It’s not easy being a Western diplomat in Beijing these days. It’s not just because of the restrictions imposed by the Chinese communist authorities to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Ever since the virus broke out in Wuhan back in December 2019—which for some weeks was covered up by the authorities—Beijing has gone on a massive campaign of disinformation and intimidation.

It is targeting Western embassies based in China. It is targeting any democratic government that dares call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the new coronavirus. It is targeting any organization that dares to challenge China’s narrative about a virus that has already killed over 211,000 people worldwide as of April 28, 2020.

When Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, recently called for such an investigation, China threatened to retaliate by banning the import of wine and other products.

When the European External Action Service (EEAS) was putting the finishing touches to a report about how Russia and China are stepping up their disinformation campaigns throughout Europe, Beijing piled on the pressure on some of its diplomats. The report was released but watered down in parts, according to Politico Europe, which broke the story.

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Πηγή: carnegieeurope.eu