Chinese Students Reflect on the Pandemic

              In order to help prepare my writing class for either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) I spent one lesson on strategies for writing timed essay questions.  I gave them the following prompt: 

“Some people think that public health is a responsibility of the government while others think that people should be responsible for their own health.

Discuss both sides and give your opinion.  Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.”

The class is composed of 37 third year English minors at Xi’an Jiao Tong University.  Their majors range from mechanical engineering and clinical medicine to economic statistics and sociology.  They are minoring in English in order to read professional journals, communicate with foreign scholars and study or work abroad.  Naturally, since we are living through the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the students wrote about it to illustrate their points. 

The students are, in general, very supportive of the government’s role in containing the epidemic. However, one, who was in Wuhan in January at the time of virus outbreak, criticizes the local Wuhan government for its initial lack luster response.  Two mention how the infection spiraled out of control in Italy, where there was apparently lack of organization to control the spread of the virus.  Virtually all of them argue that we must work together in a national crisis.  The government may take the lead, but everyone must do their part.

Read their arguments regarding the balance of responsibilities of government and individuals in public health.  Enjoy their powerful, personal images of what it has been like to live through the COVID-19 pandemic.  See how they are genuinely puzzled and upset when individuals appear to act against government mandates for infection control. 

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Shell was in Wuhan, the pandemic epicenter, in January 2020, at the outbreak of crisis.  She criticizes the local Wuhan government for attempting a cover-up in its earliest days.  She was stunned that many locals were not wearing the obligatory surgical masks. 

“Some people think public health is a responsibility of the government. Public health has a great definition; it is concerned with preventing and monitoring disease. For example, when this new pneumonia virus came out, Wuhan's medical center should have sent a warning to increase public's vigilance. Instead, they chose to hide this message in order not to arouse the public's panic. Though our national government took swift measures after the situation became worse, many people died because of this lack of safeguard procedures. What a pity! I believe if Wuhan's government told people to wear a mask and wash hands cleanly, there would not be that many infected persons. Therefore, governments should take responsibility for public health because of their duties to protect their countries' people.

Others think we should take responsibility for our own health. Of course, this argument makes sense to some extent. On the 15th of January this year, my friend and I took a tour to Wuhan. At that time, the public still does not attach importance to this new pneumonia virus. When we arrived in Wuhan, nearly nobody wore a mask, while my friend and I were more vigilant against this new virus. We wore a mask every time except when we ate and returned to our hotel. We lost many chances to enjoy the local delicious food because we worried about the safety of operations. I think our prevention measures helped us stay away from the virus. That's why we should take responsibility for our own health when the government fails in its duty. We need to put our own health  first.” (Shell)

Abel’s essay, entitled, “Public Health is a Responsibility of the Government” makes his position clear.  He writes:

“When humankinds met with pandemics through history, they were all but weak facing fierce germs and virus. Every life seems brittle in a catastrophe. As a person is too weak to handle acute disease, the government should take measures to prevent people from death.” (Abel)

Demian points out that although he believes that China’s strong government approach to COVID-19 was the correct one, he diplomatically says that there is no single correct answer. 

“Different from western liberalism, most Chinese believe in  government interventionism because of diverging ideology. I think different countries can choose different strategies according to their situation on this issue.” (Demian)

Xavier, on the other hand, argues that China’s approach to COVID-19 was clearly superior to Italy’s.  

“When the health problem rises to the public level, we can see that the central position of the government is more and more obvious. Public health emergencies best reflect the efficiency of the country's machinery. Take this year's new corona virus. At the time of the outbreak, the Chinese government quickly implemented many emergency compulsory measures. Individuals are surely not able to seal the city, seal the road, and trace the origin of every patient. Up to now, the spread of new corona virus has been preliminarily controlled in China. Regrettably, the outbreak is now global. In Italy, for example, the overburdened medical system and the government with low control have led to a very serious epidemic in Italy. The supermarket has sold out of supplies and food. Masks and medical equipment are in short supply, which leads to more and more people dying without proper treatment. The vicious circle has been weakening the authority of the government. There are many other countries where the situation is worse. (Xavier)

Fundamental to Xavier’s argument is the idea that “people believe in government.”

 

              Daisy’s essay is more openly patriotic:  she feels individuals must do their part, but she is proud of China’s organized, thoughtful leadership. 

“I am very proud of my motherland; not only for she is brave, but also for she is strong enough. She has stood the test of the virus.   Although Spring festival is a traditional and important festival to Chinese, every person in China gives up their celebrations and stays at home to prevent the spread of disease when the government urges. Now my motherland controls the spread of disease to some extent. I think today’s achievement is the party’s correct leadership and unity of the people that allows the country to get through this hardship.” (Daisy)

Some students raised specific questions about individuals who seemed at odds with infection control.  They were genuinely puzzled how someone could go against government orders and endanger the population.    Jora is impressed with how the government handled the crisis in her hometown.  She goes on to comment on a woman who defies doctor’s orders, leaves the hospital, thereby potentially infecting others. 

“Sadly, there are still some unlucky people, such as an old lady who has been confirmed infected by news reports. She escaped to home from the hospital by taxi and bus, but without a mask. I don’t understand why she's doing this. Is it just the fear of death? If so, she should stay in the hospital and be actively treated. I think people should be responsible for their own health, for themselves and for others.” (Jora)

Jackie also couldn’t understand apparently irresponsible behavior of certain citizens in the face of the public health crisis. 

“Consider the man who realized he might be infected with corona virus. He still went to work and lived with his family. He can be sentenced into jail for his crimes against public safety. In this way, it seems that people should be responsible for public health.” (Jackie)

Jon has a kind of “sliding scale” approach to addressing how much the government needs to be involved in a public health crisis.  The bigger the crisis, the bigger the role for government. 

“In my opinion, whether the responsibility is the government’s or the peoples’ depends on how serious the threat to people’s health is. Although the government should care about every citizen when it can, in most cases it serves the majority. When the majority of its people’s health are in danger, it should step forward and take actions.

In all, people are responsible for their own health while the government is responsible for all its people. Maybe the government cannot deal with all threats to people’s health, it should do what it could when the majority need it to.” (Jon)

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My students are science and social science students.  They have an outstanding work ethic and seem to enjoy solving complicated problems.  They have a thoughtful, balanced approach to evaluating the role of government and individuals and their respective responsibilities in protecting public health.    Their collective assessment is that they want to see government take the lead in big public health crises like COVID-19, but also want individuals to do their part to support society’s effort to reduce the danger and spread of infection. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if this crisis spurred students across national borders to do the same? Organisms evolve; new infections will emerge.   Join me and my students and imagine governments and individuals working together to protect human lives.  In this spring of sadness, we need to think of ways we can learn to trust and cooperate with each other.  The spirit of this season – whether it is Easter, Passover or Xing Ming festival-- is growth and renewal.  Let’s come together.  What could be more important for the survival of the human race?