China Advises on COVID-19: "Insufficient Control in South Korea and Other Countries"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi]#. Late at night on the 23rd, a message came through the Chinese mobile messenger WeChat from a Chinese acquaintance. It was a screenshot of a Korean news broadcast from the 22nd showing statistics: '346 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 17 recovered, 5,481 under testing.' The message also included a concerned note saying, "(South Korea's) situation is serious."

China is closely monitoring the recent sharp increase in COVID-19 infections in South Korea. Many Chinese media outlets, including the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily and China Central Television (CCTV), have reported with concern the news that South Korea decided to raise its crisis alert to the highest level, "serious," along with the rapid rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases. On Chinese social media platform Weibo, the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea has even appeared as a trending search term.

The state-run Global Times, in its editorial on the 24th, did not directly single out South Korea but mentioned that the trend of COVID-19 spreading in many countries including South Korea and Japan is serious, criticizing the inadequate virus response in some countries.

In the editorial titled "Some countries are slow in virus response," the newspaper identified Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Italy as the four countries most affected outside China, and assessed that the situations in these countries are not mild compared to regions outside Hubei Province in China.

It further pointed out, "There are concerns that the COVID-19 prevention and control measures in these countries may be insufficient. There is a possibility that the epidemic is not being fully monitored," and emphasized, "We hope each country does not repeat Wuhan's mistakes. Countries where the situation is already serious need to take more resolute measures."

The editorial advised that instead of passively chasing the virus, proactive blocking before its spread is necessary, and that many countries should refer to China's experience.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, was more blunt about South Korea's infection spread on his Twitter account. He said, "It is worrisome that Wuhan's mistakes are being repeated in other countries. From a Chinese perspective, South Korea's situation looks very serious. South Korea's response is slow," he criticized.