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The China Syndrome Part I: Outbreak

Bureaucratic inertia and incompetence are plentiful in China, and not just among local officials, even though apparatchiks in Beijing frequently use them as scapegoats for their own corruption.

· 30 min read
The China Syndrome Part I: Outbreak
Taken on January 30, 2020 shows officials in protective suits gathered on a street after an elderly man wearing a facemask (not pictured) collapsed and died on the pavement near a hospital in Wuhan. – AFP journalists saw the body on January 30, not long before an emergency vehicle arrived carrying police and medical staff in full-body protective suits. The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported on January 31 the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

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