Speech shows leader’s early involvement in the outbreak’s response.
BEIJING — A recent speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping that has been published by state media indicates for the first time that he was leading the response to a new virus outbreak from early on in the crisis.
The publication of the Feb. 3 speech was an apparent attempt to demonstrate that the Communist Party leadership had acted decisively from the beginning, but also opens up the Chinese leader to criticism over why the public was not alerted sooner.
In the speech, Xi said he gave instructions on fighting the virus on Jan. 7 and ordered the shutdown that began on Jan. 23 of cities at the epicenter of the outbreak. His remarks were published by state media late Saturday.
“On Jan. 22, in light of the epidemic’s rapid spread and the challenges of prevention and control, I made a clear request that Hubei province implement comprehensive and stringent controls over the outflow of people,” Xi told a meeting of the party’s standing committee, its top body.
Taiwan on Sunday reported its first death from the virus, the fifth fatality outside of mainland China. The island also confirmed two new cases, raising its total to 20.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that the person who died was a man in his 60s living in central Taiwan. He had not traveled overseas recently and had no known contact with virus patients, CNA said, citing Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shihchung.
In all, more than 71,300 people have been infected worldwide, and at least 1,775 have died. More than 10,900 people have recovered from COVID19, a disease caused by a new coronavirus, and have been discharged from hospitals.
Xi’s role was muted in the early days of the epidemic, which has grown into one of the biggest political challenges of his sevenyear tenure.
The disclosure of his speech indicates top leaders knew about the outbreak’s potential severity at least two weeks before such dangers were made known to the public. It was not until late January that officials said the virus can spread between humans and public alarm began to rise.
Authorities in Hubei and Wuhan faced public fury over their initial handling of the epidemic. In apparent response, the Communist Party’s top officials in Hubei and Wuhan were dismissed and replaced last week.