On the occasion of an elaborate awards ceremony today for those who played an outstanding role in the fight to overcome the COVID-19 epidemic in the epicenter of China’s outbreak, in Wuhan and Hubei province, President Xi Jinping delivered a major speech, clearly rallying the nation for the strategic battles ahead, by tapping into the “Wuhan spirit” that inspired the nation’s success against the epidemic.
Among those awarded was Dr. Zhong Nanshan, China’s 84-year-old respiratory specialist who took the lead in the medical fight against the epidemic. Dr. Zhong received the country’s highest award, the Medal of the Republic, which he modestly said he was doing on behalf of all the medical workers mobilized during the epidemic. Among the thousands gathered in the Great Hall of the People for this occasion, were many of these medical workers, who bore on their persons a large red rose to indicate their contributions.
President Xi honored the Chinese people’s unity and discipline in overcoming the coronavirus, being the first nation to do so, and the first nation to seriously and safely begin to reopen its economy. But at the same time, his speech was a call to arms to face coming “complexities and risks.” While there was no direct mention of the attempts by Pompeo and Co. to stigmatize China or of the general drumbeat coming out of Washington attacking the Chinese Communist Party, everyone was aware of what he was addressing. “China can stand proud before the world. We are all proud to be Chinese!” he proclaimed.
