By Joseph M. Bianchi

It has been over a year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. It has had a devastating effect on the world at large, and dealt a profound blow to the population right here in the US.  Well over 500,000 Americans have succumbed to the disease, and although cases and hospitalizations seem to be slowing, its deadly hand is still on many Americans.

In the midst of all this has been the controversy as to how said virus escaped from a Wuhan, China laboratory.  Was it purely incompetence?  Was it a lack of safety precautions?  Or, worst case, was it released intentionally to devastate world populations and economies so that China could move its chess pieces closer to world domination?

Putting aside the exact reason, it is most clear that this pandemic came from China, and, at least at the beginning of the whole scenario, China hid or lied about the nature of the virus and the number of people who fell ill in Wuhan.

The COVID virus has manifested itself in just about every country in the world.  But so has China’s economy; it is a juggernaut that has impacted goods and services across the globe.  China has been extremely active in spreading the gospel of the Chinese Communist Party.  But the problem is that many countries are so economically tied to China’s economy, that when China does something untoward, in this case a disease that has killed millions, there does not seem to be any consequences. 

Reason:  It’s all about the money.

One of the most shocking and concerning situations is that China makes most of America’s antibiotics, NSAIDS (non-steroid pain killers), and a host of other medical products and devices.

American industry is solidly in bed with the Chinese economy also.  China owns large companies right here in the States.  Lenovo computers are the progeny of PC’s that IBM once produced.  A Chinese company now owns what was once GE appliances.  And on it goes.

This would be bad enough, but for years China has been hijacking American intellectual property. Movies, music and books have been reproduced with nary a royalty or residual.  What’s more, through espionage, they have garnered a treasure trove of American technology.  Because of this, the Chinese military has made quantum leaps in its progress to catch up to the US and its allies in weapons manufacture.

However, there is more to the China problem than simply goods and services.

The Chinese Communist leaders rule with an iron fist—of this there is no doubt.  For years they have been persecuting dissenters harshly with prison, torture—and worse.  They have suppressed Christianity within the country, although the growth of the Christian faith within their borders has been exponential.

Now, an even more ominous event is taking place:  the planned and systematic persecution of the Ughyur minority group, complete with “re-education camps.”  Ughyurs have been summarily rounded up, and shipped off to these camps, many to never be seen again.

And what are the consequences for all of the aforementioned in this article?

Essentially, nothing.

The world community, including the US, may occasionally give a token finger wagging, but certainly is afraid to do anything significant because, after all, we are joined at the hip economically.

One has to seriously wonder what the US and the world would do if China, after creating islands as well as occupying the Spratly chain in the South China Sea, decides to close off this shipping route, through which almost 60% of the world’s seaborne trade passes.

Will we simply huff and puff, and stamp our feet?  Or, will something much more severe be implemented?

Yes, in this very dangerous world, we would all like to get along.  We would like to co-exist peacefully.

Yet, many of us remember our neighborhood bully, who, when unrestrained, simply had his or her way, instilling fear for our property and physical safety.  We rejoiced when someone finally had the courage to step in and give them a good whooping—and the threats ceased.

On the world stage, China is now the big bully.  We have yet, however, to identify who will be the responsible party to say, “Enough!”—and diminish a global threat that, so far, has also been unrestrained.

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Joseph M Bianchi is an independent journalist and columnist based in Greenville, South Carolina.  His work has appeared in national and international publications.

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