“Right of Death and Power over Life” during COVID in China
How has surveillance during Covid helped the government consolidate power in China?
“Regardless of your topic, include a theory or theorist that you believe will help you in your analysis (this may change later). This does not mean you will use
all aspects of the theory; rather you will choose concepts that you wish to employ or explore
Sample Solution
For authoritarian-minded leaders, the coronavirus crisis is offering a convenient pretext to silence critics and consolidate power. Censorship in China and elsewhere has fed the pandemic, helping to turn a potentially containable threat into a global calamity. The health crisis will inevitably subside, but autocratic governments` dangerous expansion of power may be one of the pandemic`s most enduring legacies. In times of crisis, people`s health depends at minimum on free access to timely, accurate information. The Chinese government illustrated disastrous consequence of ignoring that reality. China is expelling journalists from several leading US publications, including those that have produced incisive reporting. When independent media is silenced, governments are able to promote self-serving propaganda rather than facts.
