Fang Fang is a professional writer and novelist who chronicles life in Wuhan as the Corona Virus outbreak takes hold of the City and forces 9 million people (including her) into a quarantine that would last 76 days.
Although she is regularly censored and trolled, she gives an authentic critique of the twenty lost days where officials failed to share the severity of the virus while citizens gathered in large crowds across China to celebrate the lunar new year. Her anger is palpable as she lashes out at officials who earlier on said the virus was, “Not contagious between people. It’s controllable and preventable.Those eight words have transformed Wuhan into a city of blood and tears.” She honors the courage and sacrifice of doctors, nurses and volunteers - too many of whom sacrificed their lives. Including Dr. Li Wenliang who was silenced by police for trying to warn people of the deadly virus.

This global pandemic has been tragic, what’s more tragic is the response. “The corona virus is here. And from it’s early phase to its period of expansion and all the way up to the point where it began to get out of control our response has gone from being completely wrong to being delayed to ultimately its current flaw state.” Those were words describing Wuhan. Clearly fitting to describe America today.

China’s experience should’ve been a lesson instead of the disaster we continue to live through. 150,000 Americans dead and no end in sight while a health pandemic has been politicized. Fang Fang also described the secondary disaster the virus caused. Not just those dying and suffering from Covid 19 directly. But the desperation of healthy people whose livelihoods and economic security has taken a hit.

So we know all this. We’ve watched Wuhan and Europe and yet here we are 142 days since March 13th. Unable to do better.
“There is only one test for you: how you treat the weak and vulnerable,” she wrote. True in Wuhan. True everywhere in the world.