THE PANIC EPIDEMIC

In this piece for the NYT’s Sunday Review, I try to explain (with a bit of humor) why the government has implemented a sometimes absurd series of restrictions.

My conclusion is that the government has to resort to big, showy measures because it has to be seen to do something dramatic–this is what the population expects of it, and it’s only draconian measures that can convince the public that enough is being done. To a degree this is a universal theme in politics but I think it’s more pronounced here in China, and in this piece I explain why. 

To read it in Chinese, please click here.