China sees the west ‘as an enemy that must be overcome’

The coronavirus crisis may “be a turning point” for the west to realise China has never stopped its cold war against democratic nations, according to retired British Army officer colonel Richard Kemp. China’s slow response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been criticised by international governments, including Australia and the US. Beijing was accused of playing down the severity of the virus when it emerged in early December 2019, with authorities threatening to throw doctors in Hubei province, who were trying to warn the world, in jail. American intelligence has reportedly claimed China knew about the pathogen as early as October but failed to warn the world, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), about how contagious the disease was until late January. Academic research by the University of Southampton has revealed up to 95 per cent of deaths would not have happened if China and WHO acted earlier. Colonel Kemp said the COVID-19 crisis can be the world’s “9/11 moment.” "9/11 was the turning point in the war against Jihadists. It took 9/11 for the west to come to its senses and fight back,” he said. "China has never stopped its cold war against the west despite the rapprochement that was established by the Americans, by Richard Nixon and so on, they continued to see the west, and in particular the United States of America, as an enemy to be overcome. "We, on the other hand, stopped fighting and I think the coronavirus and what we are seeing now about China... people are finally of waking up to the reality that we have to find a way to fight back against this brutal communist power."

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