>In the overall big picture of events, the lack of free speech and assembly in China allowed a containable outbreak to become the largest worldwide pandemic in 100 years.

Lack of free speech is not the reason why this pandemic spread. The proof is in the United States. The United States "freedoms" including speech has allowed it to be #1 in covid-19 cases.

Additionally, I'm not even sure how your misguided reasoning works... Patient Zero has a disease, he covertly spreads it to 3 people who in turn also covertly spread it 3 people, the cycle continues... Where in this scenario of compounding growth does free speech stop a disease from being covertly spread?

Also China isn't stupid. They aren't North Korea. When there's a real problem in China they won't clamp down on the information and release propaganda that is completely ludicrous. In fact if covid-19 was still killing tons of people in China and the Chinese media was hiding it, the US would know because Chinese citizens have the freedom to talk to the press outside of their borders. Word gets out.

Either way, the US and US public was informed about the impending problem WELL before it arrived at our borders, we failed to take action for various reasons including the fact that we didn't need to do such a thing for SARS or ebola.... Everyone is still learning about covid.

>Again, because of the lack of free speech and press in China, the only proof of what you allege publicized through CCP approved media.

The CCP is not that powerful. Nor does their desire to preserve their own image become so ludicrous that they'll outright lie about the pandemic dying down for no reason. Your image of China is twisted. Yes they are authoritarian, yes they are fallible to human weaknesses, no they are not stupid, no they are not North Korea, and no they are not evil incarnate.

>That doesn't make authoritarianism something to be celebrated, that makes it something the CCP should be embarrassed of.

This statement is where the controversy lies. Do you want to be embarrassed about authoritarianism or are you more embarrassed about all the deaths occurring in the United States despite superior medical knowledge?

In New York City I read a story about a nurse in tears because she had to remove a respirator from an older patient to give a chance to a younger patient to live. They are choosing who lives and who dies in NYC because they don't have enough respirators.

The counterpart story in China was they built an entire hospital in a week to handle the crisis and now the hospital is mostly empty because the crisis is dying down.

It's kind of embarrassing that China wasted resources on building a hospital that is now empty. But you know what's more embarrassing? The fact that my own country can't build enough respirators and as a result a nurse has to choose between killing an older patient or a younger patient because some people have the freedom not to wear masks.

Take a look at this video and tell me which country should be embarrassed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f6-MDhygWc

Like literally every country is looking at the US and shaking their heads. This isn't just my opinion... it's an obvious fact and if you can't see this, then you're lying to yourself.

Freedom has a price, and we are paying that price right now with deaths and "embarrassment."