Support For China Falls Dramatically In European, Indian Polls

Authored by Lawrence Kadish via The Gatestone Institute,

A soon to be released international survey finds that when the COVID-19 virus finally burns itself out its biggest victim may be the very country that launched the pandemic – China.

Bluster, bullying, and propaganda launched by China’s leadership to subdue international criticism of their handling of COVID-19 is only stoking the anger among nations as diverse as the U.K., Germany and India, according to data revealed during a comprehensive poll conducted by the firm McLaughlin & Associates.

They may not embrace the White House on any given issue but when it comes to China, a large and significant number of those polled in this global COVID-19 survey would now support economic sanctions, confronting China’s strategy to achieve global dominance by controlling worldwide access to technology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and more.

What can only be described as a diplomatic earthquake is the emerging political fault line along China’s southern border with India.

The McLaughlin poll found that a majority of voters in the world’s largest democracy, some 54%, believe China hid key COVID-19 details, resulting in more damage by the pandemic, and 78% believe China knowingly kept data from the international community.

And it gets worse for Beijing. As many as 85% of Indian voters believe China should be held accountable with 88% approving of an investigation of not just China but the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding what did they know and when did they know it.

More than three time zones away, in Germany, a significant majority, 69% of voters polled, say China has not been open or honest about COVID-19, and more than a third say there is little doubt China hid key details regarding its origins or spread. In the U.K. seven out of 10 voters, or 68%, say China kept data about the virus from the world.

In Germany, 61% of the voters believe China should be held accountable while in the U.K., 81% of those voters polled said the Chinese government should be held accountable with 20% of those United Kingdom respondents suggesting one response should be lawsuits by families impacted by COVID-19.

Some 26% proposed diplomatic actions, and 38% believe economic actions would be the best response.

When asked whether they would support changes in diplomatic and economic relations with China if it was revealed that that regime withheld information, more than half of the Germans polled, 54%, said yes.

A stunning 80% said their nation needs to end its dependence on China and 71% believe Germany should withdraw manufacturing investments. In the UK 74% of the respondents were prepared to change their relationship with China following COVID-19.

The only good news for a China intent on diminishing America’s role as a 21st century superpower is that a majority of those surveyed abroad believe China’s COVID-19 induced economic tremor has impacted America’s global leadership, a goal the Chinese dare not accomplish through military means, no matter how many additional nuclear weapons they seek to place in their growing arsenal.

That response reflects a tacit acknowledgment that China’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, whether deliberate or otherwise, has allowed it to win a public perception battle without firing a shot.

It also reveals what the White House already knows; this is a defining moment for China, its relationship with the United States, and those nations the Chinese intend to place under their economic thumb.

This poll will compel Beijing to consider a stark truth. Their offer of billions in health aid to those nations suffering from COVID-19, coupled with an extensive media/diplomatic blitz that threatens those brave enough to question their actions, is a complete failure.

In fact, the global survey documents a rising awareness of the existential threat from a China that has not only infected the world but seeks to hold the keys to the medical and economic remedies our world needs.

We will recover from COVID-19. Our nation has withstood far worse.

What America needs now is to hear these overseas voices of outrage over China’s treachery and respond with the bipartisan political will to confront the real danger: a regime that will use the chaos of COVID-19 to acclerate their strategy of dominating the 21st century as the world’s sole superpower.

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The full poll results for the Kadish article on our European and Indian polls are found here.