Wuhan Isn’t China’s Chernobyl
Comparisons between Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus and the Soviet response to the world’s worst nuclear disaster are tempting, but misguided.
Uncomfortable reminders.
Photographer: STR/AFP via Getty ImagesBoth disasters affected millions of people, well beyond their borders. Both occurred in tightly controlled, socialist, single-party states. Both were initially hushed up by zealous officials.
The similarities between the current outbreak of novel coronavirus and a 1986 reactor meltdown aren’t lost on Chinese netizens, who have drawn unflattering parallels to Chernobyl in online discussions about a 2019 HBO miniseries on the disaster. The political inference is clear: After all, the explosions in reactor No. 4 and the bungled aftermath helped unmuffle public debate and accelerate the decline of the Soviet regime. The comparison is flawed, though. Moscow’s grip was faltering well before radioactive debris rained down. Beijing would still be wise to draw lessons from that catastrophe.