In my conversations with Chinese friends in Shanghai, when we talked about types of governments, the Chinese often characterized modern American politics as a negative example and asked about "the failures of democracy." The Chinese were proud of their government's ability to govern and shape policy that held steady for long periods of time.
I would always respond that I was happy and proud to have been born into and raised on Israeli democracy, with the liberty and freedom of expression we are blessed to have. I tried to present the positive: the creativity and the "right to choose." However, sometimes I would start to wonder about our system's bureaucratic failures. I asked myself what we could learn from a functioning bureaucracy without being in any way under the burden of a non-democratic regime.
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When we landed in Israel last week, a representative of the Health Ministry boarded the plane and that because of "the raging corona virus," we would have to fill out an application to enter the country. Unlike China, no one took our temperatures when we entered the country, we were not questioned about our flight route, and there was no record of who had been sitting near us on the plane. Now, quarantined for 14 days, aspects of how China operated during the corona crisis that could help understand how Israel can manage the same problem are thrown into sharp relief.
First, in China, the political leadership in Beijing and the various districts consulted medical experts and acted according to their advice. Professionals and academic experts led the process together.
Second, the Chinese army and security forces were partners and contributed army hospitals and doctors to the battle, but did not take the lead on issues unrelated to security when they would have no advantage to offer.
Third, businesses took action quickly, consulted with medical officials and the government to understand what was needed, and channeled their capabilities into manufacturing necessary equipment, such as online giant Ali Baba, which developed the "traffic light app" that identified corona carriers or those who had been in their vicinity and needed to self-isolate for two weeks. The app quickly became mandatory on Chinese citizens' phones.
The fourth point is that from the start of the crisis, instructions – which were efficiently followed – were issued to allow food factories to work as usual and keep up a steady supply of all foodstuffs to the supermarkets that remained open, thus avoiding panic about a food shortage. The same went for home grocery delivery, which arrived on customers' doorsteps within hours. China already had an infrastructure of fast delivery in place.
The fifth point is that the media and government instructions focused on a single voice and not a mash of different voices and interviews that sought to frighten the public and create unnecessary panic. Domestic outreach, combined with foreign propaganda, were directed by Beijing, approved at the top level, and published in a coordinated manner. The Chinese way is to not leak any information about internal dissent at the top of the ruling party, although we can assume that behind closed doors, there was debate about the proper action to take.
Next, the central government proved capable of moving thousands of professionals (especially to Wuhan), and focusing maximum effort on key areas of the virus outbreak.
Lastly, instructions from law enforcement applied to all sectors of the population, without exception. Everyone observed the shut-down, wore masks, and temperatures were checked at all entrances.
Last week, in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, we initiated a conference call between Chinese experts who had managed the corona crisis and top officials in Israel's Health Ministry, the goal being to learn from China's experience. Israel isn't China, and I'm happy about that, particularly because of our ability as a public to argue and express opinions with transparency.
However, it would be appropriate to understand and adopt a number of bureaucratic and management tactics that could help us overcome the current crisis, and eventually help us fix problems before the next one occurs.
