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. 2020 Apr 20;37(3):101481. doi: 10.1016/j.giq.2020.101481

Table 2.

Summary of the different responses from China and Western democracies.

China Western democracies
Initial response Denial by suppression Denial by communication
Governance Coordination: Centrally controlled administrative regime was able to quickly coordinate with the cities and impose rules and regulations Lack of coordination: Decentralized power concentration between the city and national governments resulted in lack of coordination
Smart technologies Smart technologies are deployed ubiquitously Technologies are selectively deployed
Privacy Government has unanswered privacy concerns Governments have clarified their protection of privacy
Activism Whistle-blowers are not allowed to speak up Activists can write to the governments and speak up about their rights
Information sharing Accused of hiding information Openly share information within and outside the country
Infodemic Very limited due to censorship Prevalent due to the mass usage of social media.