As China responds to the coronavirus, it was announced that local authorities in Wuhan would construct a new hospital to handle the outbreak within a period of six days. The new facility is to prevent a strain on infrastructure in the city and to help better quarantine patients and will be equipped with around 1,000 beds. Chinese media had quickly released photos of diggers on the site, showing the unprecedented pace and seriousness as to how the situation was going to be approached. A hospital had also been created in similar circumstances in response to the SARS outbreak in 2003.
How can China build a hospital in six days? And is there any catch to this?
This is one area where China differs from the West and may have an advantage. The country’s political system allows for greater resolve and scope in decision-making processes, which can, in times of emergency, supersede conventional bureaucratic hurdles without issue, allowing faster mobilization and response.
Because land in Chinese cities is constitutionally owned by the government and privately leased to its people, this means emergency construction can be placed into action instantaneously, with the country’s massive labor force making the building speed possible without any detriment to quality.
First of all, China’s political system differs from other plural societies in that it is more unified through its hierarchical order. China’s system of one-party governance is based around the Leninist principle of democratic centralism whereby decisions made by the central government are relayed from the center to the various levels.
This process makes local governments in China more accountable and directly answerable to the central government, whereas, in other countries like India local authorities are largely autonomous from the central authorities and elected by their communities, meaning their agendas, outlooks, and decision-making vary significantly.