Panic in Asia !

Different countries - different reactions to the Covic-19 virus.  Human Rights watch reports that authoritarian regimes in Asia are using it as cover to tighten their grip on what citizens can say or do in public.

The rulers of Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar are taking actions against their critics.  They are taking advantage of the moment  to go after people  in a targeted manner.  It is not sweeping crackdowns or mass arrests.  That's because it would lead to a backlash that would undermine their position.

What they are trying to do is make examples of some people to scare everybody into submission. People who have expressed  concern about the virus' impact have been arrested for spreading fake news online and this usually includes any form of official opposition party.  Usually this runs in tandem with an official denial that the virus poses any sort of threat to that nation's population.

These are the very countries that have the greatest reason to fear the virus.  A great mass of very poor people do not have the luxury of staying home and not going to work because what they earn dictates what they eat.  They do not have well stocked pantries to see them through a crisis.  In most cases the money they earn and the food that buys are consumed in the time span between morning light and the going down of the sun.  Even a day off work delivers hunger.

As a consequence, these  authoritarian regimes are doing little to halt the spread of the virus. The people live and work in close proximity to one another and the most likely outcome of a heavy death toll will be migration.  Unfortunately,  in this part of the world the target country to which migrants tend to head is Australia with its advanced life style.

The Australian response to this virus crisis has been a virtual shutdown of society and industry.  The measures taken are unprecedented and the public purse will take a massive hit but there is the expectation that we will weather the crisis well.  The big danger is that our near neighbours may not be able to prevent a huge death toll and the panic that causes.  This could result in refugee boats arriving unannounced on our shores and add to the refugee problem.

The aftermath of Covic-19 may go on long after the health concern finally subsides  !