China also ignored advice from its own experts that an epidemic like this was just around the corner.

It was “highly likely that future SARS- or MERS-like coronavirus outbreaks will originate from bats, and there is an increased probability that this will occur in China,” Chinese experts wrote in a 2019 article. “The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb,” scientists wrote in a 2007 journal article. “The possibility of the reemergence of SARS and other novel viruses from animals or laboratories and therefore the need for preparedness should not be ignored.”

Even after the COVID-19 outbreak forced officials to ban the trade and consumption of live wild animals for food, the Chinese government is still recommending the use of Tan Re Qing, an injection containing bear bile, to treat severe and critical COVID-19 cases, reports National Geographic.

Globalization has only accelerated the devastating consequences of the Communist Party’s terrible decisions.