In an op-ed for Nikkei Asia, Prof. Minxin Pei wrote that while the Chinese “government has strong incentives to hide the catastrophe” of Covid, it won’t be able to hide the death toll. Due to the widespread availability of digital technology, “Chinese people now can easily document and disseminate the true extent of the devastation caused by the Covid surge,” Pei wrote. “Despite censorship, savvy social media users are able to post pictures and video clips that put the lie to the official propaganda that only a tiny number of people have died of Covid.”