Introduction

As the world continues to linger in the gloom of COVID-19, the narrative of the epidemic has been flipped in China where the virus controversially originated. With the public memories about the missteps took by the Wuhan government in handling the outbreak fading away, the mass media adapted the tragic story to a national victory achieved by the central government (Case 2020). Proactive diplomatic strategies, such as providing masks and vaccines to other countries, have been taken to boost the soft power of China in the global sphere (Verma 2020). Accordingly, it is argued that instead of being weakened by the ‘blundering initial responses’, Xi Jinping managed to present himself as ‘a forceful and triumphant leader on the world stage’ (Huang 2020). Such reversal was accomplished through ‘a tremendous behind-the-scene effort’ made by the domestic media (Yuan 2021a). Facilitated by the tightened censorship during the pandemic (Shibu 2020), state media abiding by the party line has been the dominant sources of information that has been shaping the mainland audiences’ perception of the crisis. It is revealed in a recent study that by ‘sharing positive stories and promoting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) pandemic response, rewriting recent history in a manner favourable to the CCP as the coronavirus pandemic evolved, and using targeted ads to spread preferred messages’ (Molter and DiResta 2020) the state media frames the onslaught of COVID-19 as an ‘extraordinary and historic test’ that the Chinese nation led by the CCP eventually passed after hard fighting (Zhao and Liu 2020).

Among the heroic figures that constitute the epic narrative of conquering the contagion, medical professionals seem the most outstanding group highlighted by the government and the media (Stanway and Pollard 2020). In September 2020, on a ceremony celebrating the victory over the crisis held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi Jinping awarded four medical experts who are regarded as the ‘role models in the country's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic’ (CGTN 2020). As the awardee of the highest honour in China – ‘Medal of the Republic’, respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan along with many other scientists and specialists contributed significantly to rewriting the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic into an inspiring story of the central government leading its people to overcome disasters.