Note: This episode contains strong language in both English and Mandarin.

What started as a story about fear of a new and dangerous virus has become a story of fury over the Chinese government’s handling of an epidemic. Today, one of our China correspondents takes us behind the scenes of Beijing’s response to a global outbreak. Guest: Amy Qin, a China correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. 

Background reading: 

• President Xi Jinping faces an accelerating health crisis that is also a political one: a profound test of the authoritarian system he has built around himself over the past seven years.
• China’s leader, who rarely mingles with the public, visited several sites in Beijing and spoke to medical workers in Wuhan via video conferencing.
• Here are the latest updates on the global outbreak.