Coronavirus outbreak is not an opportunity to score points against China
On Feb. 1, Cui Tiankai,
China’s ambassador to the United States, gave a talk at a UC San Diego forum on
China-US relations. In his remarks at the forum, the ambassador said that the
prevention and control of the coronavirus outbreak in China is the top priority
for the country and that the well-being of people always comes first. He
stressed that China is doing whatever it can and using whatever means it must
to curb the spread of the coronavirus and treat those affected.
The ambassador also
emphasized that China is doing all this not just for the health and safety of the
Chinese people, but for the health and safety of the entire global community.
He pointed out that the fight against the coronavirus once again shows that we
live in a shared community where all of us are in this together.
China has taken
extraordinary measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The entire country
has gone into battle mode to combat it. In Wuhan, the epicenter of the
coronavirus outbreak, China recently completed the construction of a 1,000-bed
emergency hospital in days and a second 1,600-bed hospital is under
construction. The People’s Liberation Army has also set up medical teams to
help local medical staff in this battle.
The coronavirus is only one
of many health threats that we face as a global community and China is moving
mountains to contain it. The H1N1 influenza virus that originated in the United
States in 2009, for example, killed an estimated 151,700-575,400 people
worldwide during the first year the virus circulated, according to official
estimates.
The United States did not
do enough to stop the global spread of H1N1 but it has done too much in
response to the novel coronavirus outbreak in terms of restrictions, which is
more harmful than helpful.
Many believe that the US
response to the coronavirus outbreak has set a bad example for other countries
and created unnecessary fear and anxiety. The United States had raised its
advisory for China to Level 4, telling Americans not to travel to China and for
those currently in China to attempt to depart as soon as possible. It has also
banned the entry of all foreign nationals who have been to China in the last 14
days, which goes against the recommendation of the World Health Organization
that there should not be any travel or trade restrictions.
All countries should take
appropriate defensive measures in times of uncertainty to protect the health
and safety of their citizens, but we should also be careful not to heighten
fears around the world, fueling a wave of panic and overreaction and a wave of
racism and xenophobia.
To add insult to injury,
certain US officials see the misfortune as an opportunity to score points
against China. Around the time that WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a
public health emergency of international concern, Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo attacked the Communist Party of China, calling it “the central threat of
our times,” even though China’s ruling party is going all out to lead the fight
against the outbreak, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suggested that the
coronavirus a good thing, saying that it will “help” to accelerate the return
of American jobs.
Unnecessary panic and cruel
and heartless comments will do nothing to help contain the virus and will only
heighten negative feelings, including racism and hostility. As the Chinese
ambassador pointed out in his remarks, we must guard against any “political
viruses” that prevent the two largest countries from joining hands to meet
shared challenges.
We cannot let unnecessary
panic or malicious agendas to control the response to a problem that requires
all of us to work together.
Coronavirus outbreak is not an opportunity to score points against China
Reviewed by PEOPLES MAIL
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