U.S. politicians reveal their cold-bloodedness in pandemic response

By Zhong Sheng

Viruses are common enemies of human beings and the COVID-19 pandemic poses common challenges for all countries. It is a humane and just act for countries to do their best to help others in the pandemic while maintaining strict prevention and control policies at home.

However, some U.S. politicians and their followers are being cold-blooded even though they always speak of Bible verses. They described China’s donation to other countries as “politics of generosity,” medical teams as “geopolitical expansion,” and material supports as “mask diplomacy.” Their narrow mind and vicious manipulation are really astonishing.

Saving lives comes before everything as life is invaluable, and goodwill shall be repaid with greater kindness - those are China’s traditional virtues. China received strong support from the international society when it had a hard time battling the novel coronavirus, and it is grateful to and will never forget the assistance offered by each country.

After China achieved initial progress in containing the virus, it immediately started offering assistance for other countries, launching the most intensive and wide-ranging emergency humanitarian operation since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, from Tokyo to Paris, from Teheran to Madrid, and from the shore of the Black Sea to the cape of Africa.

China is taking concrete actions to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

This spring, batches of medical supplies arrived at major airports around the world from China; huge amounts of cash were donated to international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO); teams of Chinese medical experts traveled across countries to help relieve the pandemic; and cross-continental teleconferences were held between Chinese and foreign experts to exchange anti-pandemic experiences.

Facts shall not be distorted, and any act tarnishing truth shall not be tolerated. Never estimate the generosity of others with narrow-mindedness, as every effort made by global countries to save lives deserves respect and recognition.

American dignitaries said publicly that the status of the United States as a global leader over the past seven decades has been built not just on wealth and power but also, and just as important, on the legitimacy that flows from the United States’ domestic governance, provision of global public goods, and ability and willingness to muster and coordinate a global response to crises.

However, what on earth did the U.S. do for itself and the world in the pandemic?

At the initial phase of the pandemic, the White House ignored the warning from the WHO and failed to take effective measures, which later led to a drastic surge in infections. Besides, it also passed the buck to China, the WHO and immigrants. Turning a blind eye to the urgency of pandemic relief, the U.S. enhanced its sanctions on Iran, Syria and Venezuela, and told countries not to accept the help from Cuban medical teams with various ridiculous excuses. It even threatened to stop funding the WHO, an important international organization that helps the world fight the pandemic, and arbitrarily requested to replace the WHO chief.

There’s no refuge in the world as the virus is still rampant around the globe, and only mutual assistance and cooperation can help the world get through the difficulty. It is a fundamental point, as well as an international consensus.

On the contrary, the U.S. refused to join a UN initiative to research, manufacture and distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for COVID-19. “In the past two months, our lives have changed beyond all recognition. The only thing that has remained the same is President Trump’s failed foreign policy,” said Washington Post in a recent article.

Washington even ditched its allies when anti-pandemic materials are in short supply, intercepting medical materials ordered by other countries. Vaccines are considered hope and a sharp weapon in the pandemic, but the U.S. offered large sums of money to get exclusive access to a coronavirus vaccine being developed by a German company, in a move condemned as “modern piracy” by Western media. German Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn commented that his country would only develop a vaccine “for the whole world, not for individual countries.”

The power of morality and warmth of humanity are valuable especially in crisis. Some U.S. politicians compared COVID-19 to traffic accidents, in an attempt to play down the deaths of tens of thousands of people, which only revealed their cold-bloodedness. Some publically called to allow the transmission of the virus, so as to “fix what is a significant burden on our society and resources that can be used” at the sacrifice of the lives of the vulnerable groups and the homeless. Their cold-bloodedness is way beyond people’s recognition.

They bragged about the “strong leadership” of the U.S. in pandemic response, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shamelessly declared that generosity is a core American value. However, those are just empty talks. U.S. Ambassador to Israel once promised to give $5 million to Palestinian households and hospitals in coronavirus aid. However, Palestinian Ambassador to France later said the donation was different from what the U.S. had promised, and Washington lied on its assistance to Palestine. It was even reported by media that the donation was indeed lip service.

Ironically, U.S. magazine The National Interest noted that the assistance received by the U.S. from China was indeed more than what the U.S. government has offered its own people. This makes it easier to understand the Americans who criticized U.S. politicians on the internet, saying humanity and morality are rare.

There is only one Earth where all countries co-exist. In the global war against the pandemic, nothing comes before saving lives through international cooperation.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)