To defuse its accountability, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tried to blame the United States for sending the coronavirus to China. The U.S. government responded strongly against its accusation. President Trump, some members of Congress, and some U.S. government officials started to call the virus the “Chinese virus” or the “Wuhan virus” to remind people that Beijing was liable for the coronavirus disaster.
On March 20, People’s Daily published a commentary with the title “Must Resist the Poison of Stigmatization.” The article was published under the name Zhong Sheng (钟声), homophonic for “China’s Voice,” used for expressing the Chinese Communist Party’s official position.
The article said, “Some politicians in the United States have the wrong heart and deliberately linked the novel coronavirus to China. They arrogantly referred to the current epidemic as the ‘Wuhan Pneumonia’ and the ‘Chinese virus,’ and stigmatized China. Such extremely immoral and extremely irresponsible words and deeds not only do not help prevent and control the epidemic in their own country, but also seriously hinder the unity and cooperation of the world to fight the epidemic. China is strongly indignant about this, resolutely opposes it, and urges the U.S. to correct its mistakes immediately and stop the groundless blame against China.”
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Propaganda and Lies: Geng Shuang, A Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Said U.S. “Stigmatizes” China
- Propaganda and Lies: Pompeo Called Yang Jiechi
- Propaganda and Lies: China’s Propaganda Machine Spread Zhao Lijian’s Accusation of the U.S.
- Propaganda and Lies: An Indecent Imported Infected Case to China
- Propaganda and Lies: President Trump Responded to China’s Accusation
- Propaganda and Lies: U.S. Responded to China’s Accusation
- Propaganda and Lies: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Said Virus Was From the US
Excerpt in Chinese:
新冠肺炎疫情在全球多点暴发、扩散、蔓延之际，携手抗击疫情是当务之急。然而，美国一些政客的心思放不正，刻意把新冠病毒和中国相联系，蛮横地以“武汉肺炎”“中国病毒”称呼当前疫情，大搞污名化。这种极不道德、极不负责的言行，不仅无助于本国疫情的防控，反而严重阻碍世界团结合作抗击疫情。中方对此强烈愤慨，坚决反对，敦促美方立即纠正错误，并停止对中国的无端指责。
美国一些政客无视国际机构指导原则，散布污名化之毒，人为制造恐慌，是典型的阴暗心理作祟。
疫情大流行，考验各国治理能力，也晒出各国参与国际合作的表现。美国自身在政治、医疗等多方面存在的痼疾已经暴露出来，亟须正视问题、补足短板，尽全力保一方健康平安。美国公众的确有些失望，就像美国战略与国际研究中心高级副总裁兼全球卫生政策中心主任斯蒂芬·莫里森不久前对美国政府提出的质问：“中国实施的严厉隔离措施为我们赢得了时间，我们是否利用这段时间做了有益的准备？”中国政府一直在与美方分享信息，中国专家在与美国专家分享诊疗方案，中国企业也在尽力帮助美国抗击疫情。在这些无可否认的事实面前，美国一些政客竟还一再刻意攻击抹黑中国，以图转移美国民众的不满情绪。他们这是以怨报德，破坏抗击疫情的国际合作，对人民生命健康毫不负责。
病毒还在肆虐，奉劝美国一些政客省一省怨天尤人、攻击抹黑的力气，聚精会神做好本国的事情，为维护全球公共卫生安全发挥一些建设性作用。
Source: People’s Daily, March 20, 2020
http://opinion.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0320/c1003-31640267.html