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 buckto 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.)
空喊“爱人如己” 实则自私冷血
钟声
病毒是人类的共同敌人，疫情是各国的共同挑战。大疫当前，各国在做好自身防控的同时，尽己所能，帮助他人，既是人性使然，也是道义所在。反观美国一些政客及其跟风者，《圣经》箴言“爱人如己”挂在嘴边，干的却是冷血无情之事。他们诽谤中国捐款是“慷慨政治”，专家驰援是“地缘扩张”，物资支持是“口罩外交”，其内心之偏狭、操弄之恶劣，令人错愕。
生命无价，救人第一；滴水之恩，涌泉相报。中国抗击疫情的危难关头，得到国际社会鼎力相助，许多国家迅速向中国提供医疗物资等援助。对各国伸出的援手，我们心怀感激，永远不会忘记。在中国疫情得到初步控制后，中国即积极开展对外抗疫援助，启动了新中国成立以来援助时间最集中、涉及范围最广泛的一次紧急人道主义行动， 从东京到巴黎，从德黑兰到马德里，从黑海之滨到非洲之角……这个春天，一批批来自中国的医疗物资运抵全球各大机场，一批批资金捐赠给世界卫生组织等国际机构，一支支中国医疗专家组穿梭于世界多地，一次次专家视频会议在五大洲跨洋举行。提出推动构建人类命运共同体的中国，正以自己的实际行动践行这一理念。事实不容歪曲，公理不容玷污。世界各国为挽救生命作出的一切努力都应该得到尊重和肯定，千万不要以小人之心度君子之腹！
美国政要公开宣称，他们靠的不仅是财富和实力，更靠“三大法宝”：卓有成效的国内治理、为世界提供公共产品、引领各国应对危机的能力和意愿。人们不禁要问，疫情之下，美国究竟为本国、为世界做了什么？疫情初起，美国无视世卫组织预警，举措不力、贻误战机，导致疫情在美国大暴发，面对追责一味“甩锅”，一甩中国、二甩世卫、三甩移民。对外，他们无视抗疫急需，加大制裁伊朗、叙利亚、委内瑞拉等国，以荒唐的说辞警告各国不要接受古巴抗疫医疗队。世卫组织是协助各国抗疫的重要国际机构，美国却不惜以“断供”“退群”相威胁，甚至蛮横地要求撤换由各国选举产生的世卫组织领导人。其所作所为，哪里有“爱人如己”的影子？
病毒肆虐，没有安全岛；互助合作，方能渡难关，这是基本道理，也是国际共识。反观美国，联合国启动疫苗和药物研制生产的全球合作计划，美国拒绝参加，《华盛顿邮报》刊文批评，“在过去两个月，生活已经出现了翻天覆地的变化，但唯一没有改变的就是特朗普政府失败的外交政策”；抗疫物资全球告缺，美国连盟友的交情也弃之不顾，截留他国订购的防疫物资；疫苗是抗疫希望、决胜利器，而美国却谋求重金买断德国疫苗研发企业新冠病毒疫苗所有权，这被西方媒体称为“现代海盗”。德国卫生部长延斯·施潘更是直接回应，德国“只会为全世界开发疫苗”，而不是“为个别国家研发”。
危难之际，道义的力量、人性的温暖尤为珍贵。疫情之下，美国有政客拿交通事故与新冠肺炎疫情类比，轻描淡写地描绘着数万人死亡的悲惨场景，冷血无情昭然若揭；还有官员公开主张应允许病毒传播，让那些老弱病残、无家可归的人被淘汰掉，以“解决我们社会的重大负担”，引发众怒。他们能冷血无情到这个程度，大大超出了善良人们的认识能力！美国一些政客以“美国在应对疫情方面的强大领导能力”自诩，国务卿蓬佩奥更是毫无廉耻地四处夸口，声称慷慨是美国核心价值观，但实际情况却是“只听楼梯响，不见人下来”。美国驻以色列大使曾信誓旦旦保证，美国将向“巴勒斯坦的医院和家庭提供500万美元，以满足抗击新冠病毒的紧急医疗需求”，而巴勒斯坦驻法国大使随后表示，这笔捐款的实际情况与美方的描述完全不同，美方在向巴勒斯坦提供援助一事上撒谎，更有媒体报道“一分没到账”。
颇具讽刺意味的是，美国《国家利益》杂志刊文称：“美国接受的中国援助，甚至比美国政府自己提供给民众的都要多。”这就不难理解，为什么有网民发帖批评美国一些政客：“人性是稀罕物，道德是奢侈品。”
人类只有一个地球，各国同处一个世界。在这场疫情防控全球阻击战面前，没有任何事比挽救生命更重要、比携手协作更迫切。
