International Mainstream Media Are Against Using the Pandemic to Stigmatize China

Bai Yang, Zhang Jinruo, Zheng Qi

People's Daily

As peoples and countries of the world join hands in fighting against the novel coronavirus epidemic, a few politicians and media in some countries deliberately link China with the novel coronavirus, which is extremely irresponsible actions of disrespecting science, ignoring WHO decisions and stigmatizing China. No matter where the new coronavirus originates, China, like other countries with epidemic outbreaks, is the victim of the virus and faces the challenge of the pandemic. Compared with the epidemic virus, the arrogance, prejudice and hatred hidden in their hearts are more difficult to solve than the virus.Over the past few days,the mainstream media of many countries have criticized the defamation of China,calling for abandoning arrogance and prejudice, joining hands to combat the epidemic outbreak and safeguard international and regional public health safety.

The pandemic outbreak should not be a tool of political struggle

The novel coronavirus may have been transmitted to humans from an undetermined intermediate host, according to an article on the website of Dialogue Australia. Tracing the virus source is to better prevent its outbreak in other regions,not to blame each other.

The UK Guardian quoted a scholar from Washington University as saying that various countries urgently need to conduct in-depth research on the source and transmission of the virus, which is crucial for pandemic prevention and control, and the epidemic outbreak should not become a tool for political struggle.

Japan's Kyodo News Agency and other media reported that the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mutuma Ruteere,recently said that officials of countries concerned had used a term to replace the name of the novel coronavirus with ulterior motives. This xenophobic expression,which links a specific virus to a specific country or ethnic group, was irresponsible and disturbing. "WHO has made it clear that improper use of disease name can cause serious harm to specific population groups. In response to epidemic outbreaks,governments should pay special attention not to transmitting xenophobic emotions and not encouraging racial discrimination.The Rapporteur stressed that in the face of the pandemic, the policy of whipping up fear and discrimination is no good for effectively fighting the epidemic, but will be counter-productive. This outbreak reminds us once again that the destiny of mankind is closely linked and that the well-being of mankind depends on each other.

The only way to deal with the novel conoravirus is to unite

According to an article on the website of Japan's Nikkei Asia Review, the U.S.Government has repeatedly used a term to defame China in order to divert domestic attention, because the spread of the epidemic in the United States may trigger a possible economic recession, so more and more American people are dissatisfied.

In line with an article on the website of the New York Times, some U.S.politicians changed their term for the novel coronavirus shortly after the stock market plunged and the U.S. government was severely criticized for its slow response to the epidemic outbreak. This is clearly an attempt to pass on its responsibility by denigrating other countries.

In accordance with an article on NBC's website, linking the novel coronavirus to China will only aggravate racial conflicts in the United States and do nothing to improve public health. Experts remind that deliberately connecting the virus to a region will only make people in other regions relax their vigilance, resulting in more serious consequences. Like other epidemics,anyone can be the target of the virus.

An article on USA Today website points out that as the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States increase, uncertainty is increasing,public fear is growing, and people are increasingly eager to get certain information. Another article on the same website quoted a Stanford University scholar as saying that linking China to the virus implies a profound racial discrimination. There are no geographical restrictions, no passports, no citizenship, no language for infectious diseases-AIDS was first discovered in the United States, but it is not named as"American AIDS."

Canada's Globe and Mail reports that the rumor rampant reflected people's fear of the unknown viruses. As the Internet becomes more and more popular usage, we seem to be entering an era of shortage of trust. When people's fear meets the global trust crisis,the situation will become worse.Linking China to the virus further exploits some people's prejudices about China.Once conspiracy theories with political aims are exposed,people's distrust of the government and experts will be further intensified.

The U.S. CNN pointes out in its TV program that it is not helpful to directly link China with the novel coronavirus. The United States doesn't need a new enemy since we already have one – that is the novel coronavirus. The only way to deal with the new virus is to unite.

Fear and rumors can only undermine global cooperation

According to the website of Forbes magazine, scientists are trying to find out the truth and solve the problem. They have been conducting genetic analysis to determine the source of the virus and the way to infect humans. More and more scientific research results show that rumors and political slashes such as "what kind of people are responsible for the virus" are groundless. "Fears and rumors will only undermine global cooperation. Only when we stop this accusation for political purposes can we really focus people's attention on the more important task at present--fighting the epidemic together."

Nature Medicine, a medical journal of the Nature, UK recently published an article from a joint research team of Scripps Research Institute,University of Edinburgh,Columbia University, Sydney University and Duran University. According to the article,the binding efficiency of CNV spike protein to human cells is high, which can only be achieved by natural selection.Genetic data are indisputable to show that the novel coronavirus does not come from any previously used virus backbone.

VOX news points out that medical and health experts have long suggested that associating a virus with individuals or countries should be avoided when naming it.Connecting the novel coronavirus with China is in line with the consistent practice of the United States to shift its accountability to the outside world. The consequences of stigmatization are terrible:between January 28 and February 24,researchers in San Francisco found that at least 1000 hostile cases targeted at Chinese-Americans and their communities occurred.

At this moment,what people need more is unity, Newsweek quotes Michael Ryan,WHO's executive director of the health emergency program. The 2009 influenza H1N1 pandemic originated in North America, but we never call it "North American flu". We need to avoid associating a disease pandemic with any region, country or race. Everyone has a common responsibility, that is to stop the spread of an infectious disease.

The New York Times points out that the U.S. government's response to the pandemic outbreak is slow and continuously receives severe criticism. Not only are virus tests far behind other countries, but hospitals are not prepared to deal with the surge in the number of severe patients. But the U.S. government is unwilling to face its own failure, and to correct its own mistakes,but to cover up its catastrophic failure in response to the epidemic outbreak by instigating fears of foreign threats.

The pandemic outbreak reminds us that no one or no country is an isolated island,said Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia, in an article published in Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao. Do not get panic blindly, let alone fall into racist stereotypes.In the face of global crisis,only effective global cooperation can solve the problem. Only when the public and the market see the cooperation of various countries to fight the epidemic can confidence gradually recover.