'Shameless and morally repulsive' - China returns fire over US doubts
CORONAVIRUS | China has broken its silence over repeated claims from the Trump administration that Beijing has not been honest with the world over the spread of the coronavirus which has now infected more than a million people and taken over 52,000 lives.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has returned fire at top US officials, saying like Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeop saying "these comments by those US politicians are just shameless and morally repulsive."
CORONAVIRUS | China has broken its silence over repeated claims from the Trump administration that Beijing has not been honest with the world over the spread of the coronavirus which has now infected more than a million people and taken over 52,000 lives.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has returned fire at top US officials, saying like Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying "these comments by those US politicians are just shameless and morally repulsive."
“They should abandon such politicising of public health issues. This is just immoral and inhuman – and will be denounced by people all around the world.”
Hua's response to a query from Bloomberg yesterday which cited three US intelligence officials claiming that China concealed the extent of the virus, under-reporting both total cases and deaths, was highlighted this morning by China's Embassy in Kuala Lumpur with the hashtags #SomeInTheUSAreTryingSoHardToShiftTheBlame and #StopSeekingExcusesAndScapegoatsForPoorResponse.
"China has been giving open, transparent and timely updates to the world. On international public health security, we should listen to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and experts on epidemiology and disease control rather than several politicians who are habitual liars," said Hua.
She said that on Wednesday a senior WHO official refuted accusations on "China's untransparent data" in a press conference in Geneva.
"We sympathise with the US people as they are facing a severe situation, and I can imagine why some in the US are trying so hard to shift the blame."
The virus which originated in China's Hubei province has now infected more than 240,000 Americans and claimed more than 5,000 lives there.
Trump (above) said on Wednesday that the coronavirus statistics China was reporting seemed “a little bit on the light side,” while his national security adviser said Washington had no way of knowing if Beijing’s figures were accurate.
Pompeo also had told Malaysiakini that China was carrying out disinformation over the origin and spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which has now claimed more than 52,000 lives.
Pompeo claimed that Beijing’s delay in sharing information about the virus had created risks to people worldwide and this has truly put thousands of lives in jeopardy.
"We don't want to get into any meaningless argument with them but in response to their endless, immoral slanders, I feel I have no choice but to take a few moments to clarify the truth once again," said Hua yesterday.
"It is true that Wuhan was where Covid-19 cases were first reported. But where and when exactly did this virus originate?
"We read many recent reports and findings on that. There are articles written by medical professionals from Italy, the UK, the US, Australia and other countries, which are published in top academic journals including Nature Medicine."
"On the origin of the virus, the Chinese government's position has been consistent. It is a serious matter that requires scientific, fact-based and professional assessment made by experts," said Hua.
"China invited WHO experts to visit Wuhan as part of a joint mission. As some in the US are so obsessed with the issue, we advise the US side to also invite WHO and international experts to visit the country and find out the truth.
China timeline
Hua also provided the press with a timeline of China's response to the outbreak:
On Dec 27, 2019, Zhang Jixian, director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care at Hubei Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, reported the first three suspected cases.
On Dec 29, Hubei and Wuhan health committees instructed related centres for disease control and prevention and hospitals to carry out an epidemiological investigation.
On Dec 30, Wuhan Municipal Health Committee issued an "urgent notice on the treatment of pneumonia of unknown cause".
On Dec 31, the National Health Centre sent an expert group to Wuhan to investigate on site.
On Jan 3, 2020, China started to send timely updates to WHO and other countries, including the US.
On Jan 8, the pathogen was preliminarily identified.
On Jan 11, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention uploaded five whole genome sequences of the novel coronavirus on the GISAID website and shared data with the world and WHO.
On Jan 23, Wuhan was put under lockdown and unprecedented comprehensive, thorough and rigorous measures were adopted.
By taking these decisive and strong measures, the Chinese government ensured to the highest possible extent the life, safety and health of the Chinese people and bought precious time for stemming the global spread of the virus," said Hua.
Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.
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