OUR CORRESPONDENT
BEIJING A spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying has vehemently rejected disinformation campaign about the origin of COVID-19. Some officials in a handful of countries including the US have been trying to blame China for the pandemic outbreak, accusing China of covering up the actual caseload of the infected and disseminating disinformation on COVID-19. While taking a strong exception against such blame, the spokesperson said at a regular news briefing that the coronavirus is novel virus unseen in the past, its detection, research, testing and confirmation naturally requires time. As estimated by WHO, she said the decisive, effective and timely measures taken by the Chinese government prevented the infection oftens ofthousands of people.Many countries also think China’s practice offers explicable precedence. Our open, transparent and responsible attitude has been highly acclaimed by the international community. The spokesperson further said, the pandemic is in some way like a magical mirror that exposes a person’s morality and character to the fullest extent. The virus knows no ideology, border or race. The destinies of all countries are closely intertwined. No one can make up for lost time by slandering others or shifting the blame. The only way to defeat the virus is through solidarity and cooperation. Hua Chunying clarified that since the epidemic broke out, China, in an open, transparent and responsible manner, has been providing timely updates to WHO and countries around the world including the US. We have also been doing our best to provide support and assistance to countries in need. After the outbreak, China has been racing against time to fight the virus and contain its spread. Many Chinese businesses are working around the clock to produce medical supplies and reinforce other countries’ combat. We don’t have the interest or the time to launch any despicable “disinformation campaign”, she added.
