IN the backdrop of consistent propaganda campaign unleashed by the United States in a bid to putting the blame of spread of Coronavirus on China, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian has shown mirror to Washington drawing a comparison between response and strategy of the two nations to deal with the life threatening virus. He has pointed out that China puts life first and that is why it suspended social and economic activities, followed WHO advice and stopped the virus. As against this, the United States prioritizes political gains, it downplayed Covid-19, ignores science, shifts blames and hurts people’s health, economy and stability.
The way the Covid-19 engulfed the entire globe within a few weeks is clear testimony that it was a serious health issue requiring collective response and cooperation to deal with the situation. However, regrettably, the United States, which should have led the war against virus, opted to politicize the issue making it a tool to whip China. This is despite the fact that the remarks made by the US President and other officials had nothing to do with the ground realities and, therefore, were treated by the rest of the world as part of efforts to malign China unfairly. That the Chinese stance and strategy were also backed by the World Health Organization helped nullified the false US propaganda. It is known to all that the US President did not take the virus seriously initially and it was because of his faulty approach that the country suffered more than any other country of the world despite huge resources at its disposal. The situation would have been quite different if the model set by China to check the spread of the virus was followed by the United States without any grudge. Analysts agree that the United States was using unfair tactics and propaganda tactics to malign China on different issues like human rights, Hong Kong and trade. It is because of crude interference in the internal affairs of China (with respect to Hong Kong) that Beijing has announced visa restrictions on US citizens who have “behaved egregiously” over Hong Kong. The US also frequently resorts to imposition of restrictions and sanctions against China but Beijing is now in a firm position to take strong counter-measures.
