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Be Not Bothered by the insult of “Sick Man”, Feel the Warmth of the International Humanitarianism

Source:Nodic International News Cente     PV:   Author:Long Xingchun


Nodic International News Center
(Long Xingchun)   China is under attack of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP). As the Chinese government and people are battling this epidemic, governments and people around the world have expressed their sympathies and support to China. Many countries have extended help by providing China with a large number of materials for epidemic prevention. However, some individuals in some countries maliciously referred to the virus as "Wuhan virus" and "China virus" on social media. The Wall Street Journal, a mainstream American media, even published an article under the headline "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia" on the 3rd of this month. In addition to the derogatory reference to China as "the sick man of Asia", the article also shorts China's economic outlook. Some senior U.S. officials even claimed that the outbreak in China would help bring jobs back to America.
The history of human development is a history of constant battle with various diseases. Infectious diseases have caused massive human death in history. In ancient society, due to backward transportation and communications, people moved around in a limited area, thus restricting the geographical scope of infection. For example, the Black Death that occurred in Europe in the fourteenth century caused more than 25 million deaths, wiping out almost a third of the European population at that time. When that happened, Asia, Africa, and the Americas outside Europe, let alone be infected, did not even know that such a severe epidemic had ever occurred.
With the development of science and technology, as well as new means of transportation such as steam engines, comes the global mobility of human beings. The emergence of airplanes, in particular, enabled people to travel from the Eastern Hemisphere to the Western Hemisphere and from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere within half a day. While enjoying convenience, people had to bear the concurrent negative influences, such as the rapid spread of infectious diseases worldwide, which no country can cope with single-handedly. What is needed is the global governance through all nations in the world working together. The concept of "saving others is saving ourselves" is deeply rooted in people’s hearts, resulting in the formation of a community of shared destiny in public health. When a major natural disaster or severe epidemic hit a country, aids and help would flush in from all over the world. In the history, China sent medical teams to many countries in inadequate medical conditions to help them improve their level of health. China’s medical team has made outstanding contributions to the fight against Ebola in Africa. China is also an important contributor to the WHO funding, fulfilling its responsibility as a major country for international health cooperation and human health improvement.
Infectious diseases are often transmitted all over the world. In many cases, it is difficult to identify the original source. Anyone, regardless of race, may fall victim to the infection. Therefore, it is not fair to equate any infectious disease with a specific country or race. Any attempt to name the naturally occurring viruses after the name of a country or city will only encounter protest. The Ebola virus was not called the "African virus". The flu that infected tens of millions of Americans and killed tens of thousands of them was not called the "American flu" either. Nor has any foreign government or media called the United States "sick man", let alone blaming the American political system for its occurrence. Linking a virus with a specific country or city, or attacking the country that is combating with the epidemic, is not only a showcase of ignorance about the disease, which only brings shame to the human civilization, but it is also a racist discrimination and denial of the epidemic control effort of the country in question. It undermines the cooperation of international community to fight against infectious diseases. People doing such deeds is the real "sick-minded man".
The Wall Street Journal article described China as the real sick man of Asia, which has not only been condemned by the Chinese government and people, but has also been widely opposed and slammed by people with conscience around the world, including the United States. Catherine Ceniza Choy, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, criticized the Wall Street Journal's article, saying that “this is extremely harmful and wrong” on the 8th, arguing that the consequences of publishing an opinion like this include stoking more fear and anxiety, and increasing hostility against Chinese and other Asians throughout the world. The White House website has received more than 100,000 signed petitions asking Wall Street Journal for an apology. Many people wrote directly to accuse the author of the article, Walter Russell Mead. But Mead shirked the responsibility, saying that the title of the article was drawn up by the newspaper editor. Therefore, he had nothing to do with it. It is clear that Mead has already recognized the offensive nature of his piece to China and the human civilization.
The Chinese government and people do not need to overly worry about those individuals or views attacking China, nor shall they be distracted. As the proverb goes, there are all kinds of fish in the sea, there are a handful of people with extreme ideologies in each and every country, vicious and arrogant people. But such people and views can never become the mainstream of any country or society. We can see that while the Wall Street Journal published such an insulting article, more American-funded enterprises and American private charities provided China with a large amount of aid for epidemic prevention as quickly as they possibly can, and many Americans expressed sympathies and support to China; More than 20 countries including Japan, South Korea, Russia, Singapore and Pakistan, provided emergency materials to aid China. In Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister led the prayer of the whole island to invoke blessings for China, and the cabinet ministers joined in the donation. The Union of the Comoros, a tiny African nation, one of the least developed, has given China a symbolic gift of €100. It’s not a lot, but it means a lot. Governments of many countries and the WHO have highly recognized the measures taken by the Chinese government to respond to the epidemic, and acknowledged the sacrifices and contributions made by China to prevent the epidemic from spreading globally. In the battle against the epidemic, China is not alone.

忽略“病夫”攻击,感受国际人道温暖
北欧国际新闻中心 (撰稿:龙兴春/译文:晓愁)
       中国遭到新型冠状病毒疫情(NCP),在中国政府和人民全力抗击疫情之际,世界各国政府和民间纷纷向中国表达了同情和支持,很多国家都伸出援助之手,向中国提供了大量防疫物资援助。然而,有的国家个别人却在社交媒体上恶意把这次病毒称为“武汉病毒”和“中国病毒”。作为美国主流媒体的《华尔街日报》在本月3日竟然发表标题为《中国是真正的亚洲病夫》,除了标题恶毒地把中国称为“亚洲病夫”,内容上还大肆唱衰中国经济前景。更有美国高官声称中国疫情有助于工作机会回归美国。
       人类的发展历史就是不断跟各种疾病作斗争的历史,传染病在历史上曾经造成大规模的人员死亡,在古代社会交通通讯落后,人的活动范围小,传染被对人类的伤害处在一个比较小的地理范围。如十四世纪发生在欧洲的黑死病,造成了2500多万人死亡,几乎占了当时欧洲人口的三分之一。当时,欧洲以外的亚洲、非洲和美洲地区,不要说被传染,甚至都不知道欧洲发生了这样严重的疫情。
       由于科学技术的发展,蒸汽机等新的交通工具出现,让人类开始在全球范围内流动。特别是飞机的出现让人类半天之内可以从东半球到西半球,从南半球到北半球,人类在享受便利的同时,也不得不承受由此带来的负面影响,如传染病在全球范围内快速传播,任何一个国家都无法独自应对,必须世界各国共同合作进行全球治理,“救人等于救自己”的观念深入人心,使人类在卫生健康领域形成了命运共同体。当某国某地区发生大的自然灾害和严重疫情时,国际社会无不伸出援助之手。长期以来,中国向很多医疗条件落后的国家派出医疗队,帮助他们提高医疗健康水平,中国医疗队为非洲抗击埃博拉病毒做出突出贡献。中国还是世界卫生组织经费的重要捐助者,为国际卫生合作和提高人类的健康水平履行大国责任。
传染病经常在世界范围内传染,很多时候都难以找清最初的源头,感染对象不分种族,因此,不能把任何传染病跟某个具体的国家和种族划等号,把自然存在的病毒用任何国家或城市命名都会遭到抗议。非洲发生的埃博拉病病毒没有被称为“非洲病毒”,美国发生上千万人感染,上万人死亡的流感没有被称为“美国流感”,也没有外国政府或媒体把美国称为“病夫”,更没有人把指责流感发生是美国的政治制度造成。把某病毒跟特定的国家或城市关联,或因此对正在抗击疫情的国家进行攻击,不仅是对传染病的无知,拉低了人类文明的底线,更是对当事国家的种族主义歧视和抗击疫情努力的否定,破坏国际社会为抗击传染病的合作。这种人才是思想上真正的“病夫”。
       华尔街日报文章称中国“真正的亚洲病夫”,不仅遭到中国政府和人民的谴责,也受到了世界国各包括美国在内有良知人们的广泛反对和谴责。加州大学伯克利分校人类学教授乔伊8日痛批华尔街日报的文章“极度错误”,认为这类文字会煽动恐慌和焦虑情绪、增加外界对华人及其他亚裔人士的敌意。美国白宫网站超过10万认签名请愿,要求华尔街日报道歉。很多人直接给文章作者米德写信谴责。但米德推卸责任说文章标题是报纸编辑拟定,与他无关,他显然认识到文章对中国和人类文明的冒犯。
       对国外个别攻击中国的人和观点,中国政府和人民除了谴责和鄙视,无须太过烦恼,更不用为此分散精力。话说“林子大了什么鸟都有”,每个国家都存在个别极端的,又坏又蠢的人。但这种人和观点永远不可能是任何国家和社会的主流。我们可以看到,在华尔街日报刊登侮辱性文章的同时,更多的美资企业,美国民间慈善机构迅速向中国提供了大量防疫物资援助,很多美国民众向中国表达同情和支持;日本、韩国、俄罗斯、新加坡和巴基斯坦等二十多个国家向中国提供紧急物资援助,斯里兰卡总理诵经、议长捐款,全岛为中国祈福;非洲贫穷落后的袖珍小国科摩罗向中国捐款100欧元,礼轻情义重。世界多个国家政府和世界卫生组织高度肯定中国政府应对疫情的措施,肯定中国为防止疫情在全球传播出做的牺牲和贡献,中国在抗击这场疫情中并不孤单。(亚太通讯社稿件)

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