Solidarity and Cooperation Rather Than Scapegoating Is the Most Potent Weapon Against COVID-19
团结合作而非甩锅指责是战胜疫情的最有力武器
Hu Zhangliang, Ambassador to Sierra Leone
驻塞拉利昂大使胡张良
May 21 2020
2020年5月21日
At present, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ravaging the world, posing enormous threat to people’s lives and health and bringing formidable challenge to global public health security. What should we do? To take responsibility, get united and cooperate with each other, or keep shifting the blame and smearing partners in this battle? The choice will determine whether we can protect our people and whether the human race can win the fight against the virus.
当前，新冠疫情仍在全球蔓延，给各国人民生命安全和身体健康以及全球公共卫生安全带来巨大威胁和挑战。怎么办？是担当责任、团结合作，还是一味“甩锅”、造谣诽谤？答案关乎各国人民安危和人类战疫成败。
Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that mankind, as a community with a shared future, can only counter global risks and challenges through solidarity and coordination. In March this year, President Xi put forward important proposals calling upon all countries to work together to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic at the Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit, which were warmly received by the international community.
习近平主席指出，人类是一个命运共同体，唯有团结协作才能应对各种全球性风险挑战。今年3月，在二十国集团领导人应对新冠肺炎特别峰会上，习近平主席发出携手抗疫、共克时艰重要倡议，引起广泛国际共鸣。
In this global fight against COVID-19, China promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind with solid actions. Through united efforts and arduous struggle, China has acquired strategic achievements at this stage and successfully safeguarded the health security of one-fifth of the world’s population. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has been open, transparent and responsible in sharing related information, data, experiences of control and prevention as well as diagnosis and treatment therapies with the international community including WHO and many other countries. China’s great efforts has bought the world time to control the spread of the pandemic.
在这场全球抗疫斗争中，中国用实际行动践行人类命运共同体理念。中国人民众志成城、顽强拼搏，抗疫斗争取得重要战略成果，守护住了世界五分之一人口的健康安全。中国发现疫情后，本着公开、透明、负责任的态度，及时向世界卫生组织和有关国家通报情况，向国际社会分享抗疫经验和医疗救治方案，竭尽全力控制疫情蔓延。
Out of humanitarian considerations, China adjusted her industrial capacity to produce medical supplies as much as possible for the world to combat COVID-19. China has also been providing assistance to other countries to the best of her ability. Up to now, China has donated medical supplies to over 150 countries and international organizations, including Sierra Leone and other African countries. China has sent medical teams to a number of countries to provide help. Chinese medical experts have held video conferences with their counterparts from more than 160 countries and international organizations.
中国出于人道主义，开足马力为世界生产抗疫物资，尽己所能为各国提供抗疫援助，共向150多个国家和国际组织提供了紧急医疗物资援助，其中包括塞拉利昂等50多个非洲国家，同160多个国家举行视频交流会，向多个国家派出专家组。
Meanwhile, China has made major breakthroughs in the developing and research of vaccines and drugs. China leads in the resumption of work and production, which is conducive to maintaining the stability of international supply chain and redressing a global economic downturn. China has been upholding multilateralism and actively promoting international cooperation to contain the virus.
中国的疫苗和药品研发取得重要成果。中国率先复工复产，有利于保持国际产业链稳定，避免全球经济衰退。中国倡导和维护多边主义，积极推进国际抗疫合作，维护世界公共卫生安全。
So far, the Chinese government and people have provided four rounds of much-needed medical supplies to Sierra Leone, including 7,200 PPEs, 2,500 N95 respirators, 111,000 surgical facial masks, 21,000 testing kits, 18,900 swabs and viral transport medium, medical goggles, medical gloves, medical shoe covers, thermometer guns and ventilators etc.. Currently, the Chinese government is preparing for additional assistance to Sierra Leone.
截至目前，中国政府和人民先后向塞拉利昂捐赠了四批急需的防疫物资。中国政府正在准备为塞提供新一批抗疫物资援助。
The three Chinese Medical Expert Teams under the Chinese government aid program have been working around the clock to help test samples and treat cases. The Sierra Leone-China Friendship Fixed Biological Safety Laboratory, the Tropical Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Center in 34 Military Hospital and the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital built with the Chinese government assistance have been designated as essential COVID-19 testing and treatment units in Sierra Leone.
中国三支援塞医疗队伍积极助塞检测、防控疫情并救治患者。中国政府援建的塞中友好生物实验室、塞军34医院热带传染病防控中心和塞中友好医院成为塞新冠病毒样本检测和病患收治的重点单位。
China’s sacrifice and contribution to the global fight against COVID-19 is there for all to see and the international community has given fair acknowledgement of this. However, certain western politicians and media outlets turned a blind eye to the facts and called white black. In order to deflect people’s attention from their inadequate response to COVID-19, leaders of certain countries have been fabricating and spreading preposterous allegations of one kind or another. They claimed that “Wuhan is the origin of the virus, the virus was constructed by the Wuhan Institute of Virology”. They hyped that the international community should hold China accountable and make her pay for the damages. They clamored to conduct the so-called “international independent investigation” on China.
中国为全球抗疫所作牺牲和贡献有目共睹，得到国际社会高度评价。然而，某些西方政客和媒体却罔顾事实，颠倒黑白。某些国家领导人为转移民众对其国内应对新冠肺炎疫情不力的注意力，编造和散布各种匪夷所思的荒谬言论。他们声称“疫情源头在武汉”、“新冠病毒是武汉病毒研究所制造”，鼓动国际社会对中国进行“追责索赔”，叫嚣对中国进行所谓“独立调查”。
These allegations have neither moral foundation nor scientific and legal basis. The pandemic is an assault of an unknown virus on humans, and no one can predict it. China is also a victim, not a beneficiary, nor a culprit.
这些论调既无道德基础，也无科学和法理依据。疫情是未知病毒对人类的突袭，没有谁能先知先觉。中国也是受害者，不是受益者，更不是加害者。
Being the first to report the virus does not mean that Wuhan is its origin. The origin is yet to be identified. Renowned scientists from the US, UK, France, Germany and other countries have refuted the “virus originates from Wuhan” allegation. Recently, there have been reports that long before China reported its first case, COVID-19 cases had already happened in others countries, and the actual first case in the US was far earlier than it was announced, which further proved the complexity of the virus source tracing.
武汉首先报告疫情不等于就是病毒源头，新冠病毒源头尚未确定，包括美英法德等国知名科学家在内的科学界已对所谓“武汉病毒源头论”进行了批驳。近期，陆续有媒体报道，早在中国报告首例病例之前，其他一些国家就已出现新冠病例，美国实际发生新冠病毒疫情的时间也远早于其公布的时间，这进一步说明了病毒溯源的复杂性。
The so-called “international independent investigation” instigated by certain countries against China is but a presumption of guilt, to which China of course firmly opposes. If there should be such an investigation, those who failed to take effective measures to contain the virus, thus leading to the further spread of it in their territories and beyond, should be the ones to be investigated.
某些国家怂恿对中国开展“国际独立调查”，是在搞有罪推定，中方当然坚决反对。如果要调查，那些未采取有力措施控制疫情，导致本国疫情不断蔓延并向他国大量扩散的国家更应该成为调查对象。
A pandemic is a global public health emergency. There is no such a thing as “state responsibility” of the first country to report cases. AIDS was first reported in the US in the 1980s and then swept across the world, causing untold sufferings to countless victims. Did anyone come forward and ask the US to be held accountable? The 2009 H1N1 flu, which was first diagnosed before breaking out on a large scale in the US and then spread to 214 countries and regions, killing 150,000 to 570,000 people. Did anyone ask the US to offer compensations? The Ebola epidemic in 2014 caused huge losses to some West African countries. Is it fair to require these countries to be responsible for this?
突发大规模流行疾病是世界公共卫生事件，不存在所谓疫情首发国的“国家责任”问题。上世纪80年代，艾滋病首先在美国发现并蔓延至全世界，国际社会要求美国承担赔偿责任了吗？2009年H1N1流感大暴发，全球214个国家约7亿到14亿人感染，累计约15-57万人死亡，追究了谁的责任？2014年埃博拉疫情给有关西非国家造成巨大损失，难道应由西非国家对此负责吗？
In face of this pandemic, no country can stay immune on its own. The most potent weapon is solidarity and cooperation. It is time to end the scapegoating and blame game. It is time for the international community to work together for the final victory at an early date.
面对疫情，没有人能独善其身，团结合作是战胜疫情的最有力武器。“甩锅”和指责游戏该收场了。国际社会应携手合作、并肩战斗，争取早日赢得抗疫最终胜利。