Expert perspective | Gong Jiong: w88 casino games in the whirlpool of Sino-US relations (April 2020)
(Source: Beijing Language Institute 2020-05-03)
Since COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan at the end of 2019, it has developed into a global pandemic, touching almost all of the world except a few countries, and the United States is the most severely affected country. As of April 30, more than one million people had been infected and more than 60,000 people had died. The U.S. GDP fell by 4.8% in the first quarter due to economic stagnation due to anti-epidemic measures, and the decline is expected to be even greater in the second quarter. Trump's electoral situation is in jeopardy, lagging behind Biden across the board in polls in several battleground states.
The seriousness of the epidemic in the United States is obviously related to the serious dereliction of duty by the Trump administration and the health and medical authorities in February and March. There have been numerous reports in the United States showing that Trump himself did not take it seriously at first and that there were problems with the test kits developed by the CDC and a series of serious mistakes. But Trump certainly won’t sit still and his strategy for fighting back has always been to blame others. This time blame China, blame the World Health Organization (w88 casino games). This article provides a detailed analysis of the dispute between the United States and the w88 casino games.
Why is the United States dissatisfied with the w88 casino games?
First of all, the United States has always been dissatisfied with the w88 casino games. This is mainly reflected in the fact that the United States has limited influence in the w88 casino games and many members of its executive committee and committees come from third world countries. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus comes from Ethiopia, which has close relations with China. He is relatively pro-China and received support and help from China when he ran for Director-General. In addition, the w88 casino games's long-term rejection of Taiwan has been a long-term pain for some American politicians. After the outbreak of COVID-19, Canadian virologist Aylward, the leader of the w88 casino games investigation team in China, deliberately avoided the issue of Taiwan's admission to the w88 casino games in an interview with Taiwanese reporters, which further angered some right-wing politicians in the United States.
As for the w88 casino games’s performance in this epidemic, the Trump administration is very dissatisfied mainly for the following four specific reasons, saying that the w88 casino games is China-centric:
1. On January 14, the w88 casino games tweeted that "there is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission." Tedros recently defended this in a speech, saying that this was the w88 casino games's practice, forwarding the results of the epidemic investigation conducted by the country concerned, and kicking the ball to China.
2. At the w88 casino games expert group meeting on January 23, whether to declare the matter a public-health emergency (PHE), some experts pointed out that the epidemic data from China may be unreliable and cannot be used as a basis for judgment. Tedros did not accept this opinion and did not declare a PHE until the second expert meeting on January 30.
3. Tedros praised China’s anti-epidemic measures several times, saying that it bought time for the global response to the outbreak. Especially what Xi Jinping said during his trip to Beijing on January 28: "China released information openly and transparently, identified pathogens in a record time, and proactively shared relevant virus genetic sequences with the World Health Organization and other countries in a timely manner. The measures China has taken are not only protecting the Chinese people, but also protecting the world." People all over the world, we express our sincere gratitude for this. China's speed and scale of action are rare in the world, showing China's speed, China's scale, and China's efficiency. We highly appreciate this. This is the advantage of China's system, and the relevant experience is worthy of reference by other countries." American politicians were very dissatisfied after hearing this.
4. Trump’s measures to suspend flights from China on January 31 were criticized by Tedros. Tedros said that it exacerbated fear and stigma and was not beneficial to public health. This comment made Trump himself very unhappy. After the outbreak of the epidemic in the United States, Tedros' words are indeed questionable.
The above are several specific reasons for Trump’s attack on the w88 casino games, but in the final analysis, Trump is looking for excuses to shirk responsibility for his ineffective fight against the epidemic and his continuous loss of popular support. At the same time, some politicians in the United States also take the opportunity to use the w88 casino games's Taiwan issue to contain China, and want to insert Taiwan into the w88 casino games. Some commentaries in the US media have pro-Taiwan authors, and it cannot be ruled out that Taiwan is behind the scenes.
US sanctions w88 casino games
On April 8, Trump threatened to cut off funding to the w88 casino games when answering reporters’ questions. On April 16, Trump shocked the world and officially announced that he would stop funding the w88 casino games of approximately US$400 million per year. The w88 casino games budget is divided into two parts. About a quarter comes from membership fees paid by United Nations members, and the rest comes from donations from governments, organizations and individuals, such as individual donations from the Gates Foundation. In 2018 and 2019, the US government gave the w88 casino games a total of US$893 million, including US$237 million in membership fees and US$656 million in donations. The suspension of this payment by the United States will result in a reduction of about 9% of the w88 casino games's budget. If implemented in the future, it will inevitably affect some regional projects of the w88 casino games, and the damage will mainly be in developing countries such as Africa.
Trump’s decision was opposed by some Democratic members of the U.S. Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the decision illegal and may have violated the federal Impoundment Control Act (ICA), but Trump said he had this authority. Whether the U.S. payment will completely stop in the next year, I think it depends on the results of the November election. If Biden wins the White House, this decision will surely be reversed. Trump's current election situation is worrying, and he is lagging behind in the polls in several swing states.
Impact on China
The cooperation between China and w88 casino games should be open and transparent. In the face of accusations from the Trump administration, the w88 casino games issued a chronological list of events, and Tedros also defended the w88 casino games in recent speeches. On April 30, there were reports that Trump was trying to fully hold China accountable and demand compensation. Pottinger, his National Security Council aide, was pressuring the U.S. intelligence system to search for evidence that the virus came from the Wuhan virus leak. Behind this action is of course preparation to accuse the Chinese government of deliberately concealing the epidemic. Regarding the w88 casino games, I think the most important thing is the first evidence issue mentioned above about whether the virus can be transmitted from person to person. The w88 casino games has made it very clear that his tweet on January 14 was entirely based on information provided by China, which means that the w88 casino games did not conduct analysis, but only forwarded official information from China. If the issue of accountability continues to ferment, it will inevitably require the Chinese government to explain why there was no obvious evidence of human-to-human transmission by January 14, and whether there was intentional concealment. This is the core issue among China, the United States, and the w88 casino games in the relationship between China, the United States, and the w88 casino games.
(Author’s affiliation: w88 casino)
Attached original text link:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/z4q5opxuRaPgh-kE7p-NNQ
