A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy to India has refuted the arguments on stigmatising China for the Coronavirus.
The spokesperson said such arguments ignore the facts and confuse right and wrong, thus they are “irresponsible and do nothing to help international cooperation on epidemic prevention and control.”
“We are strongly opposed to these arguments,” said Ji Rong, counselor and spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy, in a statement published on the embassy website on Wednesday.
“There is a clear consensus by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community that a virus should not be linked to any specific country, region or ethnic group and such stigmatisation should be rejected,” she said.
Ji stressed that in the fight against the COVID-19, WHO has consistently called on the international community to respect science and respond rationally, and urged all governments to educate the public about the correct name of the disease.
“WHO has stressed that any discriminatory practices should be condemned, the use of “China” and “Wuhan” naming the virus by some media must be corrected, and the international community should focus on China’s swift response to the epidemic rather than stereotyping the Chinese people,” she noted.
The Chinese diplomat said the so-called “Chinese virus” is absolutely wrong. “We hope some people could heed the reasonable voice from the international community and stop making wrongful remarks that stigmatise China. The COVID-19 is no longer the battle of one country or one city,” she said.
“It is now a battle for all. We hope this pandemic can bring us greater solidarity, trust, international health cooperation and better global governance in the public health sector.” Ji said China and India have maintained communication and cooperation and lent support to each other in coping with the epidemic in this difficult time.
“China will continue to fight the epidemic together with India and other countries, enhance cooperation in multilateral platforms such as G20 and BRICS, contribute our wisdom and strength to better addressing global challenges and promote the health and well-being of all mankind,” she said.