The 35th American President, John F. Kennedy famously spoke the immortal words: “Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what you can do for your country” during his inspiring inaugural speech on January 20, 1961. That phrase has become famous all over the world inspiring people to confront their respective country’s challenges honorably.  Sadly, it did not seem to register with the younger generation in Hong Kong.

Although this is not the first Asian virus which has spread around the globe like wild fire, what is different this time is the even faster speed at which social media spreads misinformation, half-truths, outright lies, and vicious racist and sinophobic comments, proving once again what Mark Twain once said: “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is just putting on its shoes.”

While at this relatively early stage the evolution and spread of the virus suggests that this coronavirus seems to result in lower mortality rates than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), it is capable of spreading very fast, and under worst case scenario, might mutate to a more vicious strain. This is therefore not a Chinese problem, nor an Asian problem but a global problem, requiring a coordinated global approach and constant communication between the experts to tackle. A virus does not stop at a border, or distinguish between nationality, gender, or race.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus is now a global health emergency, but no panic

The world needs to join forces to conquer this virus, prevent it spreading, find a cure and work to prevent its reoccurrence.

The Japanese government had been exemplary in this regard. When a neighboring country is in trouble the Japanese government would swiftly mobilize its resources to assist, whatever the status of the inter-governmental relations. For humanitarian reasons political differences are put aside. This happened during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake with the Japanese search-and-rescue team of experts being the first foreign aid to arrive, and now once again with Japan very quickly sending face masks, medical isolation suits and other relief goods to Wuhan. As the old saying goes, “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. In 2011 China in turn was one of the first countries to assist Japan when it was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Contrary to previous occasions when fundraisers would quickly generate donations to victims of natural disasters on the mainland, some Hong Kong citizens now have a completely different mindset. Instead of asking how one might be able to help, either with expertise, supplies or funds, or just moral support for their compatriots, the reaction has been very parochial and self-centered this time. We hear calls instead to close the border completely, and some medical staff have deemed it acceptable behavior to forsake their Hippocratic Oath and call in sick or even call for a strike. 

This politicization of certain sectors of our medical community is shocking in that we are now seeing a spillover of the recent extreme political activism into what is regarded as one of the world’s best public health services. When the rumor spread that a former public housing estate would be converted to house patients, it was immediately set on fire by selfish arsonists. Bombs were set off, one in a hospital. How heartless can one be to even consider deliberately bombing a hospital?

These are pure acts of terrorism, in breach of both Hong Kong law and international law and all laws of basic human decency. Meanwhile, the anarchic Blackshirts tried to block roads again, during a public health emergency when all should unite instead to assist in the fight against a common enemy - the virus.

Sadly, social media has been full of gratuitously vicious lies being passed for social discourse, not only from Hong Kong residents but also from around the world. A common theme has been to blame China for the coronavirus, which clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of how a virus spreads, and ignorance of history. Indeed, both SARS and this SARI (severe acute respiratory infection) were discovered in China, a country as big as some continents. But from the Spanish Flu (500 million people ill and an estimated 50 million fatalities) to MERS (Middle East Respiratory syndrome), there have been many other pandemics without any Chinese links whatsoever.

The reason that Asia will always spread a virus faster than other regions has to do with population density and the very large size of the cities; Asia is home to six out of the ten most populous areas in the world. People increasingly live much closer to each other, which spreads the risk of contagion. Other factors that contribute to the spread in the region are a rapidly ageing population which already strain the medical system on a normal day, and environmental factors such as climate change and land degradation causing further migration to urban areas, as well as reduced water supplies and diminishing arable land.

The extreme spread of fake news and anti-China doctored videos finally became too much even for the BBC prompting it to issue a report to expose three viral untruths.

ALSO READ: WHO official lauds China's efforts to control virus outbreak

The first was a video which went viral showing what was supposed to be a Chinese woman eating bat soup in Wuhan and biting into a whole bat, suggesting that this was the cause of the coronavirus. The result was an angry barrage of comments chastising the Chinese for their “dirty” habits putting the rest of the world in danger. It later turned out that this video was not at all filmed in China, but rather in the Pacific island nation of Palau, and was more of a dare than a real normal eating habit being filmed.   

The second was the crazy and sick idea that this virus was the result of a Chinese bio weapon which had either accidentally escaped or was being tested. The false story which went viral claims this virus was traced to Chinese “agents” who had stolen this from a laboratory in Canada. While this would make for an interesting plot for a James Bond style movie, it is clearly fiction as the BBC and others have since revealed.

The third debunked myth which had gone viral was the video of what was said to be a nurse in Wuhan wearing full protective gear during the first days of the virus claiming that Wuhan alone had over 90,000 cases of SARI being treated. People across the globe believed this, causing angst and panic. This has subsequently also been proven to be fake, and the uniform and protective clothing do not even resemble any used in Wuhan hospitals. Common sense would prompt one to question how many hospital beds Wuhan has…except people like to believe dramatic news however improbable. According to official statistics there are around 71 thousand hospital beds in all of greater Wuhan. 

The world does not seem to understand or appreciate that China has learned hard lessons from the SARS experience of 2003. The level of transparency it exhibited in the current health crisis is unprecedented anywhere. One can look at official websites showing up to the minute accurate numbers of patients nationwide, of recoveries and of fatalities. The world needs to join forces to conquer this virus, prevent it spreading, find a cure and work to prevent its reoccurrence. Choosing to believe and spread absurd rumors out of ingrained political bias, refusing to work to help the sick, sabotaging potential sick wards, and planting bombs in hospitals are really all crimes against humanity.

The author is a specialist in International Public Law, an adviser on China-related matters to both the private and public sectors, and was the first non-Chinese CEO of a Chinese State-owned finance company.