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China Daily

HongKong> Opinion> Content
Monday, February 10, 2020, 15:00
Believing in China will benefit all mankind
By Xie Bing and Wen Zongduo
Monday, February 10, 2020, 15:00 By Xie Bing and Wen Zongduo

One of mankind’s most sinister foes is once again striking China and stoking fear. By engaging the most populous nation in a life-and-death battle, the coronavirus tests human bonds amid hardship, and challenges the will of the Chinese to serve the world’s common good.

Trust and love for the world’s oldest continuous civilization have been reverberating in the global community, yet disbelief and prejudice also abound.

By claiming several hundred lives in weeks, the novel coronavirus carries pernicious effects referable to SARS in 2003, which resulted in over 910 deaths worldwide; to the Ebola virus that killed about 11,300 in West Africa between 2013 and 2016; and to influenza that has caused 10,000 deaths in the United States so far this season, according to estimates by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Unlike any other, 2019-nCoV is more treacherous, hiding under the camouflage of flu and SARS symptoms and luring people into confusion and misjudgment.

The pathogen is more noxiously evolved, embedded with murderous skills and savage velocity to spread faster and infect more furtively even during its incubation period. And it struck right before Spring Festival, the world’s largest annual migration.

This devil is also more evil, igniting panic and discrimination and attacking the very basis of global community: air and connectivity. After all it is human-to-human contact that makes our species socially extraordinary.

It is unlucky that China has to withstand another wave of intensive pathogenic assault in less than two decades. The country is forced to pay heavy sacrifices. 

Apart from losing hundreds of lives, thousands are hospitalized.

And millions have been deprived of Spring Festival reunions and the freedom to travel. Stock market plunges indicate growth slowdown as the economy struggles with other uncertainties.

Yet China’s bad luck is being translated into the good fortune of the world, simply because the country stands as a responsible power of the global community, making sacrifices for the good of human destiny.

Despite early professional mishaps and the habitual lull of local officials, the Chinese people and government have taken decisive measures more rigorous than demanded by the International Health Regulations. 

The lockdown of transport hub Wuhan — the only one in the history of New China — signifies the determination of a nation to shoulder responsibility and sacrifice for the common good of mankind.

Its leaders are fully aware that winning this battle against the coronavirus may settle an ageless war with mankind’s long-term foe. Its professionals braved all risks in parting with families on Lunar New Year’s Eve and rushing into wards nearby or thousands of miles away.

China shares key biological information in a timely manner with the international community, takes comprehensive approaches to prevent the further spread of the virus, and communicates transparently with fellow nations.

As the World Health Organization concluded in its Jan 30 statement: “The measures China has taken are good not only for that country but also for the rest of the world.” Dozens of world leaders and the United Nations also share one identical message: Believe in China.

Yet discord emerges, blaming and demeaning the country and certain Chinese groups, and calls for undoing air and land interconnectivity with China are not rare.

It is understandable for each nation to apply self-protection in line with WHO recommendations. But proposals of “shutting the border” to maximize one member state’s interest may not necessarily immunize itself but will certainly affect public health as a whole.

Such a fallacy of composition was addressed decades ago by late US economist Paul A. Samuelson, “what is true of a part is, on that account alone, alleged to be also true on the whole”. The first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences would be hurt miserably to see his fellow countrymen betray his teachings with so-called “rational” responses to this emergency. 

Besides, cutting travel or trade links with one-fourth of the whole population and the world’s largest growth engine, as advocated by some organizations and politicians, can amount to damaging or dissecting the hard-built global supply chain and affect the livelihoods of billions, if not all.

The truth is that all human beings now belong to a community of shared future. Sustaining healthy connectivity means far more than making us more human. The suffering of a neighbor is immediately felt, so caring for others also means caring for oneself and cultivating limitless strength against fear.

What the global community needs in hardship is solidarity, support and multi-sectoral collaboration to defeat the evil and develop virus-resistant cross-border links.

Developed members of this global community can tap their potential in finding solutions to stop secondary transmission, cure the infected and upgrade human links. Members with weaker healthcare systems can review logs of prevention and of recovering patients across Chinese hospitals.

Through the crisis, China is waking up to improve its medical and administrative mechanisms for emergencies. A promising certainty is that soon the Chinese will win the duel with the devil thanks to their experiences in tackling SARS within months and helping Africa stop the Ebola virus, the advantages in massive backup for governance, the vitality of traditional Chinese medicine, their selfless dedication, plus humanitarian support from other peoples.

Each day, more and more Chinese who were seriously ill from coronavirus-borne pneumonia walk out of hospital and reunite with families after beating death. They are living witnesses to President Xi Jinping’s words that China has the confidence to win the battle against this outbreak.

Such gain through pain and sacrifice will serve the public health of the human species. Holding a belief in China is believing in mankind.

History will prove that human merit of mutual love prevails over the novel coronavirus, and that China fulfills its mission and honors its role for a better future for mankind.

The authors are writers at China Daily.


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