Nation battles a virus within and without

A man-made virus is spreading its tentacles across many parts of the world even as the Chinese people fight the new coronavirus outbreak. The other virus is called discrimination against Chinese and, even, Asian people. Some people are actually equating the Chinese people, even those living overseas, with the virus. Some Asian people wearing masks have been abused on the streets of Western cities where the media does not shy from using terms like “Wuhan virus” or “China virus”.

Such practices indicate a return to the path of racism, a disgrace to human civilization in the 21st century.

The bitter history of World War II should deter us from crossing the red line when it comes to racial discrimination. That is why those foreign media organizations and people who still have a conscience have spoken out against the discrimination and humiliation that China has faced in recent days. Al-Jazeera said the racism following the outbreak of the epidemic was more dangerous than the epidemic itself.

Dozens of employees of The Wall Street Journal recently submitted a signed email to their bosses urging them to consider apologizing for an article headlined “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia” it had carried.

Discrimination against the Chinese is also apparent when a small number of people try to distort, smear and politicize China’s epidemic prevention and control measures. Upon hearing the World Health Organization declare the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”, some countries have erected a “wall of isolation” against China, taking measures far beyond what the WHO recommended.

However, the Chinese government has gone beyond WHO’s recommendations to contain the virus, keeping the world informed and cooperating with everyone. The international community must cooperate more than ever with China at this moment. It is hoped that those wearing colored glasses abandon their discrimination and not make it an accomplice of the virus.