An article headlined “We can’t ignore China’s role in this catastrophe” was published on the Herald Sun newspaper on 20th March. It made groundless accusations that the Chinese Government had unleashed the COVID-19, destroyed evidence and allowed the virus to spread across the world, etc. Such allegations are based on pure rumors and ideological prejudice, with no basis in fact. The Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne is strongly opposed to them.   

Faced with a completely new virus, China identified the pathogen in a record short time and shared the full genetic sequences with the World Health Organization and other countries in a timely manner. Such efforts are of great importance for the rest of the world to monitor and detect the disease and to develop vaccines from the early beginning. China has also been releasing information related to the disease in an open, transparent and responsible manner. The WHO experts mission consisted of renowned international public health experts from Canada, the United States, Germany, Japan and several other countries were invited to take an on-site tour in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak and other Chinese cities. Chinese medical professionals fighting the COVID-19 in the front-line have been sharing their experiences with their counterparts from other countries. China’s efforts to contain the epidemic have been fully recognized by the international community, including the United Nations, its specialized agencies, many countries and global public health experts.

With a highly responsible attitude towards its people and people around the globe, the Chinese Government has adopted the most comprehensive, thorough and rigorous measures of prevention and control in human history to contain the spread of the virus. To this end, 16 million Wuhan citizens and 1.4 billion Chinese people have made arduous efforts and huge sacrifices. In a short period of time, China has basically controlled the epidemic. By doing that, China has not only provided safeguards to the health and safety of its own people, but also erected a great wall for the world against the epidemic. By doing that, China has earned precious time for other countries to respond and provided useful experiences to the international community. As the domestic situation continues to improve, China has started to provide assistance to other countries in urgent need within its capacity. According to incomplete statistics, China has provided material assistance including testing reagents, protective masks and surgical gowns to 82 countries and international organizations such as WHO and the African Union. Teams of Chinese medical experts have been sent to Iran, Italy, Iraq, Serbia and Cambodia.

Rumors stop at a wise man and justice will prevail. China’s efforts to fight against the COVID-19 have been widely applauded by the international community. By doing so, China has lent firm support to the global fight against the virus, made contributions to global public health security, fulfilled its role as a responsible major country and put into practice the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

While the origin of the COVID-19 has not been identified yet, the virus is taking footholds and keeps spreading in many parts of the world. There is a clear consensus of WHO and the international community that a virus should not be linked to any specific country, region or ethnic group and any stigmatization should be denounced. Attempts to associate the virus with any specific country or people, and incite hatred and discrimination    will in no way help the joint response to the epidemic but spread invisible viruses of prejudice, bias, xenophobia and panic to the public, to the detriment of the global efforts to combat the disease. Faced with the epidemic, what we need are science, mutual trust and cooperation rather than prejudice, distrust, finger pointing or playing the blaming game. To fight against the epidemic, we should keep necessary social distance but not create artificial barriers among peoples.

Facts prove again that, mankind is in a community with a shared future. We are all in this together. Solidarity and cooperation is the only way to overcome this public health challenge. All countries should unite as one in this undertaking. Only by working together can mankind secure the ultimate victory against the COVID-19.