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郑永年:疫情之后的“有限全球化”

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作者:王彪 黄应来  来源:南方日报

  核心要点

  • 疫情在全球持续蔓延,全球产业链、供应链正在受到波及,全球化有回归“经济主权”时代的态势;
  • 疫情促使欧美更强调自身的“经济主权”,全球化将受到抑制,可能会回归到上世纪80年代之前的国际贸易形式,部分产业将向本国回流;
  • 从短期看,这将为中国带来较大的产业调整成本;但从长期看,部分产业回迁将在客观上让出市场空间,有利于中国企业补充替代,进而向产业链上的高附加值环节攀升。

  回到上世纪80年代以前的全球
  新冠肺炎疫情之后,各国都会想方设法收回更多经济主权,全球化方向会发生变化,即变为“有限的全球化”。
  具体来看,这次疫情中,美国欧洲等发达经济体,虽然具有最发达的医疗系统、公共卫生系统,但疫情发生后情况依然很惨烈,一个重要原因是上世纪80年代以来的全球产业转移,使得口罩、洗手液、呼吸机等医疗物资产业链大量转移到中国等发展中国家,欧美国家自身的生产能力大幅降低。
  中国在抗击新冠肺炎疫情中,之所以能在短期内取得巨大成效,不仅缘于全国统一行动的制度优势,也因为医疗物资产能相对充裕的经济优势。虽然刚开始医疗物资也曾出现短缺,但是随着产能快速提升,目前供应已经基本缓解。因此,疫情之后,各国无论从国民生命安全还是经济安全考虑,都会更多地把经济主权掌握在自己手里,全球化将转变为“有限的全球化”。
  事实上,从历史上看,上世纪80年代以前的全球化也是有限的全球化,即每个国家都掌握自己的经济主权,并在此基础上进行贸易和投资。80年代后的全球化是更深层次的全球化,生产要素在全球市场进行优化配置。但此次疫情之后,全球化会出现回落,部分产业链将迁回西方发达国家。
  不是“去中国化”的过程
  我不同意有人认为这是“去中国化”。“去中国化”是指美国等国家将其在中国的企业迁到越南、印度等其他国家。实际上,美国等国家主要把境外企业迁回本土,迁出的区域不仅包括中国也包括其他国家。一些国家想投资分散化,即避免投资过度集中在一个国家,这也是正常的经济考量。
  同时要看到,欧美不会把所有企业都搬回本国,而是主要集中于两个领域:第一,与国家安全有关的企业,这在中美贸易摩擦中已经体现出来;第二,与公共卫生医疗物资相关的企业。
  从短期看,“有限的全球化”会对中国经济产生较大冲击。近年来,外贸占中国GDP的比重都在30%以上,外资、外商在中国经济中也占有重要位置。此次疫情对中国企业的影响至少体现在两个方面:其一,中国很多地方的企业复工之后,由于欧美国家的订单减少乃至消失,无法恢复正常生产;其二,疫情结束后,随着美国、日本等国家的企业迁出,将给中国带来比较大的产业调整成本。
  但从长期看,中国将从“有限的全球化”中获益。一方面,西方产业不可能全部撤离;另一方面,西方企业撤离后让出的国内市场空间,中国企业可以迅速占领。目前中国是世界上产业链最齐全的国家,而且国内市场广阔,“有限的全球化”对中国企业来说也可以是很好的机会,不仅可以占领西方企业留下的产业链空间,还可以向产业链中的高附加值环节发展。
  “有限的全球化”下,美国、日本等国家即使将企业迁回本国,也是一个较长的过程,不可能在一年半载完成,对中国,比如具体到对广东来说,会有一个缓冲期。要看到,外资企业来到中国的主要原因就是看中了中国市场,这些企业迁出后,就为中国企业腾出市场空间。特别是,珠三角是外向企业最集中的地区之一,在新的全球化格局下,可以借机发展内需市场。
  中日韩区域发展方向值得肯定
  中日韩的地理距离不远,文化相近,产业链的区域分布也非常好。这次应对疫情,三国互帮互助,体现出三国政府之间高度互信,整体表现好于欧盟。这样的区域发展方向是值得肯定、有利于区域安全稳定的,应该继续推进。
  不过,日本也提出把企业搬迁回去,说明日本对经济形势存在一定担忧。接下来就需要通过进一步加强协作,共同应对危机,避免各国各自为战。
  此外,东南亚有很多国家,面积、人口和经济体量上比较小,疫情之后,关乎国计民生的产业可能会放在本国,但是不可能把所有的产业链迁回。就像我常说的“一个世界,两个市场”,即世界上存在分别以中国、美国为中心的两个巨大市场,东南亚不会放弃美国市场,但从产业关联上与中国会更加紧密。

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/13

旧文章ID:21384

新冠疫情像一面镜子,折射出美国的文化分裂

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作者:  来源:上海美国研究

  最近,美国在应对新冠肺炎疫情时,联邦政府与州政府龃龉不断。特别是处于“重灾区”的民主党州长们与特朗普政府在“抗疫”计划上对立明显。有一些媒体认为,新冠疫情正在分裂美国人甚至分裂美国。

""

  事实上,按照畅销书作家科林·伍达德(Colin Woodard)的观点,虽然美国是一个由50个州组成的统一国家,但却一直处在“文化分裂”的状态。他在《不同的美国:关于11个相互竞争的北美区域文化的历史》一书中写道:“在历史上,有11种不同的竞争文化将美国划分开来。”
  新冠疫情之下,这种文化“分裂”正在无限放大。从各州应对新冠疫情的措施可以看出,美国内部的分歧并不体现在地理位置上,而是在政治信仰上。由于没有适用于所有州的联邦计划,各州州长根据各自的政治信仰来制定应对危机的计划。
  伍达德把北美分成11个竞争的文化带,分别是:
  01 “扬基国”文化带(Yankeedom)
  “扬基国”文化带包括纽约州以北的整个东北地区,以及密歇根州、威斯康辛州以及明尼苏达州。“扬基国”文化带重视教育、学业成就、社区赋权以及公民参与度,将公民参与视为对抗暴政的防护盾,对政府管制表示满意。伍达德指出,“扬基国”文化带存在一种“乌托邦式的倾向”,最早的定居者为激进派加尔文主义者。
  02 “新尼德兰”文化带(New Netherland)
  作为一种高度商业化的文化,“新尼德兰”文化带“崇拜物质,对种族和宗教多样性有着极大的包容,并且坚定维护质询自由与道德感”。它与“扬基国”文化带是与生俱来的“盟友”,涵盖的地区包括纽约州与新泽西州北部,最早的定居者为尼德兰人。
  03 “中原”文化带(Midlands)
  “中原”文化带最早的定居者为英国贵格会教徒,这里孕育了“美国心脏地带”的文化,是热情好客的中产阶级社会。该文化区域的政治观点温和,对政府监管持反对态度。伍达德将多种族的“中原”文化带称作“美国最大的摇摆地带”,范围包括新泽西州、宾夕法尼亚州、俄亥俄州、印第安纳州、伊利诺伊州、密苏里州、艾奥瓦州、堪萨斯州和内布拉斯加州的部分地区。
  04 “沿海低地”文化带(Tidewater)
  “沿海低地”文化带最初由年轻的英国贵族在切萨皮克湾和北卡罗莱纳州周围地区建立。作为一个拥护奴隶制的封建社会,该文化带高度重视对权威与传统的尊重。伍达德指出,“沿海低地”文化带在走下坡路,部分原因是“它已经被华盛顿特区和诺福克附近不断扩大的联邦光环湮没了”。
  05 “大阿巴拉契亚区”文化带(Greater Appalachia)
  “大阿巴拉契亚区”文化带最早的定居者是来自饱受战争蹂躏的北爱尔兰、英格兰北部和苏格兰低地的殖民者,人们对该文化带的刻板印象是“乡巴佬和南方佬的地盘”。伍达德表示,该文化带重视个人主权与个人自由,“对低地地区的贵族和北方诸州的社会工程师持强烈的怀疑态度”。它与“深南地区”文化带(Deep South)携手对抗联邦政府的影响力。该文化带包括肯塔基州、田纳西州、西弗吉尼亚州、阿肯色州、密苏里州、俄克拉荷马州、印第安纳州、伊利诺伊州和得克萨斯州的部分地区。
  06 “深南地区”文化带
  “深南地区”文化带由来自巴巴多斯的英国奴隶主一手建立,是一个西印度群岛式的奴隶社会。该文化带的社会结构极为刻板,并与威胁个人自由的政府监管不断抗争。阿拉巴马州、佛罗里达州、密西西比州、得克萨斯州、佐治亚州和南卡罗来纳州都属于这一文化带。
  07 “北部”文化带(ElNorte)
  由美西帝国的边境组成的“北部”文化带是一个与美国其他各州“分离”的区域。拉美文化在该文化带占主导地位,且该区域重视独立、自给自足,并特别赞扬辛勤工作。“北部”文化带包括得克萨斯州、亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州和加利福尼亚州的部分地区。
  08 “左岸”文化带
  “左岸”文化带最初受新英格兰人与阿巴拉契亚中西部人的殖民,伍达德认为它是“北方乌托邦主义以及阿巴拉契亚地区自我表达与自我探索”的混合体,是“扬基国”文化带最坚定的盟友。加利福尼亚州、俄勒冈州和华盛顿州共同组成了这一文化带。
  09 “远西部”文化带(The Far West)
  “远西部”文化带在保守的西部地带,凭借大量的工业投资而逐步发展建立,然而那里的居民却始终对最初控制着工业投资的东部地区利益阶层心怀“憎恨”。“远西部”文化带横跨数个州,包括爱达荷州、蒙大拿州、怀俄明州、犹他州、内华达州、内布拉斯加州、堪萨斯州、亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州、科罗拉多州、北达科他州、南达科他州、华盛顿州、俄勒冈州和加利福尼亚州。
  10 “新法兰西”文化带(New France)
  “新法兰西”文化带的民众受共识所驱动,宽容豁达,接受政府介入经济的行为。伍达德表示,该文化区域是北美最自由的地区之一,以路易斯安那州的新奥尔良市以及加拿大的魁北克省为中心。
  11 “第一民族”文化带(First Nation)
  “第一民族”文化带由北美原住民组成,在美国享有部落主权。伍达德表示,该文化带的地理范围辽阔,但人口却不到30万,其中大多数人居住在加拿大的北部地区。

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(4月16日美国新冠疫情地图,来源于《纽约时报》网站)

  按照伍达德的文化地图,美国疫情最严重的地区恰好与伍达德所称的“扬基国”文化带与“左岸”文化带重合。正如伍达德称这两个文化带是“天然的盟友”,他们在应对疫情时似乎也都采用了相似的方法,比如重视州政府在应对疫情中的领导力,这与他们接受政府监管的文化心态分不开。
  保守的“大阿巴拉契亚区”文化带和“深南地区”文化带则结成了另一个应对疫情的联盟。来自这些地区的国会议员多为共和党,他们纷纷呼吁早日重启经济,以降低疫情的危害。最近,来自“大阿巴拉契亚区”文化带的印第安纳州共和党议员特里·霍林斯沃斯(Trey Hollingsworth)甚至认为美国人的“生活方式”更加重要,称“宁可死更多美国人,也不能让经济崩溃”。不得不说这种观点与他们重视个人自由的文化分不开。
  另外,来自“大阿巴拉契亚区”文化带和“深南地区”文化带的保守政客们似乎更偏爱“甩锅”,把疫情失控怪罪于他国,甚至挑动政治对抗。除了出于大选年的选举因素考虑,这一现象背后的文化因素同样值得关注。

  文中关于伍达德北美竞争文化划分的内容,编译自“商业内幕”网站文章This Map Shows How the US Really Has 11 Separate ‘Nations’ with Entirely Different Cultures。译者:吴昊琦

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/17

旧文章ID:21383

今天的美国在恐慌什么?

作者:孟维瞻  来源:国政学人

  近年来,美国国内各种精英,只要一谈到中国就非常恐慌,这种现象是以前没有的。这种恐慌首先是跨党派的,国会民主党的两位领袖与特朗普是死敌,但在中国问题上高度一致。其次是跨行业、跨阶层的,美国的商界和学界原来对中国是相对友好的,但现在态度变得负面,传媒界那些对中国友好的人现在态度也变得负面。第三是这种恐慌不仅仅针对中国政府,华侨和中国学生也受到影响,在美国生活的各种价值观的华裔均受影响。
  应该说,这是很晚近的现象。2010年之前并没有这种现象,2010年到2015年可以算是一个过渡期。中美关系的全面转向,也就是2015年之后的事情。虽然很早就有“中国威胁论”,但过去那根本不是主流。媒体或者某个政客会故意将中国的某一个人、某一本书的观点看作是中国政府或者大众的态度,然后中国这边再炒作这些美国人的耸人听闻观点。20年前美国人也谈论“中国崛起”,但那是一种“忧患意识”,是美国人的传统,远远不到恐慌的程度。
  中国实力的变化和中国对外政策的转向,不太可能完全解释上述变化。仅仅讨论是否应该继续“韬晦”,意义是有限的。一方面,中国的军事力量、盟友数量、在国际制度中的影响力,都不能和美国相比,中国暂时没有能力撼动美国的权势。另一方面,即使我们在外交上“韬晦”,美国仍然会恐慌中国。中美关系中的本质问题,可能不在于对外政策,而在于双方各自内部的整合能力。
  很多美国人总是喜欢用美国的逻辑思维来分析中国问题,以至于总是预测失误。同样,我们不能用中国的逻辑思维来分析美国,那样无法找到答案。中国精英对美国的看法,一直差别很大,甚至很对立。同样,美国对中国的态度也是多元化的,我们要分清楚不同时期的主流观点是什么,而不是放大那些边缘化的观点。
  美国对华政策长期被自由派左右
  历史上,美国一直有种族主义、现实主义、排外主义等各种思潮,但自由主义一直是美国政坛、美国精英的主流价值观。美国的自由主义是基于其领土、人口、地缘位置的天然禀赋。在二战之前,美国以相对于欧洲的独特价值观作为立国的合法性依据。直到1941年大西洋会议时,罗斯福还在对丘吉尔讽刺英国的政体。美国对中国的政策,比其他列强友好一些,没有像其他列强那样占据中国领土,在19世纪末、一战后和二战期间还曾帮助中国维护领土完整。这主要是因为美国没有需求扩大其领土,它更愿意维持中国的统一市场,倡导自由贸易最符合其利益。
  美国的自由派比保守派在知识界中更占优势。自由派中的“知华派”在对华政策上一直享有话语权。知华派内部也是多元的,但他们毕竟能熟练使用汉语,在中国学习或生活过,因此对中国的恶意比较少。美国政府曾经多次试图改变对华政策,但是无法得到主流知识界的支持,因而始终没有下定决心。
  在对华态度上,自由派中的知华派有三个假定、三个派别。第一个假定是“中国政府”不容于“中国人民”,第二个是中国执政党不容于中国的历史传统,第三个是中国的政治制度和发展模式不容于中国长期的经济发展。因此,美国才不需要恐慌中国,它有可能通过“接触”来改变中国。知华派的主要学术著作,一般围绕这些假定展开论述。就三个派别而言,第一种是“演变论”,认为中国会逐渐接受美国的制度和价值观,并且遵守美国制定的国际规则。第二种是“崩溃论”,认为中国会不可避免地崩溃。第三种是“衰退论”,认为如果中国继续坚持现在的制度,那么中国经济将会长期低速发展,国内问题越来越多,但不至于崩溃。上述三个派别,必须至少有一种站得住脚,接触战略的假定才能成立。
  比较而言,上述三种派别中,“演变论”在政、学、媒界,都占据主流。奥巴马曾经宣称美国“担心”一个虚弱的中国。而“崩溃论”则不是主流,虽然一些畅销书作家喜欢耸人听闻,中国媒体也喜欢夸大美国少数人的观点,但很少有严肃的学者在论文中讨论过这种可能性。“衰退论”是最近一些“演变论”的学者转化而来。但要注意的是,这三种论调都属于自由派观点,他们的本质逻辑都是一样的,没有分歧。他们一致认为,中国必须接受西方价值观和发展模式,才有可能繁荣。
  主流精英观点的巨大转变
  知华派承担着双重职能,有“双面说客”作用。在中国,他们以友好态度示人,愿意与中国各界人士友好往来,向中国提出过很多诤言。但他们的核心目的很明确,就是要说服中国接受美国的价值观和发展模式。他们“真诚地”希望中国走上一条“正确道路”。在美国,他们说服美国政府不要采取“遏制”或极端强硬的政策,而是保持对中国的“接触”战略,尤其是在中国最关心的问题上理解和容忍中国。这样做可以以一种低成本的方式来维护美国利益。知华派已经形成一个“学术利益集团”,控制了学术评价权,他们会保证自己的声音对政府的影响力,打压和排挤那些鹰派和保守派人士的观点,以至于后者认为美国的对华政策长期被这个圈子干扰。
  最近,自由派中的知华派在美国国内处境困难,在对华政策上似乎正在失去话语权,这是过去几十年没有的现象。美国约翰斯·霍普金斯大学一位教授认为,知华派们大多对中国做出了错误的预测和判断,而那些不专门研究中国问题的大战略家们在几十年前的预测则得到了验证。他宣称要尊重知华派,但使用的是嘲讽语气。知华派反驳,他们并不软弱,历史上美国对中国做出过多让步,其决策者并不是知华派。
  尽管知华派有三种逻辑,但他们过去的预判似乎都被证伪。中国不仅没有崩溃,也没有自然地演变。这样,一部分“演变论”学者变成了“衰退论”学者,沈大伟教授就是代表。在中国人看来,沈大伟对中国的态度发生了180度转变。但他的变化没有引起太多美国人的注意,因为这种现象在自由派内部是很常见的,他们的逻辑是一致的——如果中国不走美国道路就会衰退。现在的问题是,沈大伟等人的影响力也在下降。保守派似乎正在夺取对华政策的话语权,自由派和知华派则整体式微。
  恐慌的原因
  第一,中国崛起冲击了美国的价值体系。美国人始终坚信,多元、分权、自由的价值体系才具有最为强大的力量。美国曾经战胜军纪严明的德国和貌似铁板一块的苏联,坚定了其信仰。美国认为,最终中国会选择走入美国设计的轨道,这样才可以变得繁荣。否则中国会崩溃或衰退,不对美国构成威胁。但今天他们看到的是另一番景象,正如谢淑丽教授所说“对今天的中国很惊讶”。于是美国人开始对这种异质文明表达恐惧,中国对他们变得陌生了。他们从未质疑过自己的价值观,但不知道中国继续强大之后将会对美国做什么。
  第二,美国人宣称自己被中国欺骗了。近代历史上,中国一直表现出试图摒弃自己的传统文化,向往西方文化。美国人一直认为中国是好学生,可以把中国改造成为基督教文明的一部分。而现在这种期待似乎落空。从中美两国自由派的视角,现在的中国变得越来越不符合“常识”,但他们却看不到“反常”回归“常识”的希望。美国的自由派处处碰壁,变得沉默,主流观点倒向于鹰派和保守派。此外,美国人看到,中国的自由派没有起到改变中国的作用,反而实际上服务了北京。美国媒体总是喜欢放大他们的观点,使得华盛顿误以为中国可以自然演变,不断错失遏制中国的机会,不知不觉被北京迷惑了。
  第三,在过去的五年中,美国对中国人民失望。美国的常识认为,只有选出来的政府才能得到人民的拥护。未经选举的政府是虚弱的、不团结的,美国没有必要恐惧之。美国人70年来一直寄“希望”于中国人民,认为中国人民会理解美国的“好意”。几乎所有两党议员都认为,他们对台湾、香港的支持,是在帮助中国大陆的人民走上更美好的道路,但他们却看到中国人民站在北京一边。美国人担心,一个人民与政府界限不清的国家,它的力量会对美国造成威胁。因此美国开始从恐红变成恐黄。过去美国欢迎中国的知识精英和留学生,希望他们将美国的思想带到中国,但现在美国对他们失望,指控其为间谍。
  第四,最近五年,中国展现空前的动员能力。中国的基础建设、反腐、扶贫、打击疆恐、制造业强国战略,这些全国性的政治动员,在10年和20年前并不多见。抗击新冠疫情,可能是建国后最大规模的全国紧急动员。与此同时,美国这几年则陷入身份政治和民粹政治,精英们陷入焦虑和迷惘。还有一个现象,很少有人谈到。VOA、《华尔街日报》和《纽约时报》三家媒体对中国的报道,在10年前和今天有很大不同。过去,他们每天报道中国内部的各种问题和危机,从上到下一片混乱。但今天,虽然他们仍在攻击中国,但很少找到具体的真实事件。
  如何缓解美国的恐慌?
  中国主流精英在一个问题上是有共识的,即美国对中国依然很重要,和美国保持友好关乎中国利益,领导人也认为“没有一个理由把中美关系搞坏”。无论如何,中国应该努力改善与美国的关系。
  但是,中国不太可能通过改革自己的政治和经济体系,来缓和与美国的关系。中国应该改革,这符合自己的利益。但是,谁能给出可行的改革方案呢?随着双方战略利益的分歧越来越大,两国的精英可能被迫选边站,友好力量会受到挤压。美国对华共识正在形成,未来几年中国对美共识可能也会形成。
  一方面美国对中国很重要,另一方面我们却无法通过对根本制度的改革让美国满意。要解决这个矛盾,我们必须做出一些策略上的调整,主要是宣传、统战、外交、人文学术交流中的策略。行为上中国不会改变,但言语上可以传递信号。我们尤其是要避免美国自由派在对华政策上失去话语权,至少不能因为我们的策略不当而推动这种结果。设法维持自由派和保守派的相互牵制,给自由派留下一种期待的假象,防止自由派的完全沉默,这非常符合中国的利益。
  简单地说,中国实力增长导致的美国恐慌是无法缓解的,中国根本政治经济制度导致的美国恐慌也是无法缓解的,但这两项之外我们仍然可以做出很多努力。这就要求我们分清楚根本利益与非根本利益,核心利益与非核心利益,不得不做出痛苦的取舍。

  作者:孟维瞻,复旦大学中国研究院、发展研究院助理研究员,“国政学人”微信平台主编。

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/14

旧文章ID:21382

Now Is Exactly the Time to Investigate the WHO

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作者:CLAUDIA ROSETT  来源:PJ Media

Now Is Exactly the Time to Investigate the WHO’s Catastrophic Public Failures and Internal Rot

President Trump made precisely the right call in suspending U.S. funding to the World Health Organization, pending a review of its role in "severely mismanaging and covering up the coronavirus." Trump is doing an important service not only to America, but to the world, with his demands that the WHO clean up its abysmal and misleading act, and stop kowtowing to China.

But here comes the chorus of alarms that this particular moment, in the midst of the worst pandemic since 1918, is not the time to interrupt the WHO’s annual intake of roughly $500 million from U.S. taxpayers. Bill Gates, a big backer of the WHO, declares the United Nations health agency irreplaceable. A Beijing government spokesman proclaims that Trump’s decision will weaken the WHO and "undermine international cooperation." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opines that the WHO is "absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19" and any review of the WHO should wait till "we have finally turned the page on this epidemic."

Don’t fall for it. The Hippocratic Oath enjoins doctors to do no harm, and the WHO Constitution includes similiar requirements of the director-general and his staff. But today’s WHO has done harm on a pandemic scale, misleading the world with its rotten assurances ("no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission"), its perverse prescriptions ("WHO advises against the application of any restrictions of international traffic") and its paeons to China’s ruinous fictions and totalitarian ways ("China deserves gratitude and respect").

Nor does it excuse the WHO that the prime culprit of today’s pandemic is China’s ruling Communist Party. China reported the Wuhan outbreak to the WHO on Dec. 31, but for almost three more weeks downplayed the evident dangers, stifled the warnings of Wuhan’s terrified doctors and hid the alarming signs of exponential spread in Wuhan until travelers leaving China had richly seeded infections abroad. Either the WHO was clueless, or complicit –neither scenario reflects well on the WHO’s deceptive drumbeat, for weeks, that this novel coronavirus was no threat to the rest of the planet.

As the disease spread, the WHO put out a stream of misinformation, including the now-infamous Jan. 14 message on Twitter that Chinese authorities had found "no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission." Even after China admitted on Jan. 20 that the disease was highly contagious among humans, even after China on Jan. 23 forcibly locked down the entire city of Wuhan, Tedros and his team delayed sounding a serious alarm.  It wasn’t until Jan. 30, a week after the Wuhan lockdown, and following Tedros’s lightning trip to Beijing to pay court to China’s tyrant, President Xi Jinping, that the WHO finally declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

COVID-19 Started in Wuhan Lab and WHO Helped ‘Chinese Cover Tracks’

Following Trump’s Jan. 31 restrictions on China travel, which slowed the spread of the virus into the U.S., the WHO (and China) carried on objecting to any such restrictions (though, with the coronavirus now amplifying around the globe, China has imposed its own bans on inbound traffic). At a WHO executive board meeting in Geneva, in early February — by which time China was officially reporting more than 17,000 coronavirus cases and more than 360 deaths, and the U.S. was recording its 11th case — Tedros reiterated his objection to travel restrictions. He told the board that China was doing a great job of protecting the world from the virus, adding: "The chances of getting this going to anywhere outside China is very low… ."

That’s been pretty much the tenor of WHO’s approach, at every turn, to COVID-19 control, including Tedros’s delay in declaring a pandemic until March 11. By that time the disease had spread to more than 100 countries — as the WHO intoned that it could still be contained if everyone took a cue from China’s "amazing achievement." (Meantime, China’s state-controlled press was coming up with headlines such as "WHO’s independence should not be doubted.")

By now, Tedros and his team have had to adjust their messaging to take into account the virus’s spread to at least 184 countries and regions outside China, with cumulative cases worldwide numbering more than two million, and more than 134,000 deaths. These days, amid a rising death count and global

President Trump made precisely the right call in suspending U.S. funding to the World Health Organization, pending a review of its role in "severely mismanaging and covering up the coronavirus." Trump is doing an important service not only to America, but to the world, with his demands that the WHO clean up its abysmal and misleading act, and stop kowtowing to China.

But here comes the chorus of alarms that this particular moment, in the midst of the worst pandemic since 1918, is not the time to interrupt the WHO’s annual intake of roughly $500 million from U.S. taxpayers. Bill Gates, a big backer of the WHO, declares the United Nations health agency irreplaceable. A Beijing government spokesman proclaims that Trump’s decision will weaken the WHO and "undermine international cooperation." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opines that the WHO is "absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19" and any review of the WHO should wait till "we have finally turned the page on this epidemic."

Don’t fall for it. The Hippocratic Oath enjoins doctors to do no harm, and the WHO Constitution includes similiar requirements of the director-general and his staff. But today’s WHO has done harm on a pandemic scale, misleading the world with its rotten assurances ("no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission"), its perverse prescriptions ("WHO advises against the application of any restrictions of international traffic") and its paeons to China’s ruinous fictions and totalitarian ways ("China deserves gratitude and respect").

Nor does it excuse the WHO that the prime culprit of today’s pandemic is China’s ruling Communist Party. China reported the Wuhan outbreak to the WHO on Dec. 31, but for almost three more weeks downplayed the evident dangers, stifled the warnings of Wuhan’s terrified doctors and hid the alarming signs of exponential spread in Wuhan until travelers leaving China had richly seeded infections abroad. Either the WHO was clueless, or complicit –neither scenario reflects well on the WHO’s deceptive drumbeat, for weeks, that this novel coronavirus was no threat to the rest of the planet.

As the disease spread, the WHO put out a stream of misinformation, including the now-infamous Jan. 14 message on Twitter that Chinese authorities had found "no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission." Even after China admitted on Jan. 20 that the disease was highly contagious among humans, even after China on Jan. 23 forcibly locked down the entire city of Wuhan, Tedros and his team delayed sounding a serious alarm.  It wasn’t until Jan. 30, a week after the Wuhan lockdown, and following Tedros’s lightning trip to Beijing to pay court to China’s tyrant, President Xi Jinping, that the WHO finally declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

COVID-19 Started in Wuhan Lab and WHO Helped ‘Chinese Cover Tracks’

Following Trump’s Jan. 31 restrictions on China travel, which slowed the spread of the virus into the U.S., the WHO (and China) carried on objecting to any such restrictions (though, with the coronavirus now amplifying around the globe, China has imposed its own bans on inbound traffic). At a WHO executive board meeting in Geneva, in early February — by which time China was officially reporting more than 17,000 coronavirus cases and more than 360 deaths, and the U.S. was recording its 11th case — Tedros reiterated his objection to travel restrictions. He told the board that China was doing a great job of protecting the world from the virus, adding: "The chances of getting this going to anywhere outside China is very low… ."

That’s been pretty much the tenor of WHO’s approach, at every turn, to COVID-19 control, including Tedros’s delay in declaring a pandemic until March 11. By that time the disease had spread to more than 100 countries — as the WHO intoned that it could still be contained if everyone took a cue from China’s "amazing achievement." (Meantime, China’s state-controlled press was coming up with headlines such as "WHO’s independence should not be doubted.")

By now, Tedros and his team have had to adjust their messaging to take into account the virus’s spread to at least 184 countries and regions outside China, with cumulative cases worldwide numbering more than two million, and more than 134,000 deaths. These days, amid a rising death count and global landscape of fear, quarantines and cascading economic ruin,  Tedros and his lieutenants at the WHO spend a lot of time calling for total global "solidarity" — plus lots more money for the WHO to continue its ever-expanding adventures in disease control. (Though last week, Tedros interrupted his calls for total global unity in order to single out for insult and attack the democratic government of Taiwan — which, unlike the WHO, discerned the threat of this coronavirus from the get-go, and acted accordingly.)

In China’s viral deceit, the WHO under the leadership of Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been an enthusiastic accomplice. Wielding the WHO logo, Tedros and his team ran cover for Beijing’s lies, denials and propaganda. They praised China as a model of transparency and paragon of disease management, and continued to do so even as horrific stories emerged of the Chinese government’s deceptions and brutal treatment of its own people. Apparently, Tedros considers it a matter of grave concern to the WHO if America restricts China travel. But if China itself threatens, arrests or disappears its own outspoken doctors and bloggers, or locks sick people into their homes to die, that’s not within the WHO’s purview.

Though, such twisted standards at the WHO should come as no surprise. China began colonizing the WHO at least 13 years ago, when China’s candidate, a former Hong Kong director of health, Margaret Chan, became WHO director-general, serving for 10 years before Tedros took charge. Chan was already controversial in Hong Kong for her slow and bungling early response to the 2003 SARS outbreak that spread from China to Hong Kong. Under her leadership, the WHO’s response in 2014 to the Ebola crisis in West Africa was a debacle — leaving the U.S. and a number of private medical charities to ride to the rescue. Commenting on this at the time, a Nov. 4, 2014, Wall Street Journal editorial noted that "since the 1990s the WHO has devoted ever more of it resources to political activism instead of its core disease-fighting mission — a loss of function that helps explain why the WHO failed to contain Ebola when it was less rampant." Sound familiar?

If we judge by results, then as UN debacles go, the WHO’s 2020 failures, fictions, delays and Beijing boot-polishing in dealing China’s coronavirus outbreak rank right up there with the UN’s decision in 1994 to ignore desperate warnings from its own peacekeepers of the impending genocide in Rwanda. In that instance, more than 800,000 people were slaughtered. For the current pandemic, the cost in lives and livelihoods is already colossal, and we do not yet have a full tally. It would be gravely irresponsible of the U.S. to simply carry on bankrolling the WHO. An investigation into its public failures and internal rot is urgently needed — now — before the UN’s erstwhile health agency steers the world any deeper into catastrophe.

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/15

旧文章ID:21381

张汉晖大使说旅俄华人回国没有道德底线

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作者:武陵客  来源:作者微信公号

昨天央视新闻把驻俄大使张汉晖和莫斯科中资企业代表、留学生等弄到一起做了个连线。

中国驻俄罗斯大使张汉晖介绍,有个别中国人通过某种途径闯关回到国内,造成病毒输入,这是违背道德的。他们为了逃脱责任,声称是“俄罗斯不让我们待了”。吃着中俄合作的饭,砸了中俄关系的锅,是没有道德底线的。

在绥芬河口岸关闭之前,有几批人取道符拉迪沃斯托克,再乘车到绥芬河口岸,再入境回国。入境这批人查出了大量的确诊病例。张汉晖介绍,根据病毒学分析、追踪,确实有部分人在莫斯科感染的,但是有相当一部分是在旅途中感染的。虽然他们的装束很高端,但是在旅途中喝水、吃饭、交流就传染了。使馆广泛做了在俄华商的工作,希望他们留在当地,就地抗疫。

他介绍,在疫情完全结束前,中俄之间陆路口岸的旅客检查功能绝不会再开启。疫情完全结束才能开启。滞留远东的中国公民,他们就在当地接受隔离,同时要安排好自己的生活,准备生活到疫情结束。

试问大使,你自己也说经符拉迪沃斯托克入境的同胞是在闭关之前,何来“闯关”一说?另外你也说他们的防护装备挺高端,这样何错之有?我想一个正常人,面对俄罗斯暴发的疫情,想要逃离俄罗斯回到祖国的心情和行动都是可以理解的。而作为对本国公民负责任的大国和强国,本不应将他们拒之于国门之外。疫情暴发之初,欧美等国都是第一时间撤侨。我们不撤侨就算了,还要将他们污名化,到底是什么骚操作?《战狼》里可不是这么演的。

中国驻俄大使不应发出这样的言论,对本国公民还有没有一点同情心?张大使眼中,只有中俄关系,而没有本国公民,击穿了国家与人性底线!
    
另外试问张大使,滞留远东的公民如何就地抗疫?如若已经染疫怎么办?又如何安排好自己的生活?其中艰难,大使可有设身处地想过?不要告诉我你们的帮助就是提供健康包,其他一切靠自己。如果是这样,那就是把自己的同胞拒之于国门之外,让他们在远东自生自灭。
本来中国在此次抗疫中表现上佳,赢得了国人认同,但张大使此番言论真是让人瞠目结舌。即便中俄边境外防输入压力山大,也不应如此指责本国同胞。若如此,那大使的水准和思维可就和网络上的“”小粉红”并无二致。
     建设祖国你不在,万里投毒你第一?亏你们说得出口。
""

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/18

旧文章ID:21380

World tries to shake off its dangerous China addiction

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作者:Cleo Paskal  来源:Sunday Guardian

MIAMI: ‘Pssst, hey mister, want to buy some cheap manufacturing? How about access to the biggest market in the world? I’ve got that and a whole lot more, just follow me down this dark alley. No, no, don’t worry about where it’ll lead. Trust me.”

And so, over the past few decades, entire global business sectors and the national leadership of whole countries have been lured down a dark road by China, along the way becoming addicted to cheap labour, lax environmental regulations, authoritarian facilitation of access to land, a rigged market, a docile media, a compliant legal system, and a lot of wining and dining (and more).

The model expanded out of China with individual non-Chinese politicians and business people acting as middlemen for what China was peddling. In exchange for great personal gain, they addicted their economies and stakeholders to fast, cheap, economic thrills, paying for it with their country’s and company’s IP, critical digital, physical and economic infrastructure, and so much more.

China presented the engagement as “just economic”—win-win for China, its partners and the middlemen. But with Covid-19 turning the spotlight on China’s hidden face, it now looks less simply economic and more triple use: a commercial face, yes, but with a strategic spine, and deep corruption running through its veins. The Chinese business sector, Beijing’s strategic ambitions, and the country’s extremely wealthy and powerful corrupt elements have been the real three winners. Until now. Until Covid-19.

The virus came out of China and glided along the established pathways created by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): lies about its severity, Beijing’s corruption of global safeguards (for example the World Health Organisation), the sale of faulty protective equipment, a deliberate campaign to confuse the world about the origins, racist attacks on Africans in China (as if to blame them for the virus), false declarations that China is all clear now and open for business, etc.

China’s behaviour has been so egregious that it has opened many eyes to the fact that the addiction to China has left entire global systems weakened and dependent, and seriously, seriously ill.

Like a dipsomaniac the morning after, countries are waking up, bleary-eyes, looking around their trashed economies and suffering populations, and saying “what did I do?”

Like many deep in the throes of a hangover, they are also saying: “I’ll never do that again. I promise.”

But, once the crisis is over, the lure will be strong to return to old patterns. Which is why it is so important to quickly put in floodlights to see even more clearly what China and its allies have done, so we can build resolve, find healthier ways of engaging with partners and, above all, don’t get drawn back down the rabbit hole while no one is looking.

In the US, this process is already starting. Across the political divide, there are focused efforts to make serious changes to the way the US does business with China, and China’s dangerous avariciousness is being called out in very high profile ways.

US Senator Marco Rubio summarized the shift in DC. “The theory around here, for a long time, as you well know, was: ‘Don’t worry. We’re going to open up to China, and capitalism is going to change China,’ and instead, it’s China that’s changed capitalism and weaponized it.”

President Trump highlighted how, when China “was allowed to join under those circumstances the WTO, that was a very bad day for the United States because they have rules and regulations that were far different and far easier than our rules and regulations”. He also said, “They should have never been allowed it, this should have never been allowed to happen.”

China managed its entry into the WTO the way it does so many things, with the benign commercial front masking the strategic ambition and corruption. While, as India knows all too well, other countries use the WTO for advantage, the US included, China’s manoeuvrings have been particularly audacious, and aided by currency manipulation.

As with so many things that get entrapped by China, the WTO host ended up taking on some of the characteristics of the parasite China and, ultimately, has become sickened to the point of near paralysis. Which is why, now, with countries scrambling to save the shreds of their economies through onshoring, bilateral side deals, and even invoking war time economic measures, no one is even mentioning the WTO anymore. It’s consigned to isolation, as the Trump administration has done with the World Health Organization, until it can prove its health.

With weak global systems in stunned disarray, some are advocating for a cold turkey approach to dealing with the China addiction.

US Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) have introduced the bipartisan Securing America’s Medicine Cabinet Act to encourage moving the manufacture of critical medicines out of China. Blackburn said it is a “National security risk when pharmaceuticals we need are made in China. We shouldn’t be in position for having this happen ever again.” Blackburn has also called for a ban on Confucius Institutes on US campuses, says there are problems with “Huawei trying to set up a spy network”, and that the US must demand debt forgiveness for the $1 trillion of US debt currently being held by China.

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee has called for over $6 billion to be invested in 2021 to create an Indo-Pacific Deterrence Initiative, saying “this effort consolidates and funds the policies, infrastructure, and platforms needed to reassure our allies and partners while we deter China”.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said, “If it were not for the irresponsibility of the Chinese Communist Party, there would be no pandemic in the world… Americans would be alive today, and 22 million people would be at work. China is responsible, and it’s time to hold them responsible. They’re the largest state sponsor of pandemics in the entire globe, and they need to pay the price.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) introduced the “Holding the Chinese Communist Party Accountable for Infecting Americans Act of 2020” bill that would allow Americans to sue China in federal court for “death, injury, and economic harm caused by the Wuhan Virus”.
What would have been considered extreme a month ago is now considered close to mainstream, and is likely to gather momentum as the effects of the virus linger, and the election in November approaches. There is a maxim in US politics that foreign policy doesn’t win elections. But, to Americans stuck in their homes, unemployed and getting increasingly desperate, US-China relations aren’t foreign policy anymore, they are domestic economic survival and national security at its most raw.

And it’s not just the US. In the UK, which was seen as “soft on China” as it looked for a post-Brexit trade deal, First Secretary of State Dominic Raab has said, “I think there absolutely needs to be a very, very deep dive after the event review of the lessons—including of the outbreak of the virus. But there is no doubt we can’t have business as usual after this crisis”. In Nigeria, fury at Chinese racism towards Africans resulted in the burning of a Chinese factory. In Kenya, one Senator has called for non-Kenyan ethnic Chinese to be expelled, saying: “Yes we are corrupt and broke but we are not children of a lesser God and neither are we stupid.”

As the world awakens from its China-induced fugue state, and tries to put in place recovery plans, options open up for India. Globally, especially outside the West, weaning off China requires displacing it at its primary entry point, the “gateway drugs” of affordable goods, infrastructure development, etc.
In many sectors where China has proven dangerously unreliable, India can contribute to stability. For example, while China threatened to withhold lifesaving drugs from the US as punishment for questioning the CCP, India shared supplies with the US (and others). This is particularly striking as previous US administrations had tried to smother the Indian pharmaceutical sector (properly presented in DC, at this crucial time, this might help underline the role of affordable Indian generics to global security).

Apart from pharma, India can be a global provider in everything from AI innovation to energy systems to space technologies to water technologies to English language education (I bet quite a few US parents would be glad for online tutors from India at the moment). And so much more. It can also potentially play a role in creating new permanent international structures that are more difficult for China (or whomever) to corrupt.

The list is only limited by India itself. The fact is, India should already be filling those roles. It’s only been obstruction and sometimes corruption within the Indian system that has kept the country back. Jignesh Shah, for example, was revolutionizing markets around the region before he fell foul of vested interests and was brought crashing down. There are way too many similar stories.

This is a unique opening at a moment when the Indian economy really needs a break. If there was ever a time for the governments at all levels to facilitate Indian international engagement, or at least get out of the way, this is it. If those vested interests insist on taking a cut, let them wait until later on, when there is more fat. If they cut now, the patient could bleed to death. Make no mistake, China is not going to lose its street corner without a nasty, dirty, expensive fight. It will take resolve to stay sober.

As the world tries to shake off its deadly China addiction, a strong, energetic, thriving India could inject new healthy life into the global economic system, helping itself, as well as everyone else. It just needs to treat its own infections first.

Cleo Paskal is Non-Resident Senior Fellow for the Indo-Pacific at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies.

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/19

旧文章ID:21379

如果拜登上台,会比特朗普更糟?

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作者:刘亚伟  来源:西瓜视频-看看新闻

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卡特中心中国项目主任刘亚伟博士《抗疫大作战 全球连连看》节目中表示:“如果是拜登上台的话,他有和中国打交道的经验,对中国应该有相对客观的看法。但是为了竞选,我担心他会越来越“反华”,他会不会自己跳到“反华”的陷阱里边去?我觉得这是一个很大的疑问。

  点此观看视频:拜登一旦上台 会比特朗普更糟?

来源时间:2020/4/19   发布时间:2020/4/19

旧文章ID:21378

驻德使馆:任尔东西南北风

作者:驻德使馆  来源:

——驻德国使馆就德舆论出现所谓“中国责任论”表明立场

近期,我国疫情防控阶段性成效进一步巩固,复工复产取得重要进展。武汉“解封”给全世界传递希望和信心,告诉人们疫情终能得到遏制,正常的生活终会归来。但我们注意到德国个别媒体跟随美方步伐,变本加厉炒作所谓“中国责任论”,妄称中方“延误疫情”、“隐瞒数据”,再次纠缠病毒源头,甚至抛出“赔偿清单”。

德国媒体也纷纷评论称,美对世卫组织和中国的指责是企图转移视线,减轻国内舆论压力。因此奉劝德个别媒体还是当心不要被带进沟里。你自己失信事小,抹黑他国,影响抗疫事大。

疫情发生后,中方始终采取公开、透明、负责任的态度,采取一系列果断、及时、有力的应对措施,最大程度地保护了中国人民的生命安全和身体健康,也为阻止疫情在世界蔓延争取了宝贵时间。我们第一时间向世界卫生组织报告疫情,第一时间同各国分享新冠病毒基因序列,第一时间开展疫情防控专家国际合作,第一时间向其他疫情暴发国家伸出援手,这些最基本的事实得到了国际社会充分肯定和积极评价,谁也无法否认和悄然抹去。中方根本不存在个别媒体妄称的“未履行《国际卫生条例》有关义务”的情况。“中国责任论”完全是欲加之罪,将责任归咎一国,甚至抛出“索赔账单”实属无稽之谈。

中方已公布处理疫情的时间线,希望每位记者放弃政治偏见,以事实为依据进行报道和评论:2019年12月27日,湖北省中西医结合医院呼吸与重症医学科主任张继先首先上报了她接诊的3个可疑病例。29日,湖北和武汉相关疾控中心和医院开展了流行病学调查。30日武汉卫健委发布了《关于做好不明原因肺炎救治工作的紧急通知》。12月31日,国家卫健委专家组抵达武汉开展现场调查。1月3日,中方开始正式向世卫组织以及包括美国在内的各国及时主动通报信息。8日初步认定了疫情病原。11日中国疾控中心将5条新冠病毒全基因组序列上传网站,同全球和世卫组织共享数据。1月23日,中国政府采取了关闭离汉通道等空前全面、严格、彻底的措施,而此时中国之外的病例仅有9例。

抗疫当前,美西方一些医疗卫生水平先进的国家也面临严峻疫情形势,确诊和死亡病例远超中国。加强合作、交流经验、共同抗疫,维护各国人民的生命权、健康权是每个国家和每个地球人的责任。但个别媒体、所谓“中国专家”不以抗疫为重,而是越俎代庖,反复围绕病毒源头说三道四。我们始终认为,关于新冠病毒源头和传播途径问题是科学问题,应该交由科学家和医学专家去研究。世卫组织负责人和很多国际知名医学专家已多次表示,没有任何证据表明新冠病毒是在实验室产生的,所谓“实验室泄露”等说法毫无科学依据。个别人以“卫道士”自居,当初大肆指责中方种种严厉举措过度、侵犯人权。现在各国纷纷采取严厉隔离措施后,他们又说中方处置不力、延误疫情。错误永远是别人的。

中方对美欧一些国家目前的处境感同身受,并施以援手,笃信支持是相互的。大疫面前,谁也不能独善其身。但同样这些人仿佛被伤了自尊,不仅恶意歪曲中方善意,而且继续污蔑中国,自欺欺人,抛出所谓“中国官方的数据太低,恐怕不真实”、“反正中国政府的数据都不可信”等论调。他们以清明节前武汉市民排队领取亲人骨灰为由,恶意揣测。武汉市常住人口1100万,2019年全年有5.12万人死亡。因为严格的城市封控措施,在此期间逝者骨灰领取停滞两个月,存在一定积压,这是不难理解的常识。这种有违常识的报道令人不齿。

传染病没有国界,也没有政治制度差别。面对新冠肺炎这样传染性极强的恶魔,哪个政府不是在实践中学习和加深认识?不是在采取和放松措施时慎之又慎?德国是这样,中国也是这样。对于无知甚至偏见,中方有耐心、有意愿去宣介自己的看法和立场。对蓄意之举,中方将坚决予以回击。

德国对启蒙运动推崇备至,德国哲学家康德在回答什么是启蒙运动时,号召人们要有勇气运用自己的理智。在大灾大疫面前,所有人都应以勇气和理智,摆脱意识形态偏见和双重标准的桎梏,理性、客观地看待中国抗击疫情的努力和成果。新闻自由也不能突破职业道德和人类良知。

来源时间:2020/4/18   发布时间:2020/4/16

旧文章ID:21575

疫情争论中的民族主义:辛丑条约和庚子赔款

作者:  来源:BBC

疫情争论中的民族主义:辛丑条约和庚子赔款

1970年代中美苏“大三角”关系的作俑者基辛格日前发表文章说,新冠疫情将一劳永逸地改变世界,国际关系格局会发生根本性变化。与此同时,面对外部指责,《辛丑条约》和“庚子赔款”成了中国舆论中的热词,中国面对的潜在危机被同一百多年前清帝国遇到最大的国际挑战和耻辱相提并论。

1900年庚子年中国发生了以“扶清灭洋”为口号的义和团事件,招致八国联军入侵,次年清朝政府被迫同列强签订了《辛丑条约》。条约中规定的巨额赔款被称为“庚子赔款”。清政府要支付4亿5千万两白银赔偿各国出兵的军费,各国侨民,商人的损失,外国教会和中国教民的损失。

在中国历史教科书中,《辛丑条约》标志着中国成为列强的半殖民地,是近代中国丧失主权最多的不平等条约。2020年又是庚子年,新冠疫情在全球蔓延引发美国和其他国家对中国的指责。许多讨论,无论持支持或是反对中国的立场,都用了“庚子赔款”是否会重现,八国联军会不会再来的字眼做标题吸引读者眼球。

3月份美国哥伦比亚广播公司报道,美国的保守派律师及其游说组织(Freedom Watch)和得克萨斯州的一家公司(Buzz Photos)对中国政府发起诉讼,要求中国为新冠病毒造成的损失支付20万亿美元。他们指责新冠病毒是中国政府研发的“非法生化武器”。

美国之音上周(4月10日)又报道了数千美国人对中国发起集体诉讼的消息,这些人士要求中国赔偿新冠病毒疾病造成的损失。

美国一些法律专家也认为,美国和其他国家挑战中国要求索赔的法律难度很大。不过中国仍然面对来自美国和其他国家不断出现的政治指责。

美国一些国会议员已经呼吁要求中国对全球疫情蔓延负责,要求中国向美国和世界其他国家作出赔偿。美国国会参众两院都有议员提案呼吁对中国掩盖真相进行国际调查。

4月初美国情报官员就指责中国在疫情爆发初期掩盖了真相。彭博社报道,美国情报机关向白宫递交秘密报告指去年12月底武汉爆发新冠疫情时,中国当局掩盖了疫情真相。

周三(4月15日)美国国务卿彭佩奥在福克斯新闻频道上说,美国确定新冠病毒源自中国,“我们知道武汉有个病毒研究所…有很多事情有待查明。美国政府正在努力弄清真相。”

英国政府内阁大臣和议会议员4月初也开始陆续对所谓中国在疫情爆发初期掩盖真相发出指责,说中国误导疫情舆论,阻碍了遏制疫情的国际努力。4月6日英国保守派智库发表了 “新冠病毒赔偿:评估中国潜在的罪责和法律应对途径”的报告,建议首相约翰逊应该向中国索赔价值3510亿英镑的新冠病毒疫情赔偿。

英国军情6处前负责人索沃斯(John Sawers)日前表示,中国“在12月和1月份之间向西方隐瞒了真相”,并且认为中国应为“欺骗”行为负责。他接受BBC采访时说,因为北京不诚实,现在面对来自国际社会的愤怒,“在美国存在很深的愤怒,他们认为中国让他们遭受灾难,在病毒爆发初期中国没有应对,中国逃避了很多责任”。

澳大利亚前外长唐纳(Alexander Downer)最近也表示,在对华关系方面,西方国家需要协调一致。

百年耻辱和民族主义

周三(4月15日)中国外交部发言人赵立坚反驳了来自美国的“索赔”言论。他强调中国和其他国家都是疫情的受害者,各国患病的人都是受害者,呼吁国际合作共同抗疫,并说赔偿论是不负责的说法。

不过“索赔论”引起的争论不仅反映了中国社会舆论的分裂,也给本来的政治制度之争蒙上了民族主义争论的色彩。例如作家方方记录武汉疫情隔离的《武汉日记》在境外出版,中国官方《环球时报》的主编胡锡进批评说,《武汉日记》在美国出版给中国公众带来了伤害。许多批评者指该日记给中国抹黑,在他国欲向中国巨额索赔的时候授人以柄。

 

中国国家教育体系中一直有“百年耻辱”的叙事,在1999年贝尔格莱德中国使馆被炸和2001年南海撞机等中美对抗事件中,“百年耻辱”都反复在高涨的民族主义抗议中被提及。

虽然“百年耻辱”的历史真实性受到西方学者的质疑,如美国学者艾略特(Jane Elliott),但是结束“百年耻辱”已经成了中共自1949年以来让国家”站起来、富起来到强起来“的历史发展叙事和合法性理论的重要组成部分。

涉及中国的政治争议一旦被纳入历史耻辱叙事就沾上了民族或种族对抗色彩。如“人权高于主权”及国际干涉主义,美国司法长臂管辖,和这次出现的向中国索赔的说法引发的争论就超出了一般的政治原则范畴。

《武汉日记》的作者方方说自己受到了“极左”势力的围攻,但她的许多批评者已经把问题上升到了爱国和民族的高度。

2月3日美国《华尔街日报》发表题为“中国是真正的亚洲病夫”的批评文章后,种族主义指责就进入了疫情期间的舆论争议。与此同时,境外媒体,特别是右翼媒体和小报,也一直有关于中国人吃蝙蝠,吃狗肉,中国制造廉价劣质产品的报道。

来源时间:2020/4/18   发布时间:2020/4/17

旧文章ID:21471

继北大校友群后,武大校友群也闹翻了

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作者:  来源:

正所谓一石激起千层浪。方方的武汉日记自从被报道即将在国外出版以后,国内出现支持和反对的两个派别。继前段时间北大校友群闹翻之后,武汉大学的校友群也开始沸腾了。
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以下群聊信息来源于武汉大学校友的微信群:


高明:

从来不发言。但是在民族灾难前,这个方方就他妈的一个操旦货。


胡伟@Dallas:

在一个以子女成长为名的群里,看到这样的语言真是惊愕和遗憾,更不用说对象是一名女性


何纪枫:

方方挺好啊,民族灾难本身就是不许说实话造成的,不能揪着证人打而不敢骂罪魁祸首吧。有人说成人世界没有对错只有立场,这是姑息养奸。说真话对民族有伤害那只能说明民族做事有欠妥当。说只说负面不说正面,正面有党媒说呢,负面有谁说呢?方方啊,那是中国人的骄傲,因为没有勇气是不敢说的,没有勇气的人只敢拿阶级和国家做挡箭牌去辱骂自己的英雄,比如被杀的岳飞和袁崇焕。


刘宇:

方方不是完人,也不可能是完人。

现在是一面旗子。有良心,挺勇敢的作家


Jane Liu(春阳):

@高明(管院84-深圳)?我还以为这样的话只会出现在北大的脑残群里。太遗憾了。我为你说出这样的话很不齿。如果我没看见你真心道歉的话,我会觉得你是个会把这种脏话用到你家里所有女性身上而心安理得的人。首先民族灾难不是方方造成的,其次她只是说了一个公民应该说,而很多人不敢说的话。一而再再而三地遭到封杀,只能说明她触动了莫些人的敏感部位,但是请问,你对她的仇恨是从哪里来的?可以解释一下吗?即使你不赞同她的话,你可以说出你的理由。我真的为你羞愧,我也很高兴你从来不发言,不然我会觉得这个群是个很令人恶心的群。目前为止,在这个群里,我看到了不同观点,我看到了理智的争论。这样公然侮辱一个女性校友,而没有说明理由的人,你是第一个!!!但是如果你对你家所有女人都这样说话,我就不奇怪了。你继续用这么恶毒的语言攻击别的校友,我也不会奇怪了。只是在这个子女教育群里,我认为大家都是有子女,也关心子女教育的人。家长是子女最好的老师。如果你的子女也支持你这样说话,我认为你的子女教育是失败的。如果你从你家长那里学来这样说话,我认为你父母的教育也是失败的。


何纪枫:

我们对权势恨不起来,或者不敢去恨,而把脏水都泼向为自己说实话的人,真是一个奇怪的国度。最奇怪的,他们是真心诚意地去恨这些人,甚至用最大的恶意要去碾死他们。哪怕这些实话会让国家变得更好,事实上,每次国家进步都是危机引起的。


Guo-Min Li:

@丁业强(83政经91民法·深圳)?@all 这个太恶劣,有损武大尊严!建议群主征求大家意见如何处理。


Jane Liu(春阳):

我也不相信这个群会容忍这种行为!!!@李国民(生物77 美国Dallas)?@尹雪萍(哲学86.武汉)?


ZH:

无论身在何处,无论理念如何,对女性泼脏话的人就是*****货。他还有一点自尊的话,就应该退群


Grace:

每个人可以有不同的意见,这样爆粗口,实在是没底线。zero tolerance.


天下为公:

实在抱歉,现在才爬楼梯看了这个群昨天晚上十点半到现在的聊天记录。看到了无良、无耻的经济管理系84级高明喷的粪。

群里面居然有这样一个人是本群的不幸,是我作为群主的失职,我要向大家说声“对不起”。

感谢刘建萍、何纪枫等等校友仗义执言!

向大家报告:我已经将备注为“高明(84经管.深圳)”的混蛋踢出去了。

特此公告。


董杰:

@丁业强(83政经91民法·深圳)?高明可不是经济管理系的,他是原管院,现经管学院工商行政管理系84级的


暖手:

此种人踢出去好


RR:

内心太邪恶了


诸葛孟德:

@丁业强(83政经91民法·深圳)?支持你!


金维虹:

@丁业强(83政经91民法·深圳)?支持您!


胡智勇:

经管系躺枪


周俊祥:

@丁业强(83政经91民法·深圳)强烈支持!可以表达不同观点,但不能容忍毫无理由的辱骂女性,太无耻!必须踢!?


周俊祥:

高明在深圳?记住这个人了,任何校友聚会的场合,都不会正眼瞧他一下,人渣!


Jane Liu(春阳):

@丁业强(83政经91民法·深圳)?其实我理解群里对方方日记看法不一样,没关系。观点不同完全正常。但是有些人对方方日记的重要性有点过头了。说实话,方方日记出版,对美国不会有那么大的影响,美国老百姓真的不知道她是谁。我是不能容忍开口就骂脏话。如果方方在这里说了什么,惹他生气,也可以理解。问题是,不明不白的就骂人,这让人受不了。生活中我不是个坏脾气的人,但是这种事零容忍。谢谢你,也谢谢大家支持!你们让我相信正义不会缺席。


久哥:

骂人不行,何况是女性,更还是我们的前辈师姐!法律人经常说,大意是我有权不同意你的观点,但应有维护你说话的权利!感谢丁同学群主主持正义!感谢几位师兄师姐!


天下为公:

?@董杰(经管84-新西兰奥克兰)?@胡智勇经管86 美国?不好意思,刚才问了下别的校友,他证实高明是工商管理系的,不是经济管理系的。因为与他平时没有任何交往,了解不够。经管系躺枪了,见谅!



武大还有这么垃圾的学生,丢人啊


王荣:

师兄,好久不见,您是成功人士,在一个校友子女教育群,这样说一个同门师姐,会不会稍微有一点过分啦?如果要大义灭亲,咱们也要有理有据,是吧?

我们都知道,武大校友确实都是素质杠杠滴,熬这么久,基本上各个校友群基本上没有大张旗鼓地开撕,岂是其他某些大学可比?毕竟八十年代打下的基础是不错,大家都有修养,作为那个年代的大学生,这样去说一个写日记表达自我感受的师姐,有一点不好吧!?难道是因为她要海外出版的事情吗?


方方师姐不是汪兆明,她没有资格卖国,连卖一寸土地的资格都没有,而今眼目下,中国所有住房和别墅的土地所有权,统统都是国家的,最多七十年产权和有限度的使用权,她敢卖?老外估计也不敢买。看看现在武汉房地产价格走势,就知道,她想卖个好价格,纯粹是痴人说梦。


她都说了,8月份正式出版以后,获得的稿酬全部捐献出来了,就是不全部捐献出来,或者不捐献一分钱,也是她的个人自由,说实话,她也就是一个不那么普普通通爬格子的码字匠,她和家里人也要吃喝拉撒,也要有收入,她80年代初曾经拉板车养家糊口,武大让她获得教育和提升,后来能够不用拉板车了,可以依靠爬格子,再出版拿稿费,就是她生存之道,俗话说断人财路,如同杀人父母,不合乎江湖道义,您是有钱人,真的体会不深,她如果没有收入,不可能囊中羞涩还丢下五十块人民币就跑,毕竟还要买一斤猪肉和小菜,难道您会捐助给她五百块,或者五百万吗?


请问,她究竟伤害了谁?中国现在是如此强大自信,抗疫战的各种各样组织动员能力举世瞩目,难道岂有此理是她薄薄一本个人日记,就能够轻而易举严重伤害的?这一位武大老校友方方难道就是玄幻小说里面传说中的外星人加核武器吗?

我搞不清白,到底是谁这么严重地缺乏自信?你给我出来,……

我猜我猜我猜猜猜,

我猜就是一些不明原因的爱国者导弹!而不是我们伟大的祖国的官方传媒,你看看,你看看,官方的新华社通稿和人民日报,有批判她了吗?

当然,反正宅在家里,我们可以走一步看一步,静静地等待红包和各种通稿(一切以通稿为准)现在揾食艰难,几毛钱或者几块钱的红包补贴家用也好!

校友同学们,请各位不妨都放轻松点,所有的指责或者指控,必须要讲究科学证据,如果闲得发慌,可以看看国内国外各种各样的法庭律政电视剧,看看就知道,外国鬼子还是有科学思维和素养的,毕竟是伽利略牛顿爱因斯坦比尔盖茨的老家教育出来的,他们是必须用新冠病毒的基因演变和传播的相关调查研究作为证据,是不会low到用一本个人日记的一个个体方方师姐,而且还是非新冠肺炎患者的个人感觉做证据的,用文学作品作证还是科学调查作证,请各位法学院的同学们大律师们说说看,事实上,这几个月,对于武汉各种凄风苦雨的状况,国内其他的文字资料和自媒体以及新闻报道多如牛毛,还有好多治愈的新冠肺炎患者,这些人证物证比方方日记肯定丰富完整得多悲惨得多,别人不会使用这些人证物证作为证据?外国人如果要收买这些,成本更低,肯定不用每一本书20多欧元或者魔道,是吧?他们才不会给中国凭白无故创汇,是吧

大家不会因为她是老校友,好像还是啥子曾经的厅级干部,就太高看方方师姐了吧?

方方,她也是个有正常情绪有喜怒哀乐的人,并且是情绪始终如一加火冒三丈的武汉嫂子。她没有使用经典汉骂进行连篇累牍,就够意思了,大家也就不用太苛求她,是吧?

武大校友大多数的亲朋好友或者同学们,好多人在武汉经历,非常非常凄风苦雨,都有武汉的现场悲凉感,大多数校友,还是应该要体谅的。她的日记还有诸多正面内容和肯定,为什么某些人就视而不见?估计批评者看都没看,或者没有仔细看。

再次声明,我个人肯定也不会花二十多美刀去买来看,疯啦,英语不好还费眼神,何苦呢?中文版电子版免费,没事情随便看看几篇,就OK了,毕竟,有那闲工夫,就和武汉同学电话语音通话聊天,内容肯定会更加八卦和震撼,是吧?

第三,方方师姐不是曹子建,水平真的没有那么高,地位更加没有那么高,拿一块诺贝尔瓷砖可以有,拿什么奖金和奖牌那啥的,她已经拿不动,就不要想了,白日做梦!

想我武大培养的各种各样的文学大咖真的不少,数来数去,有几个写了,并且曾经拿到过诺贝尔奖金和奖牌?我看,确实是想多了!或者是想想疯啦!

大家同门师兄弟姐妹一场,不容易,要团结紧张相互扶持,不得不说,还是咱们的曹子建同学说得好:本是同根生……

两位校友李文亮和方方,我目前盲人摸象了解到的情况来说,论为人处世,后者似乎更加有担当些,如果前者能够是我们时代的英雄或者烈士,后者应该也不是什么坏人或者王八蛋,是吧?!她就是一个P,麻烦某些校友,就高抬贵手,把她放了吧!

男同学,就不要去说方方师姐了,俗话说得好,好男不和女斗!

女同学们,不要笑,你们也手下留情,口中积德,毕竟,女人何苦为难女人?


欢迎各位校友拍砖和批评指正,我说得不对的地方,本人一定自我批评和改正,请批评者给我一个改邪归正的机会,谢谢!


Grace:

他不是经管的,我们87级入校时,他是管院学生会主席,发了一集刊物,全是标榜他自己的,


Grace:

很狂的一个人,


邹平学:

关于如何评价疫情,我觉得中国有中国的优势与问题,美国有它的优势与问题,但谁也不是正义的化身。需要互相借鉴和学习,尤其是当前需要团结起来共同对付??。在涉及中国抗疫的评价问题上,真不能美国说啥都对,中国做啥都错。例子就不举了。我对方方日记的评价也是如此,好多天前我谈到她最初英文版封面设计的问题,后来发现她自己就修改了也做了说明,说她因为不懂外文,对封面设计和简介没有细看,后来要求所有涉及书籍的文字必须她审阅后再发布。亚马逊最新的英文书讯就比较妥帖。这也说明,方方是个很理性的人,这份日记最好就应当在国内出版,这是回应那些质疑或担心提供给国外炮弹的最佳处理方式。一句话,改革开放的中国应当有巨大的包容性与自信心。


拯救与逍遥:

无论如何,瑕不掩瑜,根本而言方方写作的目的是尽力纠正近几年左派做法。方方是改革开放的保护者,反左斗士。过几年就看得更清楚了。


RR:

方方的语言非常朴实,为什么有些人还无法容忍?这么简单的事情为什么要搞到这么复杂的地步?大概离开中国太久,真的无法理解;今天早上看到那个人的发言,我简直就是震惊

(以上聊天记录均为真实原文,小编保证未修改过任何一个标点符号)



看了以上武大校友的聊天记录,小编也有一些感想:

1、立场不同,对待事物的态度肯定也会不同。但是在站队之前,不妨先抛开立场,以诚实、善良、平等、博爱这些小时候老师教导我们的简单朴实的道理去看待眼前的事情;

2、《宪法》赋予我们言论自由的权利,但是言论自由不是造谣和辱骂的自由。而最可怕的,这些辱骂和攻击被冠以“为了国家”、“为了中华民族”、“民族的名义”之后,就似乎变得“侠肝义胆”起来。

3、正如群聊中一个校友所说:“两位校友李文亮和方方,我目前盲人摸象了解到的情况来说,论为人处世,后者似乎更加有担当些,如果前者能够是我们时代的英雄或者烈士,后者应该也不是什么坏人或者王八蛋,是吧?!”小编不希望我们以后回过头来说,对不起,我们骂错了方方。

4、友谊的小船说翻就翻,这年头,决定情谊的不是发小、同窗、师生,甚至不是夫妻、父母子女、兄弟姐妹,而是三观。值得庆幸的是,武大校友群是一个三观正常的群,给他们点赞!

来源时间:2020/4/18   发布时间:2020/4/18

旧文章ID:21423

个别德媒“污名化”中国抗疫,我使馆4天内5度发表严正声明

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作者:童黎  来源:观察者网

  大肆宣扬向中国索赔论、帮德企列“讨债”账单、恶毒声称新冠病毒是“最畅销的中国出口产品”……包括主编在内,德国著名小报《图片报》(Bild)一再突破底线,中国驻德使馆为此两度发声明点名批评。
  观察者网查询发现,从14日到17日,我使馆已经5次就个别德媒“污名化”中国抗疫的做法发表严正立场。

""

使馆网站截图

  事实上,早在去年,《图片报》就与“港独”分子黄之锋打得火热,不但邀请黄之锋前往德国,还刊登有他署名的所谓“公开信”,充当乱港势力的传声筒。
  此次全球卫生危机爆发后,《图片报》不反思本国抗疫表现,反而开始琢磨“中国欠我们什么”。

""

《图片报》报道截图

  4月15日,这家德媒罗列了英国智库亨利·杰克逊学会(Henry-Jackson Society)、美国国务卿蓬佩奥、自民党所谓“中国问题专家”穆勒-罗森特里特(Frank Müller-Rosentritt)和基民盟“经济议题专家”霍普特曼(Mark Hauptmann)等与其气味相投者的言论,妄称中国“隐瞒”疫情、“违反”国际法,要为新冠疫情造成的经济后果承担法律责任云云。
  可笑的是,《图片报》还煞有其事地以德国企业、纳税人的名义,列了一份向中国“讨债”的账单。
  有德媒称,对于这家媒体的狂妄之举,德国联邦政府未作正面回应。
  据《莱茵邮报》报道,根据联邦政府就自民党联邦议院党团的一份相关询问做出的答复,在新冠疫情全球流行的问题上,柏林并不会对中国提出指责。因为“德国联邦政府所掌握的信息”,并未显示中国故意隐瞒数据。
  德国联邦卫生部在答复中指出,就新冠病毒来说,确凿的实验室检测结果对于感染诊断的定义和统计是必不可少的。中国一度改变确诊病例定义及统计标准,即只将具有临床症状及肺部造影特征的患者计为确诊病例。德国卫生部认为,在当时的疫情形势下,这种暂时的调整是可以理解的。
  《图片报》如此“污名化”中国,4月15日当天,我驻德国使馆网站刊登了发言人致该报总编室的德语公开信,就其拙劣报道表明中方严正立场,不厌其烦地为其梳理了中方履行通报信息义务的时间线,并于16日再次上传了相关中文翻译。

""
""

使馆网站截图

  发言人指出,西方少数政客、专家和媒体人士声称中国违反国际法且有义务赔偿他国政府,但实际上他们关心的并不是国际法,而是企图通过推诿责任来转移公众对其自身贻误疫情和应对不力等问题的视线。而《图片报》15日第二版攻击中国的报道用心险恶,所谓的“算账”实际上是在煽动民族主义,鼓吹偏见和仇外仇华情绪。
  16日,我使馆还专门就德国舆论出现所谓“中国责任论”发布《任尔东西南北风》一文,表明立场。

""

  然而,《图片报》并未就此收手,该报主编莱歇尔特(Julian Reichelt)恼羞成怒,亲自下场录了个视频,还挑衅式地主动加上了中文字幕,于当地时间16日晚发布在其网站上。
  视频中,莱歇尔特妄称中国是“盗窃”知识产权的世界冠军,恶毒声称中国最畅销的出口产品是“没人想要的新冠病毒”。

""

视频截图

  他还再次宣扬了美媒所谓武汉实验室在未遵守最高安全标准情况下,研究蝙蝠中冠状病毒的说法,并把中国向世界各地输出口罩看作“面带微笑的帝国主义”。
  对此,我驻德使馆发言人17日再次发表公开信,指责该报主编再度对中国进行政治诬蔑,重弹不实论调。

""
使馆网
站截图

  发言人重申,世卫组织负责人和国际知名医学专家多次表示,所谓“实验室泄露”等说法毫无科学依据。同时,根据世界知识产权组织4月7日公布的数据,2019年中国已经成为该组织《专利合作条约》框架下国际专利申请量最多的国家。
  使馆还透露,有一位德国公民在17日来信说:“幸好《图片报》不代表德国。”
  观察者网注意到,从14日到17日,我驻德使馆在短短4天内,五度就《星期日世界报》等个别德媒“政治化”、“污名化”中国抗疫的报道发声明表明立场。
  中方始终强调,抹黑中伤中国既不负责任,也有损国际抗疫合作,让我们保持清醒,明辨是非,对那些企图煽动反华情绪和将抗疫问题“政治化”“污名化”的言行说不。相信经过疫情考验,两国民众彼此理解将进一步巩固,中德务实合作将得到进一步深化和发展。

来源时间:2020/4/18   发布时间:2020/4/18

旧文章ID:21377

G.O.P. Election Strategy: Blame China

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作者:Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman  来源:New York Times

A Key G.O.P. Strategy: Blame China. But Trump Goes Off Message.

Republicans increasingly believe that elevating China’s culpability for spreading the coronavirus may be the best way to improve their difficult election chances. The president is muddying the message.

WASHINGTON — The strategy could not be clearer: From the Republican lawmakers blanketing Fox News to new ads from President Trump’s super PAC to the biting criticism on Donald Trump Jr.’s Twitter feed, the G.O.P. is attempting to divert attention from the administration’s heavily criticized response to the coronavirus by pinning the blame on China.

With the death toll from the pandemic already surpassing 34,000 Americans and unemployment soaring to levels not seen since the Great Depression, Republicans increasingly believe that elevating China as an archenemy culpable for the spread of the virus, and harnessing America’s growing animosity toward Beijing, may be the best way to salvage a difficult election.

Republican senators locked in difficult races are preparing commercials condemning China. Conservatives with future presidential ambitions of their own, like Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley, are competing to see who can talk tougher toward the country where the virus first emerged. Party officials are publicly and privately brandishing polling data in hopes Mr. Trump will confront Beijing.

Mr. Trump’s own campaign aides have endorsed the strategy, releasing an attack ad last week depicting Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee, as soft on China. The ad relied heavily on images of people of Asian descent, including former Gov. Gary Locke of Washington, who is Chinese-American, and it was widely viewed as fanning the flames of xenophobia.

“Trump has always been successful when he’s had a bogeyman and China is the perfect bogeyman,” said Chris LaCivita, a longtime Republican strategist.

But there is a potential impediment to the G.O.P. plan — the leader of the party himself.

Eager to continue trade talks, uneasy about further rattling the markets and hungry to protect his relationship with President Xi Jinping at a moment when the United States is relying on China’s manufacturers for lifesaving medical supplies, Mr. Trump has repeatedly muddied Republican efforts to fault China.

Even as the president tries to rebut criticism of his slow response  to the outbreak by highlighting his January travel restrictions on China, he has repeatedly called Mr. Xi a friend and said “we are dealing in good faith” with the repressive government. He also dropped his periodic references to the disease as “the China virus” after a telephone call with Mr. Xi.

Yet in private, he has vented about the country. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he informed Mr. Trump in a Thursday telephone conversation that the meat processing plant in South Dakota suffering a virus outbreak is owned by a Chinese conglomerate. The president responded, “I’m getting tired of China,” according to Mr. Cramer.

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Trump’s conflicted messaging on China will hurt him with voters, who have repeatedly seen the president argue both sides of issues without suffering the harm that another politician would. And while Mr. Trump’s team knows that his own words will be used against him, they believe they can contrast his history favorably with that of Mr. Biden.

On Tuesday, at his daily briefing, Mr. Trump was candid about the transactional rationale behind his stance toward China. Pressed on how he could criticize the World Health Organization for what he called pushing “China’s misinformation,” after he had also lavished praise on Beijing’s purported transparency, he responded, “Well, I did a trade deal with China, where China is supposed to be spending $250 billion in our country.”

“I’d love to have a good relationship with China,” he added.

On Friday, however, he incorrectly posited that China must have the most deaths from the coronavirus — the United States does — and later said, “I’m not happy with China.”

Despite the president’s diverging public statements, a central pillar of his campaign’s approach is to deflect anger over the human casualties and economic pain of the coronavirus onto an adversary that many Americans already view warily.

The strategy includes efforts to leverage the U.S.-China relationship against Mr. Biden, who Republicans believe is vulnerable because of his comments last year playing down the geopolitical challenge posed by China and the high-paying work that his son, Hunter, has done there.

Mr. Biden, for his part, has criticized Mr. Trump’s warm words for China. On Friday, his campaign released a video assailing the president for not pressing Mr. Xi to let the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into his country and for being “more worried about protecting his trade deal with China than he was about the virus.”

On a conference call with reporters, Antony J. Blinken, a senior Biden adviser, noted that in January and February “the president praised China and President Xi more than 15 times.” He attributed the flattery to the administration’s not wanting to “risk that China pull back on implementing” the initial trade agreement the two countries signed in January.

Mr. Trump has often lavished praise on President Xi Jinping of China in hopes of striking a trade deal.

Candidates of both parties have targeted China in past campaigns. But with the United States entering a presidential election season as the Wuhan-borne contagion spreads across the country, the rhetoric this time is far more pointed — with concern growing that it will fan xenophobia and discrimination against Asian-Americans.

It is especially striking to see a primarily internationalist Democratic Party and the traditionally business-friendly G.O.P. attempt to portray the other as captive to Beijing — yet that only illustrates the electoral incentives at play.

Mr. Locke,  who also served as ambassador to China, said in an interview that there was plainly a “growing anti-China mood in Washington.” He said there would need to be a “post-mortem” on how Beijing handled the coronavirus, but for now argued that Mr. Trump’s own muted concerns about China had helped shield the Chinese government from criticism about its own actions in the early months of the outbreak.

Mr. Trump’s clashing comments on China illustrate not only his unreliability as a political messenger but also his longstanding ambivalence over how to approach the world’s second-largest economy. He ran for president four years ago vowing to get tough with China, but his ambition was not to isolate the Chinese but to work with them — and especially for the United States to make more money from the relationship.

This goal has prompted him to often lavish flattery on Mr. Xi, most memorably when Mr. Trump rhapsodized about the way they bonded over “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake you’ve ever seen” at his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2017.

The president’s hopes for securing a major trade agreement with China have been reinforced by a coterie of his advisers, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who have often prevailed in internal battles over White House hard-liners.

But with the coronavirus death toll growing and the economy at a standstill, polls show that Americans have never viewed China more negatively

In a recent 17-state survey conducted by Mr. Trump’s campaign, 77 percent of voters agreed that China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak, and 79 percent of voters indicated they did not think China had been truthful about the extent of infections and deaths, according to a Republican briefed on the poll.

Yet those polling numbers also come as 65 percent of Americans say they believe that Mr. Trump was too late responding to the outbreak, according to a Pew Research Center survey this past week.

More ominous for the president are some private Republican surveys that show him losing ground in key states like Michigan, where one recent poll has him losing by double digits, according to a Republican strategist who has seen it.

So as Mr. Biden unites the Democratic Party, Mr. Trump’s poll numbers are flagging and G.O.P. senators up for re-election find themselves significantly outraised by their Democratic rivals. That has led to a growing urgency in Republican ranks that the president should shelve his hopes for a lucrative rapprochement with China.

“At this moment in time a trade deal is not the right topic of discussion,” said Senator Steve Daines, Republican of Montana, who said the pandemic had highlighted the country’s reliance on China in the same painful fashion that the oil crisis of the 1970s revealed how it was at the mercy of the Middle East. “This has exposed our dependency on China for P.P.E. and for critical drugs.”

Mr. Hawley, a first-term Missouri senator has also denounced China, calling for a United States-led international commission to determine the origin of the virus and demanding that American victims be allowed to sue the Chinese government.

“This is the 9/11 of this generation,” said Mr. Hawley, adding that he hopes Mr. Trump “keeps the pressure high.”

He said Republicans should make the issue central this fall and demonstrate “how are we going to come out of this stronger by actually standing up to the Chinese.”

Few Republicans have been more outspoken than Mr. Cotton, an Arkansan who was warning about the virus at the start of the year when few lawmakers were paying attention, and has been urging Senate candidates to make China a centerpiece of their campaigns.

“China unleashed this pandemic on the world and they should pay the price,” Mr. Cotton said. “Congress and the president should work together to hold China accountable.”

Fortified by private polling his campaign conducted last year for his own re-election showing bipartisan disdain for China, Mr. Cotton’s top aides approached aides to Mr. Trump’s campaign last month and told them they planned to air an ad in Ohio, a few days before its scheduled primary, attacking Mr. Biden over China. But, according to Republicans familiar with the conversation, Mr. Trump’s campaign expressed little interest in coordinating with them.

Now, though, Mr. Trump’s campaign is effectively repurposing Mr. Cotton’s ad and lashing Mr. Biden in a commercial targeting the former vice president and his son.

The super PAC supporting Mr. Trump, America First, is airing ads on the same theme in swing states, showing video of Mr. Biden in 2011 saying that “a rising China is a positive development.”

And the president’s eldest son, Donald Jr., posted the spot on Twitter and sought to stamp a new nickname on the former vice president: “BeijingBiden.”

Brian O. Walsh, the president of America First Action, said the strategy builds on years of voter concerns about China.

“The China piece of this was part of the overall thinking far before coronavirus, because we knew its potency and its relevance,” Mr. Walsh said. “This just made it more potent and more relevant.”

In response to G.O.P. attacks, an outside Democratic group, American Bridge, on Friday unveiled a $15 million ad campaign hammering Mr. Trump for sending medical supplies to China and for initially praising the Chinese response to the virus.

Mr. Cramer, of North Dakota, said Democrats were courting political risk if they were seen as defending China. But he conceded that Mr. Trump’s “rhetoric about Xi gets confusing.”

“I’d have a hard time being that nice to a communist leader,” Mr. Cramer said, “but the president knows he’s got to appeal to an audience of one there.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/us/politics/trump-china-virus.html

来源时间:2020/4/18   发布时间:2020/4/18

旧文章ID:21376