July 8: China is a victim of coronavirus
The Chinese embassy on Tuesday (July 8) took a swipe at a group of lawyers that filed a suit seeking damages against China over the coronavirus pandemic.
Local media outlets say the group of 11 lawyers file a yet to be heard case in the High Court accusing China of failing to promptly inform the World Health Organization (WHO) about the virus.
They are demanding $200bn in damages for the “loss of lives, economic strangulation, trauma, hardship, social disorientation, mental torture and disruption of normal daily existence of people in Nigeria.”
But a statement by the press secretary of the Embassy of China in Nigeria called the action “frivolous” and “shoddy.” It argued that China put its best food forward at the outset of the pandemic and that it was equally impacted as any other nation.
“COVID-19 has caught the whole world by surprise. China, like other countries is a victim. Confronted by an unknown virus, we have acted responsibly to protect people’s life and health and safeguard global public health.”
“China was the first country to report cases to WHO and promptly share information with relevant countries and regions, the first to sequence the genome of the virus and share it with the world, the the first to publish guidelines for treatment and containment.
“In the fight against Covid-19, solidarity and co-operation is our most powerful weapon,” the statement read in part.
It concluded by stressing its victimhood and called on the lawyers to engage in actions that boost ties between the two nations rather than dance to the tune of a certain unnamed country to “hype up the situation.”
Confirmed cases = 30,249
Active cases = 17,192
Recoveries = 12,373
Number of deaths = 6684
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of July 7, 2020
Statement by Press Secretary of the Embassy on some Nigerian lawyers’ attempt of filing frivolous lawsuits. pic.twitter.com/decFormTiX— Chinese Embassy in Nigeria (@china_emb_ng) July 8, 2020
May 18: Trump jabs WHO over China mistreatment on Africans
US president Donald Trump continued his funding threats to the World Health Organization, WHO; with a May 18 letter that threatened outright withdrawal of the US from the organization.
The four-paged letter addressed to the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the body had 30-days to undertake needed reforms. “I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization,” Trump threatened.
But at the heart of the letter was an accusation that WHO had virtually been captured by China, and that their missteps and failure to hold Beijing accountable had led to the escalation of the coronavirus spread.
A portion of the letter also accused WHO of overlooking racist treatment of Africans in parts of China. It queried why the WHO has all along remained mute on the issue.
“On April 11, 2020, several African Ambassadors wrote to the Chinese Foreign Ministry about
