Seeking coronavirus compensation from China is a political farce

FILE PHOTO: The White House, United States of America./XINHUA.

Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language opinion column "The Real Point."

As the coronavirus situation in the United States becomes increasingly grave, certain people in the country–Missouri and Mississippi attorney generals Eric Schmitt and Lynn Fitch being the latest–have begun to seek prosecution against, and compensation from, China out of desperation. Their malicious prosecution and abuse of process, without any legal and factual basis whatsoever, is nothing but a farce reminiscent of the Chinese saying: "A thief shouting thief!"

Since the outbreak began, a few unscrupulous politicians in Washington, D.C. have been obsessed with fueling their political interests from the emergency. The idea of putting people's lives first has never crossed their mind. They have been actively engaged in buck passing, while passively fighting the virus and squandering precious windows of opportunities to curb its spread. This irresponsible behavior has resulted in the United States having the highest number of infections in the world.

It is the politicians who have undermined public interest with their unethical behavior that should be prosecuted by the international community and American people. Their abuse of process is incompatible with laws, facts and international justice.

First and foremost, their lawsuits against China were filed without any legal basis. According to the international principle of Sovereign Immunity of State, the state, government and property of a country are not subject to the jurisdiction and enforcement of the courts of another country. U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction regarding those lawsuits. Even though the cases were submitted to the International Court of Justice, China can verify that it has already fulfilled its obligations.

According to the International Health Regulations, member nations are obliged to notify the World Health Organization (WHO) of public health emergencies that may constitute international concern and share information. China informed the WHO about cases of a pneumonia of an unknown cause that was detected in Wuhan on December 31 last year.

As of January 3, China formally reported a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of an unknown etiology to the UN health organization. Nine days later, China shared with the WHO the complete genetic sequence of the new virus it had isolated on January 7. The latest data was published every day and information was shared with all countries, meaning that China fulfilled its obligation as stipulated in the International Health Regulations. The WHO has said: "In many ways, China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response."

In addition, there is no bilateral treaty or agreement on public health and emergencies between China and the United States. Therefore, there is no breach of contract concerning any bilateral treaty obligations. As Tom Ginsburg, a professor of international law at the University of Chicago Law School, pointed out: "A lot of people on the political right focus on the China issue to cover up for the U.S. government's own errors."

Furthermore, the prosecutions have no factual basis. Eric Schmitt's reasons for filing the lawsuit are twofold: first, China is accused of lying about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19; second, the Chinese government is blamed for making the pandemic worse by "hoarding" personal protective equipment. But his allegations can barely stand the test of facts.

Since January 3, China has regularly notified the United States of related information. On January 4, the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed his U.S. counterpart of the outbreak via telephone. On January 27, the heads of both health authorities had a phone conversation. Three days later, China's National Health Commission officially informed Washington that U.S. experts were welcome to join a WHO-China joint commission for a field inspection in China. In late February, the joint commission, including two U.S. epidemiologists, conducted a nine-day inspection in China.

It is accurate to say that the channels for the United States to obtain information from the Chinese side was effective, plus the technological cooperation between the two was smooth. Recently, The Washington Post and The New York Times have published several articles reviewing the timeline of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., and they have pointed out that it was the Trump administration that led the United States to an "error of epic proportions".

In Missouri, it was not until April 3 that Mike Parson, the state governor, issued the state-wide stay-at-home order that took effect three days later—they were one of the last remaining states to respond to the pandemic. The Kansas City Star commented that the governor had been criticized both in Missouri and nationally for refusing to follow the lead of other governors and issue a statewide order. It also noted that the orders were applied quite liberally, "even businesses that are deemed non-essential can remain open."

The accusation that China was "hoarding" medical supplies is not only inaccurate, but also ignores the country's good deeds and intentions. According to partially complete statistics from the Chinese customs authority, from March 1 to April 17 alone, China provided the United States with over 1.86 billion masks, 258 million pairs of gloves (medical and other kinds), 29.19 million sets of medical protective clothing, 3.13 million pairs of protective goggles, 4,254 non-invasive ventilators and 156 invasive ventilators.

The convenience provided for U.S. procurement in China and the donations made by Chinese people from all walks of life to American society have been generally praised by all circles in the United States.

Finally, the indiscriminate complaints made by some U.S. politicians are against the justice and righteousness recognized by the international community. The massive outbreak of H1N1 flu first appeared in the United States and eventually led to the deaths of nearly 200,000 people around the world; HIV/AIDS was first found in the United States and spread across the globe; and the bankruptcy of U.S. firm Lehman Brothers led to a global financial crisis.

A few days ago, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson posited: "Did anyone ask the U.S. to offer compensations for these? Did anyone come forward and ask the U.S. to be held accountable? Did anyone ask the U.S. to take the consequences?" In the face of major public health crises and infectious diseases, all humankind is the victim. There has never been a precedent in the international community for "demanding retribution and resorting to accountability", as this will inevitably incite hatred and create tragedies on a global scale.

At present, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has exceeded 860,000. However, those same U.S. politicians are still obsessed with playing a political blame game of labeling and dodging responsibility, which is undoubtedly putting the American people at greater risk. President Trump should listen to his old friend, the English broadcaster Piers Morgan, who said to stop playing petty politics with the COVID-19 pandemic and to "stop making it about yourself [because] what is more important right now is saving American lives."