A prominent Chinese tabloid newspaper concluded that the United States was the ‘most failed country of 2020’.
The Global TimesAn English-language pony newspaper published by the Chinese Communist Party focused on the US political upheaval in a Wednesday editorial and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article was titled, “While China is Fighting Viruses, the United States Is Involved in Power Struggle,” which refers to President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional efforts to stay in power despite losing the election.
“The American political focus is always far away from the public’s urgent needs,” the editorial said.
“If American politics were to serve the people, the two parties should have set aside all disputes and created the best conditions to fight the epidemic. But what this first reflects is the power struggle,” the article continued. It calls Trump’s response to the pandemic a ‘total failure’, while US leaders are criticized for focusing on the election and accusation instead of the COVID-19 crisis.
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“If it [the U.S.] were in a socialist country, a large number of officials with so many deaths would have been sent to court. It is not about how good or bad they did in this fight, but the extent to which they must be investigated in crimes of negligence, ”reads the main article.
“The US is the most failed country of 2020. As Confucius said, ‘To know the things of shame is to be near power.'”
The US still has the most infections and deaths due to COVID-19 in any country in the world. As of Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. has reported nearly 23 million infections and more than 382,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to The New York Times tracker.
New infections remain high as deaths continue to rise dramatically. About 250,000 new infections are reported daily, with an average of more than 3,300 people dying from COVID-19 over the past seven days. On Tuesday, the US reached a record high with more than 4400 deaths in one day.
“Although it [the COVID-19 pandemic] has a little impact on his [Trump’s] election, the onslaught on his reputation is far from fundamental. Trump’s protests against the election results caused him many more problems, such as a second accusation, and he was silenced by American social media. The various fines show how ‘tolerant’ the American system is for the disorder that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, ‘ The Global Times editorial said.
Compared to the US, China has done well in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of the new virus first occurred in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but the country has seen just under 98,000 infections and a little over 4,600 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Trump and his administration have repeatedly blamed China for the pandemic.
Chinese officials were initially slow to respond to the new virus in Wuhan. Local officials in the city tried to cover up the outbreak, and even arrested doctors who tried to raise awareness through social media and other channels. There were allegations that a government laboratory in Wuhan accidentally leaked the virus, which Chinese officials denied. Some scientists who worked with the laboratory expressed skepticism about the problems, but a full transparent investigation was not done.
The Trump administration’s response to the pandemic is seen by its critics as a failure. The distribution of vaccines, which the president sees as his primary goal and achievement, has led to a slower-than-expected development, with persistent concerns about the lack of adequate supplies.
Newsweek reached the State Department for comment.