30/04/2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believes China’s handling of the coronavirus is proof that Beijing “will do anything they can” to make him lose his re-election bid in November.
In an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office, Trump talked tough on China and said he was looking at different options in terms of consequences for Beijing over the virus. “I can do a lot,” he said.
Trump has been heaping blame on China for a global pandemic that has killed at least 60,000 people in the United States according to a Reuters tally, and thrown the U.S. economy into a deep recession, putting in jeopardy his hopes for another four-year term.
The Republican president, often accused of not acting early enough to prepare the United States for the spread of the virus, said he believed China should have been more active in letting the world know about the coronavirus much sooner.
Asked whether he was considering the use of tariffs or even debt write-offs for China, Trump would not offer specifics. “There are many things I can do,” he said. “We’re looking for what happened.”
“China will do anything they can to have me lose this race,” said Trump. He said he believes Beijing wants his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, to win the race to ease the pressure Trump has placed on China over trade and other issues.
“They’re constantly using public relations to try to make it like they’re innocent parties,” he said of Chinese officials.
He said the trade deal that he concluded with Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at reducing chronic U.S. trade deficits with China had been “upset very badly” by the economic fallout from the virus.
A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that an informal “truce” in the war of words that Trump and Xi essentially agreed to in a phone call in late March now appeared to be over.
The two leaders had promised that their governments would do everything possible to cooperate to contain the coronavirus. In recent days, Washington and Beijing have traded increasingly bitter recriminations over the origin of the virus and the response to it.
However, Trump and his top aides, while stepping up their anti-China rhetoric, have stopped short of directly criticizing Xi, who the U.S. president has repeatedly called his “friend.”
Trump also said South Korea has agreed to pay the United States more money for a defense cooperation agreement but would not be drawn out on how much.
“We can make a deal. They want to make a deal,” Trump said. “They’ve agreed to pay a lot of money. They’re paying a lot more money than they did when I got here” in January 2017.
The United States stations roughly 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice, rather than a peace treaty.
Trump is leading a triage effort to try to keep the U.S. economy afloat through stimulus payments to individuals and companies while nudging state governors to carefully reopen their states as new infections decline.
Trump sounded wistful about the strong economy that he had enjoyed compared with now, when millions of people have lost their jobs and GDP is faltering.
“We were rocking before this happened. We had the greatest economy in history,” he said.
He said he is happy with the way many governors are operating under the strain of the virus but said some need to improve. He would not name names.
Trump’s handling of the virus has come under scrutiny. Forty-three percent of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll from April 27-28.
But there was some good coronavirus news, as Gilead Sciences Inc said its experimental antiviral drug remdesivir was showing progress in treating virus victims.
Trump has also seeking an accelerated timetable on development of a vaccine.
“I think things are moving along very nicely,” he said.
At the end of the half-hour interview, Trump offered lighthearted remarks about a newly released Navy video purportedly showing an unidentified flying object.
“I just wonder if it’s real,” he said. “That’s a hell of a video.”
Source: Reuters
Posted in 1950-53 Korean War, 60,000, accelerated timetable, according, accused, acting, active, afloat, agreed, Americans, anonymity, another, anti-China, antiviral drug remdesivir, approved, April, armistice, at least, “will do anything they can”, Beijing, believed, believes, bid, bitter, China, China's handling, China’s, Chinese President Xi Jinping, chronic, companies, compared, considering, coronavirus, debt write-offs, decline, deep recession, defense cooperation agreement, democratic, development, early, economic fallout, enjoyed, enough, essentially, faltering, four-year term, GDP, global pandemic, handling, hopes, individuals, informal, Interest, jeopardy, jobs, Joe Biden, killed, leaders, legacy, letting, lost, meddling, millions, money, Navy video, new infections, November, now, nudging, often, opponent, origin, Oval Office, pay, peace treaty, People, phone call, prepare, President, President Donald Trump, pressure, progress, proof, putting, race, re-election, recriminations, reopen, Republican, Reuters, Reuters tally, Reuters/Ipsos poll, rhetoric, South Korea, specifics, spread, state governors, states, stations, stimulus payments, strong economy, tariffs, thrown, to lose, to make, tough, Trade, trade deficits, triage, troops, truce, Trump, Trump administration, two, U.S. economy, U.S. election, Uncategorized, unidentified flying object, United States, Vaccine, victims, Virus, wants, war of words, Washington, Wednesday, win, wistful, World |
Leave a Comment »
30/07/2019
BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) — The attempt of some Western countries to tarnish the image of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is doomed to fail, and the fight against terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang should be supported and respected, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday.
Recently, ambassadors from 50 countries to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) have sent a joint letter to the President of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to voice their support for China’s position on issues related to Xinjiang.
The 50 ambassadors, who are from countries including Russia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Cuba, have collectively stated for the first time that the counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures, including the establishment of vocational education and training centers, have effectively safeguarded basic human rights in Xinjiang, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a press briefing.
According to media reports, 24 members of the UNHRC have previously signed a letter criticizing China’s position on relevant issues.
“The 24 members, with a total population of no more than 600 million, are all developed Western countries, none of them being an Islamic or developing country. While of the 50 countries that support China are from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, with a total population of nearly 2 billion, 28 are members of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, and their population is more than twice that of the 24 members that criticized China,” Hua said. “So it’s obvious who is right and who is wrong on the matter of Xinjiang,” she added.
Hua said many of the ambassadors who supported China’s Xinjiang policy have visited Xinjiang and witnessed the truth.
As the ambassadors pointed out, those who had visited Xinjiang found what they saw and heard was completely different from what was described in Western media reports, according to Hua.
“The ambassadors also appreciated China’s achievements in human rights, believed that Xinjiang’s establishment of vocational education and training centers, as well as other counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures, effectively guaranteed basic human rights and urged relevant countries to stop their unfounded accusations against China,” said the spokesperson.
“This fully shows that the international community has its fair judgment on the development of Xinjiang,” said Hua, adding that attempt to smear Xinjiang and put pressure on China in the name of “human rights” will never succeed.
Pointing out that the current problem in Xinjiang is the issue of counter-terrorism and extremism rather than religious and human rights issues, Hua said the counter-terrorism and de-radicalization struggle in Xinjiang deserve support, respect and understanding.
“Faced with severe threats of terrorism and extremism, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has taken a series of counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures according to law, including the establishment of vocational education and training centers,” said Hua, adding that those measures have turned the situation around.
“In almost three years, not a single violent or terrorist incident took place in Xinjiang. The region now enjoys social stability and unity among all ethnic groups. People there are living a happy life with a stronger sense of fulfillment and security. They endorse the government’s policies and measures wholeheartedly,” said the spokesperson.
Noting that many of the 24 countries that denounce China’s Xinjiang policy have been victims of terrorism, Hua said relevant people and officials from these 24 countries are welcome to visit Xinjiang to learn about Xinjiang’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalization experience.
Hua said China is working with all parties to ensure that multilateral human rights mechanisms stick to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Human rights issues should be dealt with in an objective, fair and non-selective way. “We need to advance international human rights cause in a sound manner through constructive dialogue and cooperation.”
“We resolutely oppose any country’s act of using the Human Rights Council and other mechanisms to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and wantonly criticize, smear and pressure others. We urge the relevant countries to correct their mistakes at once, not to politicize the relevant issue or practice double standards, and stop meddling in other countries’ domestic affairs,” she added.
Source: Xinhua
Posted in africa, Algeria, Asia, Cuba, double standards, Europe, extremism, Fight against terrorism, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Latin America, meddling, Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, Pakistan, respected, Russia, Saudi Arabia, supported, U.N. Human Rights Council, UN Charter, UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Uncategorized, United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region |
Leave a Comment »
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 