Asia expert Gordon Chang applauded President Donald Trump’s strong criticism of the World Health Organization regarding the coronavirus outbreak, but said it did not go far enough.
Chang made his comments in a column posted Thursday on the Fox News website.
Trump said this week he is considering putting a “hold” on U.S. funding for the WHO after the agency “blew it” by failing to warn about the coronavirus sooner.
“As harsh as the president’s criticisms were, they did not go far enough,” Chang said.
“The WHO bears responsibility for helping China spread the coronavirus far beyond China’s borders. What should have been merely a local outbreak that began in China became a worldwide pandemic as a result of the actions of Beijing and the WHO.
“The WHO’s primary sin is its early support of China’s false claim that the novel coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, could not be transmitted person-to-person.”
He said the WHO had urged nations to keep borders open to travelers, who ended up carrying the disease beyond China.
“The World Health Organization has acted disgracefully, inexplicably supporting Beijing’s position at every turn,” Chang maintained. “China-centric?” You bet.
“Only one world figure had the courage to publicly call out the WHO. That person is President Trump. The U.S. will have to defund the WHO if the organization insists on being complicit with China’s malign objectives.”
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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