HONG KONG, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Friday called for international cooperation in containing the COVID-19 epidemic and warned against "political virus" of bias and mudslinging.

"The virus is our common enemy and the epidemic a common challenge. As members of the global village, we have a shared future, and need to boost confidence and support each other," Commissioner Xie Feng said.

"While curbing the spread of the coronavirus, we also need to guard against and combat the 'virus of selfishness' featuring apathy, the 'virus of panic' featuring overreaction in disregard of science, the 'virus of discrimination' featuring the identification of a disease with a particular region, country or ethnicity, and the more dangerous 'political virus' featuring ideological bias, Cold War mentality and mudslinging," he said.

Xie made the remarks at a ceremony of donation from Honorary Consul of the Federated States of Micronesia in Hong Kong Tan Siu-lin for China's battle against COVID-19.

Expressing gratitude to Tan for donating 1 million U.S. dollars to support the people of Hubei in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, Xie said that over the past month and more, leaders of more than 170 countries and over 40 international organizations have expressed firm support for China through telegrams or letters.

Initial progress has been made in China's fight against the virus, he said. The number of new confirmed cases has shown a significant decline overall, and suspected cases get diagnosed more quickly, Xie told the representatives of foreign diplomatic missions, chambers of commerce and media in Hong Kong who were attending the ceremony.

China's economy and society are returning to normal at a faster pace, said Xie. The impact of the epidemic on China's economy is temporary and limited. With remarkable resilience, robust domestic demand and a solid industrial system, the sound fundamentals of China's economy for steady growth in the long run have not changed, he added.

As the first line of defense, China has gained time for other countries to curb the spread of the virus, Xie said, adding that as a responsible major country, China is ready to share experience with and lend a helping hand to other affected countries.

"We will continue to work closely with the WHO and other countries and coordinate our epidemic response, so as to jointly protect global public health and defend our common home," the commissioner said. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)