驻悉尼总领馆发言人批评澳媒：“中国责任论”严重歪曲基本事实

中国驻悉尼总领馆15日发布声明文章，批评澳媒对中国疫情的报道存在恶意的负面引导，并对此表示强烈不满和坚决反对。

全文如下：

4月14日，中国驻悉尼总领馆向澳大利亚《每日电讯报》投文，针对澳部分媒体近期有关中国应对新冠肺炎疫情“负责”的说法阐述了中方观点，明确指出所谓“中国责任论”根本站不住脚。但令人震惊的是，《每日电讯报》15日以恶意删改方式、有选择地刊登总领馆文章部分字句，混淆黑白，颠倒是非，严重歪曲了基本事实和总领馆观点。总领馆对此表示强烈不满和坚决反对，已向《每日电讯报》提出严正交涉。

要成为一家合格的媒体，客观、准确是基本要求，也是底线。“编辑”不是《每日电讯报》恶意篡改总领馆文章的便利工具，“新闻自由”不是蓄意散布虚假信息和不负责任言论的“挡箭牌”，更不应该有双重标准，只对某一方、某一种声音有利。《每日电讯报》有关做法无法否定中国加强疫情防控、推进国际卫生合作的积极努力，只会暴露一些人的阴暗心理，只会进一步损害该报声誉。

为以正视听，现将总领馆有关文章全文刊发如下：

所谓“中国责任论”根本站不住脚

近日，澳大利亚一些媒体散布中国应该为新冠肺炎疫情蔓延“负责”的论调，甚至声称要向中国“索赔”。这些说法缺乏科学和事实依据，充满傲慢和偏见，根本无法令人信服。

首先，中国是否对疫情的爆发负有“原罪”？答案是“No”。

新冠肺炎病毒源于何处，目前尚不清楚，全球范围内的“零号病人”仍然未知。中国湖北省武汉市最早报告新冠肺炎疫情，并不意味着那里一定是病毒发源地。美国疾控中心主任已经承认，在去年美国的流感疫情中，有一些人实际上是死于新冠肺炎。病毒起源是一个科学问题，应该留待科学家通过扎实的研究去解答。

我们生活在全球化时代，不论病毒最初发生在哪里，都是人类共同的敌人。国际社会从不以任何国家或地名来命名病毒，以免引发对特定族群的污名化和歧视。世界卫生组织将新型冠状病毒疾病命名为Covid-19，就是遵循这一国际准则。否则，按照一些人的逻辑，谁该为H1N1负责？

有人为了让中国“背锅”，把矛头对准中国的海鲜市场。但是，世界权威医学杂志《柳叶刀》近期刊文，对41名最早确诊新冠病毒肺炎的患者进行研究，指出2019年12月1日开始出现症状的首例中国患者与武汉市的华南海鲜批发市场并无接触史。荒谬的是，《每日电讯报》4月4日一篇文章居然把东南亚一处野生动物市场的视频截图标注成华南海鲜批发市场，可惜这家“Langowan Market”和武汉毫无关系。

其次，中国应该为“隐瞒和延误”疫情负责吗？答案也是“No”。

中方日前发布新冠肺炎疫情信息、推进疫情防控国际合作纪事，清楚地再现了中方处理疫情的时间线。2019年12月底，湖北省武汉市疾控中心监测发现不明原因肺炎病例。12月31日，国家卫健委专家组抵达武汉开展现场调查。2020年1月3日，中方开始正式向世卫组织以及有关国家及时主动通报信息。1月8日，中方初步确定疫情病原。1月11日，中国疾控中心将5条新冠病毒全基因组序列上传网站，同全球和世卫组织共享数据。1月23日，中国关闭有1300万人口（超过澳大利亚人口的一半）的武汉外出通道。

正是因为中方没有“隐瞒和延误”，美国疾控中心才会在1月15日就发布了关于新冠肺炎的警告，澳大利亚2月1日起就对所有过去14天内到过中国的外国人关闭边境。

中国是第一个面对不明病毒攻击的国家，在两个多月内防控疫情取得显著成效，武汉市已于4月8日“解封”。一些国家在充分了解病毒特性、世卫组织一再呼吁加强防范的情况下，仍然经历了疫情的大规模蔓延，肯定是什么地方出了问题，但这笔账算不到中国头上。《柳叶刀》主编霍顿在BBC节目上明确指出，在1月最后一个星期人们就知道疫情会到来，因为中国疫情所传递出的信息非常清楚，可是我们浪费了整整2个月。

第三，中国是否在“逃避”国际责任？答案还是“No”。

在中国疫情最严重的时候，国际社会向我们提供了宝贵的支持。随着全球疫情形势急速发展，中国在继续做好本国疫情防控的同时，正在力所能及的范围内向国际社会提供支持和帮助。截至目前，中国政府已经或正在向127个国家和4个国际组织提供包括医用口罩、防护服、检测试剂等在内的物资援助，向世卫组织捐款2000万美元用于抗疫国际合作。中国企业克服困难，努力为全球抗疫生产急需的医疗物资。我们和各国分享中国的诊疗方案，举行卫生专家视频会议，向多个国家派遣医疗专家组。中国地方政府、企业和民间团体已经向100多个国家和地区以及国际组织捐赠了医疗物资。

有人说，中国这么做是为了转移世界对“中国责任”的注意力，借机谋求地缘战略利益。这纯粹是“以小人之心度君子之腹”。中国的唯一目的是挽救尽可能多的生命，是出于投桃报李的情义，更是出于应尽的国际责任。中国不会在朋友有难时袖手旁观，更不会在伸出援手时夹杂私利。我们从未强迫任何国家必须从中国购买口罩，也没有要求任何国家学习照搬我们的做法和经验。试问那些批评中国搞“口罩外交”的人，面对疫情全球肆虐，难道你们希望中国无动于衷、袖手旁观吗？

有人说中国出口的检测试剂和口罩“不合格”、“存在质量问题”，这种担心大可不必。中国一贯高度重视医疗物资质量安全，对相关产品实行严格管理。当然，中外产品的质量标准不同，使用习惯上存在差异，甚至使用者操作不当也会引发一些功效问题。那家《每日电讯报》曾经转述所谓“中国试剂在西班牙出现质量问题”，事实是该批试剂并非中国政府提供，而且那家厂家也澄清不是质量问题，而是使用方法不当。几天前，一架飞机从武汉运载近90吨医疗物资抵达悉尼，澳大利亚内政部发言人明确表示这对确保澳关键医疗物资的供应至关重要。

疫情无国界。中方将继续秉持善意开展国际防疫合作，为早日战胜疫情承担自己的责任。建议那些鼓吹各种“中国责任论”的人扪心自问，在这场与病毒的抗争中，你们肩负着怎样的责任，又做了些什么？

Statement from the Spokesperson 

of the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney

On 14 April, the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney submitted an article to Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper for publication. The article expounded China's view on recent arguments by some in the Australian media that China was "responsible" for the COVID-19 outbreak and clearly pointed out that the so-called “China responsibility” does not hold water. However, we were shocked to see that on 15 April, the Daily Telegraph had maliciously deleted parts of the article and selectively published other sections, calling white black and confounding right with wrong, seriously distorting the basic facts and views of the Consulate General. We deplore this behaviour and have lodged stern representations with The Daily Telegraph.

To be qualified as a media organization, objectivity and accuracy should be the cornerstone and the bottom line. “Redacting” is not a tool to be used by The Daily Telegraph to maliciously tamper with an article from the Consulate General. Freedom of the press is not a "shield" for the deliberate dissemination of false information and irresponsible remarks, nor should there be double standards only publishing what favours one side or voice. The Daily Telegraph's approach will not negate China's active efforts to strengthen epidemic prevention and control and promote international health cooperation. The Daily Telegraph is only demonstrating the malicious intentions of certain people and further damaging the newspaper's reputation.

To set the record straight, the full text of the relevant article from the Consulate General follows:

The So-Called "China Responsibility" on Covid-19 Simply Does Not Hold Water

Recently, certain Australian media outlets have been pushing the argument that China should be held "responsible" for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, even claiming to demand compensation from China. These claims lack scientific and factual evidence, are full of arrogance and prejudice, and are simply unconvincing.

Firstly, is China to blame for the "original sin" - the outbreak? The answer is No.

Where the virus originated is still unclear and the global “patient zero” remains unknown. Just because COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, does not mean that’s where the virus originated. The Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States has acknowledged that some people actually died of COVID-19 during last year's flu outbreak in the U.S.. The origin of the virus is a scientific issue that should be left to scientists to answer through solid research.

We live in an era of globalization and regardless of where the virus first occurred it is the common enemy of mankind. The international community never names viruses using any country or place name in order to avoid stigmatization and discrimination against specific ethnic groups. The World Health Organization named the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19, following this international standard. Otherwise, according to that logic, who would be responsible for H1N1?

Some are taking aim at China's seafood market in an attempt to make China take the blame. However, a recent article published in the world's leading medical journal, The Lancet, indicated that a study of the first 41 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 showed that the first Chinese patient, who started showing symptoms on 1 December, 2019, had no history of exposure to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. Absurdly, an article in The Daily Telegraph on 4 April labeled a screenshot of a wildlife market in south-east Asia as the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. The “Langowan Market” in fact has nothing to do with Wuhan.

Secondly, is China responsible for a "cover-up” and “delaying" response to the outbreak? The answer is also No.

China recently published the timeline of its release of information on COVID-19 and advancing international cooperation to the epidemic response, clearly showing how China responded to the outbreak chronologically. At the end of December 2019, The Wuhan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in central China's Hubei Province detected cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause. On 31 December, the expert team from the National Health Commission (NHC) arrived in Wuhan to conduct an on-site investigation. On 3 January, 2020, China officially began to regularly inform WHO and relevant countries in a timely manner. On 8 January, China initially identified a new coronavirus as the cause of the epidemic. On 11 January, the China CDC uploaded five novel coronavirus whole genome sequences to the website, sharing data with the world and WHO. On 23 January, China shut down Wuhan’s outbound channels, a city that is home to 13 million people (more than half of Australia's population).

Due to the fact that China did not "cover-up or delay" , the CDC of the United States issued a warning about COVID-19 on 15 January and Australia closed its borders from 1 February to all foreigners who had visited China in the previous 14 days.

China was the first country to face the unknown virus attack. In a little over two months, remarkable progress has been made in the prevention and control of the epidemic. The City of Wuhan was "reopened" on 8 April. At the same time, Some countries are still experiencing a massive spread of COVID-19 despite full knowledge of the virus characteristics and repeated calls by the WHO to strengthen prevention. Something must have gone wrong, but China is not to blame. Speaking on the BBC, Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, made it clear that people knew it was coming in the last week of January because the message from China was very clear, and we wasted two months.

Thirdly, is China “shying away” from its international responsibilities? The answer is still No.

At the height of the epidemic in China, the international community provided us with valuable support. With the rapid development of the global pandemic, China is providing support and assistance to the international community within its capacity while continuing to carry out its own epidemic prevention and control work. So far, the Chinese government has provided or is providing supplies to 127 countries and four international organizations, including surgical masks, protective gear and testing reagents. China has donated $20 million dollars to WHO towards international cooperation in fighting the pandemic. Chinese companies have overcome difficulties to produce urgently needed medical supplies for the global fight. We shared China's diagnosis and treatment guidelines with other countries, held video conferences with health experts, and sent medical teams to many countries. Chinese local governments, enterprises and non-government organizations have donated medical supplies to more than 100 countries and regions as well as international organizations.

Some people say that China is doing this to divert attention from its "responsibilities" and to pursue geostrategic interests. This is simply "gauging the heart of a man of integrity with one's own mean measures." China's sole purpose is to save as many lives as possible. It is out of gratitude, but also because of its international responsibilities. China will not stand by while a friend is in trouble, nor will it attach any strings when extending a helping hand. We have never forced any country to buy masks from China, nor asked any country to copy our practices and experience. I want to ask those who accuse China of "mask diplomacy": do you expect China to stand by and do nothing in the face of the global pandemic?

Some people say that test reagents and masks exported from China are “below standard or defective". There is absolutely nothing to worry about. China has always attached great importance to the quality and safety of medical materials and exercised strict management over such products. Of course, quality standards for products in China and in other countries will be different, and there are differences in usage. Improper application by users will also cause some efficacy problems. The Daily Telegraph reported that there had been a "quality issue with Chinese reagents in Spain", but the fact is that the reagents were not supplied by the Chinese government, and the manufacturer clarified that it was not a quality issue but improper use of the reagents. A few days ago, a plane carrying nearly 90 tonnes of medical supplies from Wuhan arrived in Sydney. A spokesman for the Australian Department of Home Affairs made it clear that this was vital to ensure critical medical supplies were available in Australia.

Pandemics have no borders. China will continue to carry out international prevention cooperation in good faith and shoulder its responsibility for an early victory over the pandemic. I suggest that those who are drumming up various arguments about the so-called “China responsibility” ask themselves the following: what are you taking responsibility for and what are you doing in the fight against the virus?