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Thanks for the link. The statement is prepended by a big “if” though, and is not a declaration of something that will definitely happen. “If we refuse to give

Thanks for the link. The statement is prepended by a big “if” though, and is not a declaration of something that will definitely happen. “If we refuse to give medication to the US then they will drown in a sea of coronavirus”. The statement is also preceded by complaints about how the US has been unfairly attacking China during the virus crisis. I understand that you are not happy about this “threat”, or even this “potential of retaliation”. My opinion though is that the US is not altogether innocent in this. It would be best for everyone if this trade war and this “maximum pressure on China” policy ends.

cameldrv 7y ago
Threatening to withhold medication during a pandemic that originated in China is beyond the pale. What precisely is the U.S. guilty of again?
- FooBarWidget 7y ago
  This comment sums it up: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22611017 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22611017
  - cameldrv 7y ago
    I don't agree with the Trump administration's tone, but factually, the virus is from China, specifically Wuhan. Many viruses, bacteria, and other diseases are named for their place of origin. Even if you don't believe that the virus came from the Wuhan lab, the other reasonable explanation is that it came from the human consumption of either a bat or a pangolin. The consumption of these animals was implicated in the outbreak of SARS, and China did not put a stop to the practice. Either way, the Chinese government bears significant responsibility for the situation we're in. So the Chinese response to referring to the virus by its place of origin is to threaten to withhold pharmaceuticals that potentially millions of lives depend on in the U.S. If "The Chinese people's feelings are hurt", we can no longer rely on them to do anything. In fact, if their feelings are hurt, they are prepared to kill millions of Americans as revenge. Obviously this is not a trading partner that can be relied on to provide anything more important than cheap plastic crap we buy at Wal-Mart.
    - FooBarWidget 7y ago
      I am not disputing whether Wuhan is the first major outbreak area. It is. But that is not the interesting part. > Many viruses, bacteria, and other diseases are named for their place of origin. This hasn’t been a thing for a long time. H1N1 is not called mexican flu. Ebola is not called congo disease. WHO officially designated Covid19 as the name. There is no reason for US officials to keep calling it china virus other than to stir up hate. What bothers me more is that you are so focused on blaming China rather than on more productive things, like actually fighting the virus. The 2 months advance warning has been wasted on playing the blame game instead of ramping up production of medical equipment, or other preventative measures. Sigh. > The consumption of these animals was implicated in the outbreak of SARS, and China did not put a stop to the practice. Wildlife food is banned now. > the Chinese government bears significant responsibility for the situation we're in. What responsibility do you have in mind? Should China dissolve as a country? Should they pay reparations to everyone? Is there legal precedence to this? How did Mexico and Congo take responsibility for swine flu and ebola? I am not aware of any precedence wrt reparations for a disease outbreak. Maybe you are? But there is precedence for heavy reparations from a country as a general concept. Germany after WW1. The allied forces blamed everything on the Germans and exploited them. That generated resentment, leading to the rise of Hitler. We know the rest. The lesson here is that playing the blame game too heavily is a dangerous thing. There is also an anti-reparations case study. Britain and other European powers exploited China in the 19th century. Literally forced the Chinese at gunpoint to become drug addicts. China never asked for reparations for those practices. They don’t blame foreigners, they blame themselves for being weak. And can you guarantee that at no point in the future will there ever be a disease outbreak that originates from the US? How will you implement this guarantee? In any case, China is sending aid to Iran, Italy, Spain, Japan and more. > In fact, if their feelings are hurt, they are prepared to kill millions of Americans as revenge Withholding help is not the same as killing. Not even in the same ballpark. Nobody is entitled to help from others.
      - cameldrv 7y ago
        Ok... I'm not expecting China to actually take responsibility, I just think that they are responsible. What they will actually do is make excuses and threats as you just did. Given we know this, it makes sense to not rely on them for anything important.

cameldrv 7y ago

Threatening to withhold medication during a pandemic that originated in China is beyond the pale. What precisely is the U.S. guilty of again?

FooBarWidget 7y ago
This comment sums it up: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22611017 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22611017
- cameldrv 7y ago
  I don't agree with the Trump administration's tone, but factually, the virus is from China, specifically Wuhan. Many viruses, bacteria, and other diseases are named for their place of origin. Even if you don't believe that the virus came from the Wuhan lab, the other reasonable explanation is that it came from the human consumption of either a bat or a pangolin. The consumption of these animals was implicated in the outbreak of SARS, and China did not put a stop to the practice. Either way, the Chinese government bears significant responsibility for the situation we're in. So the Chinese response to referring to the virus by its place of origin is to threaten to withhold pharmaceuticals that potentially millions of lives depend on in the U.S. If "The Chinese people's feelings are hurt", we can no longer rely on them to do anything. In fact, if their feelings are hurt, they are prepared to kill millions of Americans as revenge. Obviously this is not a trading partner that can be relied on to provide anything more important than cheap plastic crap we buy at Wal-Mart.
  - FooBarWidget 7y ago
    I am not disputing whether Wuhan is the first major outbreak area. It is. But that is not the interesting part. > Many viruses, bacteria, and other diseases are named for their place of origin. This hasn’t been a thing for a long time. H1N1 is not called mexican flu. Ebola is not called congo disease. WHO officially designated Covid19 as the name. There is no reason for US officials to keep calling it china virus other than to stir up hate. What bothers me more is that you are so focused on blaming China rather than on more productive things, like actually fighting the virus. The 2 months advance warning has been wasted on playing the blame game instead of ramping up production of medical equipment, or other preventative measures. Sigh. > The consumption of these animals was implicated in the outbreak of SARS, and China did not put a stop to the practice. Wildlife food is banned now. > the Chinese government bears significant responsibility for the situation we're in. What responsibility do you have in mind? Should China dissolve as a country? Should they pay reparations to everyone? Is there legal precedence to this? How did Mexico and Congo take responsibility for swine flu and ebola? I am not aware of any precedence wrt reparations for a disease outbreak. Maybe you are? But there is precedence for heavy reparations from a country as a general concept. Germany after WW1. The allied forces blamed everything on the Germans and exploited them. That generated resentment, leading to the rise of Hitler. We know the rest. The lesson here is that playing the blame game too heavily is a dangerous thing. There is also an anti-reparations case study. Britain and other European powers exploited China in the 19th century. Literally forced the Chinese at gunpoint to become drug addicts. China never asked for reparations for those practices. They don’t blame foreigners, they blame themselves for being weak. And can you guarantee that at no point in the future will there ever be a disease outbreak that originates from the US? How will you implement this guarantee? In any case, China is sending aid to Iran, Italy, Spain, Japan and more. > In fact, if their feelings are hurt, they are prepared to kill millions of Americans as revenge Withholding help is not the same as killing. Not even in the same ballpark. Nobody is entitled to help from others.
    - cameldrv 7y ago
      Ok... I'm not expecting China to actually take responsibility, I just think that they are responsible. What they will actually do is make excuses and threats as you just did. Given we know this, it makes sense to not rely on them for anything important.