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Why did he not say so? "I'm sorry, but this is a political question which I'm not able to answer.". or "You know this question puts me in a difficult positio

Why did he not say so? "I'm sorry, but this is a political question which I'm not able to answer.". or "You know this question puts me in a difficult position and it is not up to me." To me it seems his mind is made up. He does what China wants. He doesn't try to appear neutral. To him Taiwan is China. But either way - it shows how great power China has over international bodies and it is scary. Besides questions of WHO competency, we have to ask ourselves whether WHO even has good intentions in the first place.

paranoidrobot 6y ago
The reporter wasn't stupid, they were hoping for some kind of reaction. It's not too dissimilar to taunting someone hoping they'll do something you can latch onto. The lack of reaction / dodging was clearly enough to drive up a shitstorm. Any attempt to acknowledge and answer the question, even in deflecting it, was going to cause more trouble. > it shows how great power China has over international bodies and it is scary. It shows how much power China has in general. Look at Hong Kong. Most countries are doing nothing except making vague statements for peace, at most some are offering refuge for some who want to escape.
- Isinlor 6y ago
  > Any attempt to acknowledge and answer the question, even in deflecting it, was going to cause more trouble. This is certainly not true. WHO lawyer gave later lengthy explanation of WHO position on Taiwan on a press conference and nobody cared. It wasn't the issue of Taiwan that shocked people. Everyone following news knows that UN is politically paralyzed institution. What was shocking, to me and people I know, was the extend of fear and disingenuity of a member of WHO. He has clearly western roots and we expect from him western political culture. He is the man in authority position who we are supposed to trust. But this behavior was all but trustworthy. He was deceiving. He was laying and he was voluntarily following Chinese party line. The reporter was not stupid, indeed. It's her job to ask difficult questions. I applaud her for opening my eyes to the fact that I should trust WHO only about us much as I trust China. > Look at Hong Kong. Most countries are doing nothing except making vague statements for peace, at most some are offering refuge for some who want to escape. Again, this is something that I tend to expect. Western states have nothing to gain there and we have no obligations to these 7.5 million people. > It shows how much power China has in general. I guess maybe I was naive, but my a prior would be that USA would have a lot more power. The fact that western people are bowing before China in this way is new to me.

paranoidrobot 6y ago

The reporter wasn't stupid, they were hoping for some kind of reaction. It's not too dissimilar to taunting someone hoping they'll do something you can latch onto. The lack of reaction / dodging was clearly enough to drive up a shitstorm. Any attempt to acknowledge and answer the question, even in deflecting it, was going to cause more trouble. > it shows how great power China has over international bodies and it is scary. It shows how much power China has in general. Look at Hong Kong. Most countries are doing nothing except making vague statements for peace, at most some are offering refuge for some who want to escape.

Isinlor 6y ago
> Any attempt to acknowledge and answer the question, even in deflecting it, was going to cause more trouble. This is certainly not true. WHO lawyer gave later lengthy explanation of WHO position on Taiwan on a press conference and nobody cared. It wasn't the issue of Taiwan that shocked people. Everyone following news knows that UN is politically paralyzed institution. What was shocking, to me and people I know, was the extend of fear and disingenuity of a member of WHO. He has clearly western roots and we expect from him western political culture. He is the man in authority position who we are supposed to trust. But this behavior was all but trustworthy. He was deceiving. He was laying and he was voluntarily following Chinese party line. The reporter was not stupid, indeed. It's her job to ask difficult questions. I applaud her for opening my eyes to the fact that I should trust WHO only about us much as I trust China. > Look at Hong Kong. Most countries are doing nothing except making vague statements for peace, at most some are offering refuge for some who want to escape. Again, this is something that I tend to expect. Western states have nothing to gain there and we have no obligations to these 7.5 million people. > It shows how much power China has in general. I guess maybe I was naive, but my a prior would be that USA would have a lot more power. The fact that western people are bowing before China in this way is new to me.