© Reuters/Charles Platiau/Reuters/Andrew KellyAlibaba billionaire Jack Ma • MAGA wear
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has in one fell swoop seemingly forgiven the US for its treatment of China in the dark days of its coronavirus epidemic and
one-upped the capitalist system with a donation of much-needed supplies.The Alibaba billionaire announced a donation of 1 million face masks and 500,000 coronavirus test kits on Friday, releasing a statement calling for "all humankind" to work together to fight the recently-declared pandemic. Signing off with
"united we stand, divided we fall," Ma managed to make the US government, which all but congratulated itself on the increased business opportunities presented by thousands of Chinese drowning in their own phlegm,
look like bumbling (and cruel) idiots.
The e-commerce mogul's statement was
all sweetness and light, wrapped around what could be perceived as a dig at Washington's preparedness: "Hopefully, these supplies can help some people in the US."
The contrast between Ma's gift and the US' response to China sinking into coronavirus-flavored hell months ago
could not be more stark. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross all but danced on Beijing's grave, predicting that the virus would
"help accelerate the return of jobs to North America," and
while President Donald Trump himself offered praise of President Xi Jinping's containment efforts, it was accompanied by little more than closing US airports to flights from China and the equivalent of a "good luck."Now that the shoe is on the other foot, the kits and supplies couldn't come at a better time. The
White House signed $8.3 billion in emergency aid into law earlier this week to fight the coronavirus, and an emergency declaration on Friday freed up $50 billion more for disaster response, but Americans nationwide have reported
difficulties accessing testing, on top of concern over the
mixed messages coming from healthcare authorities and the Trump administration.
Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar has admitted his agency has no way to track the number of Americans who have been tested for coronavirus - let alone who have tested positive - but bragged earlier this week about having a "surplus" of coronavirus testing kits awaiting order.
CDC officials, however, have admitted the agency lacks the equipment needed to properly respond to the epidemic, and scrambled to get the testing right after an initial round of kits proved defective. The development of testing was further slowed by the CDC's insistence on developing its own test rather than using that of the World Health Organization. State authorities report
tests being shipped incomplete and therefore unusable. While Ma has made similar donations to Europe, Japan, South Korea, and other coronavirus-stricken parts of the world, the
US healthcare system is rapidly proving to be the least able to deal with the crisis.The Trump administration has kept up its China-bashing even as the number of new Covid-19 cases in that country has dropped off. National security adviser Robert O'Brien complained earlier this week that "we could have dramatically curtailed" the epidemic if it weren't for China supposedly dragging its feet going public, though
he could only cite "open-source reporting from Chinese nationals" to back up his assertion that China's response had cost the world two months' prep time. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others have repeatedly referred to "the Wuhan virus," while Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton went even further down the blame-China rabbit hole,
insisting the disease escaped from a high-security bio-research laboratory in Wuhan.Trump himself at least spread the blame for the "foreign virus" around a bit, criticizing the "fake news media" for hyping Covid-19 and his predecessor Barack Obama for hampering the US response by tying up the CDC in "red tape."
But he has fueled concern in his own way by repeatedly downplaying the seriousness of the virus while fretting over the cratering stock market, all but advising sick Americans to keep a stiff upper lip while trotting out a series of potential economic band-aids for the gaping wounds on Wall Street (including a bailout of the tanking shale oil industry even his own party has slammed as irresponsible).
Perhaps unsurprisingly amid such chaos,
the Trump administration has not issued an official response to Ma's gift - though in their defense, the State Department was probably too busy summoning the Chinese ambassador to chew him out over the foreign ministry spokesman's tweeting to notice.
Reader Comments
Funny the Congolese can contain Ebola within its’ borders; multiple times by the way but we are spoon fed the fantasy that “modern” China can’t get it together. Not only can’t they get it together but they imprison the whistleblower (who later dies) & cause a world pandemic worthy of biblical revelations.
China knew of this horrible genetically modified; protein envelope enrobed, HIV derived blood pneumonia in early December but curiously WAITED until after Chinese New Year & spread the whole fucking thing all over the whole fucking planet thru callousness or malevolent intent.
China DESERVES ZERO SYMPATHY. CHINA ONLY DESERVES TO BE CALLED OUT FOR THE SCUMBAG ATHEIST ORGAN HARVESTING COMMUNIST MAGGOTS that they are.
Yes Imperialist America is bad, no question but the propaganda and despicable behavior of the Chinese Government should not be tolerated. Notice I don’t condemn any of the people, only Xi & his minions. The sorry slime bucket media & global elite cower to China’s slave induced commie/capitalist panacea. Shit, Bloomberg told a financial news outlet that Xi is Democratic and has a responsibility to his constituents LTFOL! Get a clue China is the Great Satan-60 million & counting....
BLD, your laughable hatred towards the Chinese is starting to show...but just a bit. You forget to mention the US biolab facility located near the worst outbreak of Ebola on the continent. Keep at it, always interested.
Book: China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine Hardcover – April 17, 2018 by Rosemary Gibson
Youtube Videos: See China RX or Rosemary Gibson
If our pharmaceutical sourcing and manufacturing is suddenly disrupted or terminated for any number of reasons, what can we expect to transpire? The answer should be obvious.