A VIDEO clip posted on the Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok which criticizes the US for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic led to droves of Thai netizens hotly commenting on this issue, Sanook.com reported this morning (4.5.2020).
The English-language video clip posted yesterday, entitled “Once upon a Virus,” focuses on how China and US tackled the pandemic differently.
In this video the two countries are represented by LEGO characters who debate against each other, with the Chinese character being a terracotta warrior from the tomb of the first Qin emperor and the US the Statue of Liberty.
The key point stated in this clip is that China had informed the WHO about a new species of virus in December 2019.
The debate between the Chinese and US characters start in January and continue till April.
January – China says it has found a new virus but the US character does not listen to the warning while pointing out that the lockdown violates human rights and even telling Americans not to wear face masks.
February – China faces the severest coronavirus problems but is mocked by US which says it believes the virus will disappear in summer.
March – The pandemic situation improves in China and Beijing disseminates medical information to the public. However US is in worse position because of the high number of patients and the rising death toll. The US accuses China of providing false information.
The characters argued back and forth ending with the Chinese character saying that US is stubborn and has not changed.
Among the Thai netizens who sided with US in this video debate some pointed out that the novel coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan but it cannot be called Wuhan virus. Yet the Spanish flu pandemic, which lasted from spring 1918 through to spring or early summer 1919, is called Spanish flu to this day.
Another Thai Facebook member mentioned that the Chinese doctor who first issued a warning about the new virus was arrested and accused of spreading falsehood.
US was backed by yet another Thai Facebook member who pointed out that the American government never banned wearing face masks and it was the WHO which announced that there was no need to wear them.
Many Thai netizens also raised the Mekong river problem and demanded that China rectify this dire issue.
Those who agreed with China in this video clip said that when western countries cannot control the situation they always hunt for a scapegoat. They also mentioned that with election drawing near US President Donald Trump has resorted to blaming the WHO despite not having listened to the warning in the first place.
CAPTION:
A screen grab image of the debate between Chinese and US LEGO characters. Thai headline says, “Boiling hot comments.” Photo: Sanook.com
