China slams using name of virus to stigmatize

Washington is the one that stirred up debate on the origin of the novel coronavirus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday, as he urged the United States to stop making wrong remarks that stigmatize China.

Speaking of the recent tiff between the two countries, Geng said at a daily news briefing that it was the US that was first to use terms such as "Chinese virus" and "Wuhan virus".

On March 6, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned "Wuhan coronavirus" in an interview on CNBC, a US business news channel. After that, some US politicians and high-level officials frequently used the label to tarnish China, a practice that has been met with strong indignation and opposition from the Chinese people, Geng said.

"The remarks are there, in black and white, and our memories of those words are still vivid, the US cannot deny that," he said.

Despite China's strong protest, Pompeo again used the term in a tweet on Monday.

The World Health Organization declared last month an official name for the new coronavirus disease－COVID-19－making sure not to reference Wuhan, the central Chinese city which was severely hit by the virus.

The WHO as well as the international community expressed opposition to linking the virus with a specific country or region in order to avoid stigma, Geng said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said recently on social media, "It is shameful to see increasing acts of racial discrimination and prejudice as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic－a crisis that affects us all. We must always fight racism and prejudice, and promote respect, compassion and equality."

Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said, "Viruses don't have a nationality and they don't care about borders."

Geng also said there are rational opinions expressed by public figures in the US and by US media commentators opposing the term and criticizing such language.