China builds solid wall of defense against COVID-19 to protect people's lives, health

A new batch of medical staff from the Chinese mainland to support the COVID-19 control efforts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region arrives in south China's Hong Kong, March 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading fast globally. Some U.S. media outlets recently sighed in articles that the pandemic is "still killing 1,200 Americans a day," worrying there might be "another surge." However, in a cynical tone, they said the Chinese mainland the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are having a "bad year", just to smear China's pandemic response policies and achievements, and even defame China's political system.

Such a narrow and evil view is a total disregard of facts. It turns the pandemic into a tool and weapon out of ulterior political motives.

Facing the pandemic unseen in a century, the Chinese government has always put the Chinese people and their lives in the first and highest place. It has tailored science-based and targeted pandemic control policies according to the spread of the pandemic and the features of the virus, so as to maximumly safeguard people's lives and health, maintain a normal pace of work and life, and ensure the safety of industrial and supply chains.

China is in a leading position globally in economic development and pandemic control, which fully demonstrates the strong ability of the country to control the virus and the obvious advantages of the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the socialism with Chinese characteristics.

On the contrary, as the world's largest economy and a country that boasts rich and advanced medical resources, the U.S. has seen rounds of serious COVID-19 resurgence, setting new records in a number of indexes, such as newly confirmed cases, hospitalized cases and children's infections. Nearly a million people have died in the country because of the pandemic.

The unscientific, unequal, and irresponsible pandemic response led by the White House, prejudices held by political parties, as well as the reckless dissemination of fake information have traumatized the credibility of the U.S. government, and the rights to life and health of Americans, whose trust in their government has been "bankrupt."

This clearly shows who's the top scorer and who's the underachiever in terms of pandemic response.

Facing the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the HKSAR experienced a drastic surge in newly confirmed cases and was put in a grave situation.

At the critical moment, the HKSAR government acted responsibly and launched a tough battle to safeguard people's lives and health under the assistance from the Chinese central government.

Expert teams and nucleic acid testing teams were quickly established and dispatched to Hong Kong. A Fire Eye Laboratory, nucleic acid testing vehicles, and quick testing kits were immediately put into use. The first makeshift hospital of Hong Kong was built within a week, and another six with 20,000 beds in less than a month. New waterways were constantly opened for material supply and freight trains were designated to carry assistance materials from the mainland to the HKSAR.

The people in the Chinese mainland, sharing the concerns of their compatriots in Hong Kong, assisted the special administrative region with the fastest speed, highest intensity and widest coverage, to ensure the implementation of the assisting policies of the central government. It has significantly enhanced the Hong Kong citizens’ resolution and confidence in fighting and defeating the virus, and basically contained the rising trend of the pandemic in Hong Kong. The ongoing battle against the pandemic in Hong Kong vividly mirrors the institutional advantages of China.

However, some U.S. media outlets are always making a fuss about the resurgence in Hong Kong, distorting the meaning of "dynamic zero-COVID approach." They said China should relax its pandemic control measures and choose to "coexist with the virus", but this only reflects their evil intentions.

Hong Kong is a city with high population density and high passenger mobility, and it's also bothered by an aging society. "Laid-back" approaches will only make the virus spread faster there and seriously threaten the lives and health of the Hong Kong citizens, thus crushing the hope of restoring normal economic and social operation.

The Guardians recently pointed out that "We all want the disruption and anxiety to stop, but we won’t achieve that with policies that pretend the pandemic is over when it isn’t. It said to stop the pandemic, we must learn to spot and contain worrying outbreaks.

China's pandemic control practices fully prove that the "dynamic zero-COVID approach" is science-based, necessary, effective and feasible. It is something that must be done by a major country with more than 1.4 billion people, as well as an obligation of a responsible government and society. It puts into practice the people-first philosophy and contributes to the world's efforts to fight the pandemic.

According to a recent poll published by Hong Kong-based think tank Bauhinia Institute, over 65 percent of the Hong Kong citizens believe that the "dynamic zero-COVID approach" is in line with the general interests of the Hong Kong society, and more than 80 percent are supportive of the goal raised by the expert team dispatched by the central government to reduce the numbers of deaths, critical cases and infections. The poll also indicated that over 80 percent of the Hong Kong citizens are more confident in defeating the virus because of the central government's assistance.

After directing a documentary recording Wuhan's battle against the pandemic, British director Malcolm Clarke said he and his team have witnessed the invincible state strength of China during the pandemic. He said in China, the whole nation fights as one when it wants to achieve something, which is incredible when measured with Western standards.

Over the past two years and more, China's institutional advantages and powerful state strength have withstood the test of the pandemic, and will keep contributing to the country's fight against the virus. China will build a solid wall of defense against COVID-19 with utmost confidence and achieve a final victory. The U.S. media and politicians that are always defaming China, sowing discord, mongering panic and singing the blues are destined to be disappointed again.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)