WATCH: Chinese Consul responds to Donald Trump calling Covid-19 a 'Chinese virus'

Published Mar 26, 2020

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Durban - The Chinese consul-general in Durban has responded to US President Donald Trump, saying that instead of “smearing and blaming” others during the Covid-19 crisis, the world must unite. 

Fei Mingxing said the World Health Organization (WHO) had made a clear stance on the virus and that was the direction which should be followed by all countries.

He was responding to a question posed by Independent Media on how the Chinese felt about Trump repeatedly calling the virus the “Chinese virus”. This was on Thursday in Durban after the Chinese government donated 100 000 surgical masks to the KZN government in order to help it to fight the spread of the virus during the 21 day lockdown period starting at midnight Thursday. 

“We should respect what the WHO has already said again and again. This is a virus against humanity, it’s a virus against the people of the world. So we should be united against the virus instead of smearing and blaming et cetera... unite the whole world against the virus, that’s the only way to defeat the virus,” he said. 

Despite global criticism, Trump infamously known for shooting from the hip and failing to abide by global standards of diplomacy, continued to refer to the virus as such. The most recent incident was when he was called out by several White House journalists, but insisted on using the dehumanising term.

Meanwhile, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala, after receiving the masks, went to Cato Manor. He used the cleanup to distribute some of the masks to the impoverished residents ahead of the lockdown.

Political Bureau

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