Trump threatens to withhold funds from WHO, says UN body is 'China-centric'

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut US funding to the World Health Organization, accusing it of bias toward China during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump told reporters he was "going to put a very powerful hold on" funding to WHO, the UN body whose biggest funding source is the United States.

"We're going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO," said Trump, who pursues an "America First" agenda and has previously criticised other UN and multilateral agencies.

He gave no details about how much money would be withheld and minutes later during the same press conference he said: "I'm not saying I'm going to do it."

"We will look at ending funding," he added.

According to Trump, the WHO "seems to be very biased toward China. That's not right."

His comments built on an earlier statement on Twitter in which he accused the WHO of being "very China centric."

Trump asked why the WHO had given "such a faulty recommendation," apparently referring to the UN body's advice against curtailing international travel to stop the virus which first spread from China.

Trump threatens to withhold funds from WHO, says UN body is 'China-centric'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut US funding to the World Health Organization, accusing it of bias toward China during the coronavirus pandemic.

www.france24.com

 

[Arthur]

My suspicion is the reason they're China-centric is that they're anti-US. WHO is a political agency staffed by nominees from UN member governments, and they only appoint medical people whose politics align with the member state's government. The overwhelming majority detest the United States, and so gravitate to the People's Republic of China one-party dictatorship because they see it as the emerging counterweight to the United States.

It's not just an anti-Trump thing. The anti-US animus is decades old.

 

[Alan]

The WHO authorities deliberately and knowingly covered for the Chinese Communist party and as a result millions will die around globe thanks to the delayed reaction to this pandemic.

If that isn't a case for crimes against humanity then nothing is.

 

[MEIOT]

Loathe Trump and all he stands for in general, but all things considered, and in this specific regard, evidence sure points to some shady shite going on at WHO. And the whole Taiwan stance they adopted sure confirms some things.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

Very interesting article on China's support for the WHO director-general:

The WHO Director-General (DG) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been an outspoken advocate for the Chinese government’s COVID-19 response. On January 28, Tedros met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Following the meeting, Tedros commended China for “setting a new standard for outbreak control” and praised the country’s top leadership for its “openness to sharing information” with the WHO and other countries. Yet in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese officials were busy arresting and punishing citizens for “spreading rumors” about the disease, while online censors controlled the flow of information. Despite growing evidence of China’s mishandling of the outbreak and rising domestic Chinese outrage over the government’s censorship, Tedros remains unmoved. On February 20 at the Munich Security Conference, Tedros doubled down on his praise for China stating that “China has bought the world time."

In contrast to his effusive praise for China, Tedros has been quick to criticize other countries for their responses to the outbreak. He called upon nations not to limit travel with China and warned against the “recrimination or politicization” of the outbreak. Domestic Chinese news coverage prominently features Tedros’ praise of Xi Jinping and criticism of foreign governments.

For its part, China’s WHO contributions have grown by 52% since 2014 to approximately $86 million. This is largely due to China’s increase in assessed contributions which are based on a country’s economic development and population. However, China has also slightly increased voluntary contributions from $8.7 million in 2014 to approximately $10.2 million in 2019. While this pales in comparison to the United States’ 2018-19 contribution of $893 million, China’s growing contributions come as its influence across the UN is rising just as U.S. leadership is declining. Going forward, China might appear to be a more reliable partner for organizations dependent on members’ financial support like the WHO.


China was also an important ally of Tedros in the WHO’s DG election in 2017. Months before the election, Tedros was invited to speak at Peking University where he called for stronger cooperation between China and the Global South on health issues. China’s support for Tedros paid off immediately. The day after his electoral victory, Tedros confirmed to Chinese state-media that he and the WHO will continue to support the “One China” principle, which recognizes the government in Beijing as the legitimate Chinese government. Three years later, Tedros’ enduring support of China’s response to COVID-19 shows that their early support for him is still paying dividends.

The WHO and China: Dereliction of Duty

The WHO’s weak response to China’s mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak has laundered China’s image at the expense of the WHO’s credibility. The time is ripe for clear leadership from the WHO based o…

www.cfr.org

 

[The Trutherizer]

This is an approval rating play. Trump must know by now that his inaction is largely to blame for making the US the new, and probably final centre of this pandemic. It's the usual smoke and mirrors with a good dollop of freeing up more funds to divert to those who put him in office.

 

[Datura]

 

[krycor]

Well America is 1st when it comes to Corona stats..

Trump is just looking for an out, plain and simple. Whatever the WHO stance is.. it hasn't changed suddenly.. Trump on the other hand looks like a moron and there is a plethora of vids he can't hide from along with economy failing and people dying.. obviously he is looking to shift blame.

PS. In the US, the avg amount of money lost due to corruption and fraud is about 10%.. $200B is a lot when the country will have a 5-6T deficit this year minimum.

 

[Nqindi]

Meanwhile 1970 people died in the US today of the virus today. But they let's play the blame game.

 

[Temujin]

seems to be very biased toward China

No, is, and in doing so, ****ed the planet, all of us

 

[Mekon]

Once this sh/tstorm is over. Should China be held accountable?

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Even before the WHO shady BS, they should have pulled funding for all these 'UN' type things. Why be the main donor/supporter for leeches that hate you and decry you at every opportunity

 

[crysis]

Once this sh/tstorm is over. Should China be held accountable?

I hope so.

 

[Brenden_E]

Once this sh/tstorm is over. Should China be held accountable?

They should, but everyone has become too dependant on their manufacturing that no country is willing to risk upsetting them.

 

[Vorastra]

And continues to be right.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

This is an approval rating play. Trump must know by now that his inaction is largely to blame for making the US the new, and probably final centre of this pandemic. It's the usual smoke and mirrors with a good dollop of freeing up more funds to divert to those who put him in office.

This might very well be true but it doesn't take away from his point.

 

[MEIOT]

I find it quite hilarious how the Japanese government came out on the news to say they think the WHO should be renamed the CHO

 

[R13...]

​

Trump told reporters he was "going to put a very powerful hold on" funding to WHO, the UN body whose biggest funding source is the United States.

This sounds like talk from an ANC cadre, who like to employ the adjective, powerful, in front of everything they say.

 

[Iwojima]

This is an approval rating play. Trump must know by now that his inaction is largely to blame for making the US the new, and probably final centre of this pandemic. It's the usual smoke and mirrors with a good dollop of freeing up more funds to divert to those who put him in office.

Considering his stance is and always has been (even prior to election) that China holds far too much power (to the detriment of sovereign countries) I'm not sure how you can make that claim.

Whatever your feelings are about Trump he is quite correct about China. It's time for those who are diametrically opposed to his other political beliefs to wake up and stop being so partisan on this issue in particular.

 

[R13...]

My suspicion is the reason they're China-centric is that they're anti-US. WHO is a political agency staffed by nominees from UN member governments, and they only appoint medical people whose politics align with the member state's government. The overwhelming majority detest the United States, and so gravitate to the People's Republic of China one-party dictatorship because they see it as the emerging counterweight to the United States.

It's not just an anti-Trump thing. The anti-US animus is decades old.

It apparently isn't that they're anti-US but rather that some of the leadership at WHO are beholden to Chinese money for development in their home countries. Which is a sad state of affairs.