What Ties WHO to China?

            The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday is the relationship between China and the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), a part of the United Nations. There is little doubt that the novel coronavirus came from China, but there are questions about where in China it began and why WHO repeated talking points from the Chinese Communist Party. Congress may investigate the situation at some point in the future.


            WHO announced on December 30, 2019, that there was a disease, thought to be pneumonia, spreading in Wuhan, China.  The Chinese government downplayed the disease, but WHO declared the coronavirus to be a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Now China is trying to blame the pandemic on U.S. military, but Trump will not accept the blame. WHO, of course, says that they have responded in a “transparent way.”


            Fred Lucas at The Heritage Foundation https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/04/01/5-keys-to-unlocking-why-the-world-health-organization-bows-to-china-on-covid-19/ wrote that the United Nations founded the World Health Organization in 1948 “with the mission of providing health assistance to countries, setting international health standards, and coordinating responses to global health emergencies.” Lucas listed five “things that Americans should know” about the World Health Organization.

1. How Much Do U.S. Taxpayers Give to WHO?

The World Health Organization has an annual budget of $3.8 billion. According to WHO, contributions from the U.S. government, American citizens, and U.S.-based charities make up 76% of all voluntary contributions to the organization.

Congress authorized about $123 million in taxpayer funding for WHO in the last fiscal year [with a decrease to $58 million in Trump’s fiscal 2021 budget request].

China’s contribution to the World Health Organization, by contrast, was $86 million total, according to WHO. [This means that] The organization isn’t financially reliant on China, which gives less than 10% of what the United States gives.

2. Will Congress Investigate WHO?

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called this week for a congressional probe of the organization, based largely on what he considers a lack of warning to the world about the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. …

Scott noted that the Chinese government covered up the coronavirus from its own public and the rest of the world….

3. What Has WHO Said About China?

On Jan. 14, WHO unquestioningly circulated China’s official talking points in a tweet, saying: “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China.”

Of course, the virus is highly contagious, a characteristic that has prompted quarantines and self-quarantines around the glove.

On Jan. 23, WHO determined COVID-19 could be spread by humans….

4. What Are the Political Ties Between WHO’s Chief and China?

China backed Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus] in May 2017 when he ran for World Health Organization director-general.

Chinese diplomats “worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help Tedros defeat the United Kingdom candidate for the WHO job, David Nabarro,” Washington Post columnist Frida Ghitis wrote.

“Tedros’ victory was also a victory for Beijing, whose leader Xi Jinping has made public his goal of flexing China’s muscle in the world,” the column continued.

On Feb. 3, after the United States and other countries blocked travel from China, Tedros said: “There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. We call on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based and consistent.”

After Trump referred to the coronavirus as a “foreign virus” and later as the “China virus,” Tedros tweeted March 17: “Kind quick reminded: viruses have no nationality.”

A Chinese government-run media outlet, Xinhua News, promoted the WHO leader’s comment….

5. Where Does Taiwan Fit In?

Taiwan health officials warned the World Health Organization that the new coronavirus could spread through human-to-human contact before WHO recognized this fact Jan. 23. WHO initially followed the China line that the virus could not spread through human-to-human contact….

But political considerations were in play.

Taiwan considers itself an independent country and China considers it a province. 

Unlike China, however, Taiwan got an early handle on the coronavirus and was able to beat back the spread.

Taiwan would be an international success story, except WHO keeps Taiwan and China statistics together.

“… [China does not want Taiwan to be a participant in WHO.] But many European countries have said Taiwan should have a seat at the table”

WHO doesn’t seem eager….

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the close relationship between WHO and China. We know that the truth will eventually come out, and then we will see where the consequences fall. Meanwhile, I believe that it would be unwise to believe what China says.