The 3 Poison Darts US Aimed at China May Circle Back to Biden

Published in Huanqiu
(China) on 22 April 2020
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Thomas Tang. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
Since March, the U.S. has been aiming three poison darts at China.

Dart number one was to accuse China of concealing the extent of the COVID-19 outbreak and to falsely report the numbers of cases and deaths. Dart number two was to announce that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of a coronavirus leak and to demand that China permit investigation by foreign experts. Dart number three was to support and provoke lawsuits against the Chinese government seeking compensation.

The Trump administration and the Republican Party devised these three poison darts. Their clear target is Beijing as this move is easy to justify as being politically correct in today’s U.S. However, Trump’s team is fully aware that these three attacks are not going to kill China – the measures the two countries have taken to fight the virus are not on the same level. Washington’s attacks at Beijing over the virus barely hold water. They are too far from the truth, and rely only on nationalism. It is hard to say how long it will be before these attacks fall apart.

Therefore, in the short term, the Trump administration has plotted these three attacks on the Chinese government as a diversion. They cannot kill China, but they may “kill” Trump’s rival, Joe Biden.

From the standpoint of the United States’ political logic, these three attacks are cleverly devised. They are all aimed at America’s “strategic competition,” i.e., China. The two parties in the U.S. have reached an agreement regarding the threat from China. The Democrats have been aiding the Republican government in condemning China to such an extent that it is becoming increasingly easier in the U.S. to blame Beijing.

Great. As the critical period of the presidential election approaches, the Trump administration is failing at combating the virus. Trump himself has said so much to downplay the outbreak, that those words today may severely threaten his chance of winning reelection. But by unleashing the aforementioned three attacks, Trump has clearly swayed public opinion in the U.S. “Who is to blame” is now “China is to blame.” “Don’t let Beijing avoid responsibility” is now the most popular slogan in the U.S.

In today’s United States, political opinions and value judgements are stronger than ever before, overtaking rules and laws based on science and facts. The U.S. is paying the price for its bias, as the virus spreads across the country, causing the world power to descend into the chaos of the Stone Age.

U.S. politics is all about roguery now. In its foreign affairs dealing, the country betrays allies and ignores rules; the same logic must also apply domestically. Washington has made its main strategy to suppress China, instigating anti-China sentiment among American society with the support of elitists in U.S. politics and sources of public opinion. With the Trump administration failing at controlling the outbreak and very possibly losing political control, Washington has found a scapegoat, China, in time to completely ruin the Democrats’ plan to dominate the election by taking advantage of the Trump administration’s failure. This move may help strengthen White House initiative in the election.

China is now the main topic in the presidential election. It is ridiculous that both Trump and Biden blame each other for not being tough enough on China. In the midst of this ridiculousness, the Trump administration has fired its three poison darts, diminishing some of the leverage Democrats have in the election and limiting the debate. If the issues of the U.S. presidential election remain centered around China, Trump may have a greater chance at winning.

The Republican state of Missouri has just sued China, demanding that Beijing compensate it for the loss caused by its citizens. Meaningless as it is, the lawsuit has caused enough controversy, and diverted attention away from dissatisfaction with Missouri’s response to the outbreak. This process will help with Trump’s reelection. It is immediately clear to those who are socially aware that the rule of law in the United States is giving way to politics, but the lawsuit may delude many average Americans.

The Democrats have been cheated, but they also brought it upon themselves. American political elitists instigated a blind anti-China sentiment, spreading anti-science and anti-rationality in the U.S. Now, it is hard for the Democrats to single out the Trump administration, which bears huge responsibility for failing to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, as being to blame when mass opinion holds China accountable. The Democrats are now unable to target the Trump administration, and instead have to condemn both the administration and Beijing. However, it is much easier to attack Beijing (because of support from American nationalists) than to attack the Trump administration.

It is the Americans’ business whom they choose as their next president. Unfortunately, China has become the center of the storm in this election. But there is no need for the Chinese to complain, for this may just be part of the burden involved in becoming a world power as we grow stronger. We need to start developing true power to defend our name, and we have a long way to go.


自三月以来,美国逐渐打造了三支射向中国的毒箭。

第一支毒箭是指控中国隐瞒疫情,对感染数和死亡人数造假。第二支毒箭是宣称中国武汉病毒研究所是泄漏病毒的源头,要求中国开放外部专家前往调查。第三支毒箭则是支持、煽动开展对中国政府索赔的诉讼。

这三支毒箭的终极打造者是特朗普政府和共和党,它们明面上的靶子是北京,这在今天的美国很容易站上“政治正确”的高地。但特朗普团队又很清楚这三支毒箭射不死中国,中美抗疫水平的差距太大了,华盛顿围绕抗疫对北京的攻讦只能靠民族主义勉强托着,它们离事实太远,能撑多久很难说。

正因如此,三支毒箭射中国政府在短线上又是特朗普政府虚晃一枪。它们射不死中国,但有可能射死特朗普的竞争对手拜登。

从美国的政治逻辑看,这三支毒箭设计得太巧妙了。它们都是攻击美国“战略对手”中国的,而对于“来自中国的威胁”,美国两党已有“共识”。民主党一直在帮着共和党政府夸张骂中国,以至于栽赃构陷北京在美国越来越畅行无阻。

现在好了,逐渐到了大选的关键时段,特朗普政府严重抗疫不力,特朗普本人说了那么多淡化疫情、今天翻出来可能对其选情构成致命威胁的话。但是把上述三支毒箭放出来,明显带走了美国舆论的节奏,美国国内的追责问题一下子被“向中国追责”冲了势头。“不能放过北京”成为了美国最响亮的口号。

在当下的美国,政治立场和价值判断处于空前强势地位,以科学和事实为基础的理和道则变得非常软弱。美国的新冠疫情能泛滥成这个样子,这个强大的国家在病毒面前几乎像“原始社会”一样混乱,是它为此付出的代价。

美国的政坛可谓流氓作风当道。对外背信弃义,践踏规则,同样的逻辑必然要在内部“发扬光大”。华盛顿制定了压制中国的总战略,在美国政治和舆论精英群体的共同支持下动员起了美国社会的仇华厌华心态。如今在特朗普政府因抗疫不力很可能陷入政治被动的时候,他们及时向中国甩锅,一下子消解了民主党用追究特朗普政府责任来与其打选战的话锋,这很可能帮着白宫巩固在选战中的主动权。

中国成为了美国选战的首要话题,特朗普和拜登竟然都要指责对方对中国不够强硬,这何其荒唐。在这种荒唐中,特朗普政府通过射出上述三支毒箭,成功封锁了民主党竞选话语的宽度,也限制了民主党辩论的锐利。如果美国竞选话语就这样围着中国转下去,特朗普的胜算大概是要增加的。

共和党控制的密苏里州刚刚宣布起诉中国,要求北京赔偿疫情给该州民众造成的损失,这一起诉就是闹剧,但它制造争议和吸引注意力的过程将转移民众对政府抗疫的不满,成为对特朗普竞选连任的助攻。美国的法律正在向政治磕头,明眼人能一眼看懂,但它却能蛊惑很多普通的老百姓。

民主党无疑在吃哑巴亏,但它是自作自受。美国的政治精英们共同推动了盲目的反华情绪,导致了反科学反理性在美国泛滥横行。现在民主党很难把特朗普政府在疫情失控过程中的巨大责任从“对中国追责”的舆论声浪中剥离出来,树成突出的靶子展示给美国人看。他们不得不“同时指责”特朗普政府和北京,而攻击北京有美国民族主义的普遍支持,比攻击特朗普政府的舆论动力要大得多。

选谁当下任总统,这是美国人的事。中国不幸落入美国竞选的风暴眼,中国人也无需怨天尤人。最根本的原因还是我们强大了,这或许是中国成为一支世界性力量不得不有的一份承受。我们需要逐渐构建起捍卫自己声誉的真实能力,为此,我们任重道远。
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