Half a Million Lives Lost: US Can’t Even Pass Its Own Human Rights Test

Published in Guangming Daily
(China) on 23 February 2021
by Han Liang (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Brittany Bradley. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
Half a million! A number that leaves the entire world in disbelief. According to the latest data released by Johns Hopkins University, as of Feb. 23, the number of deaths in the U.S. related to COVID-19 exceeded 500,000, and the number of confirmed cases reached more than 28 million.

While American citizens must endure the current pandemic, a rare winter storm has swept through many southern states, crippling infrastructure and leaving tens of millions without water or power. Local government efforts at disaster relief are proving to be ineffective, lawmakers are sneaking away to avoid responsibility, power companies are using the opportunity to reel in profits, and some businesses are inflating prices. Superimposed on the pandemic have been both man-made and natural disasters while American citizens are left struggling.

When faced with the test to contain COVID-19 or manage disaster relief, the U.S. government's response has been full of mistakes and widely criticized. The United States of America, always grading other countries’ performance when it comes to protecting human rights, has clearly failed its own test.

The right to life is the most basic of human rights. The U.S. has the most scientific and technological advancements and is the most powerful country in the world, yet it is the epicenter of the pandemic, and has become the country with the most confirmed cases and highest death toll. It can no longer sustain the facade of being the world’s “guardian of human rights.” Time and time again the facts have proven true: It doesn’t matter how much funding the U.S. pours into developing a vaccine, how advanced its medical technology is or how perfect its medical system is; all of these resources will never be effectively employed if the U.S. chooses not to prioritize the welfare of its citizens.

People won’t forget the U.S. officials who, in the midst of a pandemic, chose to ignore the needs of citizens for political gain, who despised sound science, deceived citizens, shifted blame, constantly instigated ideological conflict, exacerbated social governance failures and interfered with international efforts to contain the pandemic.

People won’t forget the summer of 2020, when COVID-19 had yet to be substantially contained and some officials chose not to listen to medical experts, but instead forcibly restarted the economy, which quickly led to an increase in cases. For these politicians, restarting the economy was more important than making efforts to contain the pandemic because political achievement mattered more than people's lives.

People won’t forget the fact that during the pandemic, the mortality rate in low income neighborhoods that were either predominantly Black or Latino was generally much higher than in relatively wealthy, predominantly white neighborhoods. George Floyd’s death sparked outrage across the entire U.S.; citizens took to the streets protesting across the entire nation. The scars of racism, class antagonism and wealth inequality that had been left on American society became all the more apparent.

The inaction and misconduct of some lawmakers when it came to containing COVID-19 disrupted international efforts to end the pandemic and have cost American citizens a hefty price. What’s more, the bitter cold that southern states faced has once again left citizens bitterly disappointed.

The cold wave that hit many states, including Texas, crippled infrastructure, caused power outages and left people without water. These states face food shortages while the disaster response from local governments remains slow and politicians leave the country to “escape” the crisis. Electric companies have seized the opportunity to take advantage of citizens, who are now receiving hefty bills. Extreme weather conditions have also led to massive delays in the supply of vaccines for COVID-19, as well as a delay in vaccinations in Texas. You can imagine what a cold winter this is for the people of Texas.

From the pandemic to the winter storm crisis, it has been one test after another, each exposing how broken the United States’ system is and serving as evidence of an institution in disarray, one that is experiencing economic imbalance and crises that include social upheaval. It has become apparent that the “human rights” the U.S. proclaims to protect is nothing more than a lie. Government officials can scream as loud as they want about human rights and “universal values,” but if they don’t understand something as basic as the sacred nature of human life, are unwilling to acknowledge that life is more important than anything else, and refuse to accept that the right to life and health are the most basic human rights, it will be difficult to gain the trust and support of the people, let alone continue to promote economic development and social progress.

Half a million lives lost and hearts frozen over by a brutal winter. The ever increasing death toll is a cause for concern. Only by prioritizing the welfare of citizens and implementing effective procedures is it possible to turn this pandemic around, to bid winter farewell and usher in spring.





新华社北京2月23日电 题:50万生命凋零,美国的人权答卷不及格

  新华社记者 韩梁

  50万!这是一个让世界震惊的数字。美国约翰斯·霍普金斯大学公布的最新数据显示,截至北京时间23日,美国累计新冠死亡病例突破50万,确诊病例超过2800万。

  就在美国民众饱受疫情之苦的同时,一场罕见的冬季风暴让美国南部多地基础设施瘫痪,数以千万计民众断水断电。地方政府救灾不力,议员溜之大吉,供电企业趁火打劫,部分商家哄抬物价……疫情叠加天灾人祸,美国民众生计维艰,苦不堪言。

  从“疫情大考”到“救灾大考”,美国政府的作答漏洞百出,饱受诟病。动辄拿所谓人权问题刁难他国的美国,自己的人权答卷却不及格。

  生存权是最基本的人权。作为世界科技最发达、综合实力最强的国家,美国却是疫情重灾区,成为全球累计病例最多、死亡病例最多的国家,“人权卫士”的人设已然崩塌。事实反复证明,如果不把民众生命放在首位,再丰富的医疗资源、再先进的医疗技术、再完备的医疗体系也无法发挥应有的作用。

  人们不会忘记,疫情之下,美国一些政客为了政治私利漠视生命,藐视科学,对内欺骗,对外“甩锅”,不断煽动意识形态对立,加剧社会治理失灵,干扰国际抗疫合作。

  人们不会忘记,去年夏天,在疫情尚未得到有效控制的情况下,一些政客不顾专家反对,强行重启经济,致使疫情快速反弹。这些政客眼中,重启经济比部署抗疫重要,因为政绩比民众生命更重要。

  人们不会忘记,疫情之下,以非洲裔、拉美裔人口为主的低收入社区病亡率普遍远高于以白人为主的相对富裕社区。弗洛伊德事件点燃全美怒火,“黑人的命也是命”运动席卷各地,美国社会的种族歧视、阶层对立、贫富分化伤疤越发刺眼。

  美国一些政客在防控疫情方面的不作为和乱作为,在国际上破坏全球抗疫合作的行为,已让美国民众付出惨痛代价。而这次美国南部的严寒天气,则让美国民众再次感到“心寒”。

  寒潮来袭,包括得克萨斯州在内的多地基础设施瘫痪,停水停电,食物短缺,地方政府救灾行动迟缓,议员出国“避灾”,供电企业趁火打劫,居民收到“天价”账单。极端天气还导致得州新冠疫苗供应和接种大规模延迟。可以想见这个冬天对当地居民来说有多冷。

  从疫情到灾情,一场又一场考验,无情戳穿美式人权的谎言,暴露美国社会治理体系的痼疾,见证制度失灵、经济失衡、社会失和等多重危机的爆发。如果一个政府高喊人权和“普世价值”,却不懂得“人命关天”的朴素道理,不认同生命高于一切的价值理念,不接受生命权和健康权是最基本的人权,它就难以得到民众的信任和支持,更谈不上持续推动经济发展和社会进步。

  50万生命凋零,泪水在寒冬结冰。不断增加的死亡数字让人警醒。唯有真正把民众生命福祉放在首位,真正采取有力措施,才有可能扭转防疫形势,走出寒冬,迎来春天。
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Indonesia: US-China: Tariff, Tension, and Truce

Taiwan: Taiwan’s Leverage in US Trade Talks

Australia: Donald Trump Just Won the Fight To Remake America in 3 Big Ways

Israel: In Washington, Netanyahu Must Prioritize Bringing Home Hostages before Iran

Spain: A NATO Tailor-Made for Trump

OPD 26th June 2025, edited by Michelle Bisson Proofer: See...

Topics

Australia: Donald Trump Is Not the Only Moving Part When It Comes to Global Trade

Ireland: As Genocide Proceeds, Netanyahu Is Yet Again Being Feted in Washington

Canada: Canada’s Retaliatory Tariffs Hurt Canadians

Spain: A NATO Tailor-Made for Trump

OPD 26th June 2025, edited by Michelle Bisson Proofer: See...

Germany: Trump’s Words and Putin’s Calculus

Palestine: Ceasefire Not Peace: How Netanyahu and AIPAC Outsourced Israel’s War To Trump

Mauritius: The US-Israel-Iran Triangle: from Obliteration to Mediation

Related Articles

Indonesia: US-China: Tariff, Tension, and Truce

China: US Chip Restrictions Backfiring

Thailand: US-China Trade Truce Didn’t Solve Rare Earths Riddle

Taiwan: Taiwan Issue Will Be Harder To Bypass during Future US-China Negotiations

Hong Kong: Amid US Democracy’s Moral Unraveling, Hong Kong’s Role in the Soft Power Struggle