Escalates US-China conflict with new sanctions
Washington, May 30: US President Donald Trump has announced that he is terminating the country’s relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The president has accused the WHO of failing to hold Beijing to account over the coronavirus pandemic.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization,” the president said while announcing measures aimed at punishing Beijing.
Washington will redirect funds to other bodies, he said.
The WHO, a UN agency that helps countries promote healthcare and tackle outbreaks of disease, is yet to comment on Trump’s decision.
But on Saturday, the European Union led calls for the Trump administration to reconsider its decision, warning it could hamper global efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump announced last month that he was going to halt US funding for the WHO unless it undertook “substantive improvements” within 30 days.
The WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has promised a review of its response to the pandemic and defended its independence.
The US is the global health agency’s largest single contributor, providing more than $400m (£324m; €360m) in 2019, around 15% of its total budget.
Other countries, including Germany and the UK, have said they have no intention of withdrawing funding from the WHO, which is co-ordinating a global initiative to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.
Trump, who is campaigning for re-election this year and has been criticised for his own handling of the pandemic, has blamed China for trying to cover up the coronavirus outbreak.
Escalates US-China conflict with new sanctions
Meanwhile, the US president announced that he has directed his administration to eliminate the special treatment for Hong Kong after Beijing announced its new security legislation for the region.
Trump said he has directed his administration to begin the process of eliminating policy agreements on Hong Kong, ranging from extradition treatment to export controls. He said he would also issue a proclamation to better safeguard vital university research by suspending the entry of foreign nationals from China identified as potential security risks – a move believed to be aimed at Chinese graduate students studying in the US, a CNN report said.
Trump made the announcement at a White House news conference on Saturday, saying Beijing had broken its word over Hong Kong’s autonomy. He said its move was a “tragedy” for the people of Hong Kong, China and the world.
“We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment,” he said, adding that Washington would also impose sanctions on individuals seen as responsible for smothering Hong Kong’s autonomy.
The moves come after China forged ahead with plans to impose new national security legislation and after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the territory no longer warrants special treatment under US law that has enabled it to remain a global financial centre.Agencies/UNI
