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刘光源特派员在《中国日报》发表署名文章《动态清零——中国抗疫的制胜法宝》
2022-05-27 10:27

5月27日,外交部驻港公署刘光源特派员在《中国日报》(香港版)发表题为《动态清零——中国抗疫的制胜法宝》的英文署名文章,用事实和数据从“中国政府以人为本”、“中国统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展”、“中国和国际社会团结抗疫”三重角度阐释“动态清零”政策和成就,同时有力揭批个别国家沦为“最大抗疫失败国”及将疫情政治化、工具化的行径。文章当日亦在该报网页版刊登。全文如下:



“动态清零”——中国抗疫的制胜法宝

新冠疫情发生两年多来,中国始终坚持人民至上、生命至上,坚持外防输入、内防反弹,坚持动态清零,在应对包括奥密克戎在内的一波波汹涌疫情中取得重大战略成果。

中国的“动态清零”要义,一是快速,二是精准,并非追求“零感染”,也非“零容忍”,而是及时发现、快速扑灭,努力以最低社会成本在最短时间内控制住疫情,有力保障14亿中国人民的生命健康,保障正常生产生活秩序。

一枝一叶总关情——中国政府以人为本,生命权是最大人权。中国有庞大的人口基数和老年群体,医疗资源分布尚不均衡。即使是严重性相对较低的奥密克戎,其病死率仍远高于流感。根据医学模型,一旦中国“躺平”,150多万民众将死于新冠。失去生命,还谈何人权?所以,疫情算账要算大账,既算经济账,更要算生命账。正是得益于坚持“动态清零”,中国经受住了武汉保卫战以来最严峻的疫情考验。深圳在7天“慢生活”后加速“返场”;上海疫情持续趋稳,实现社会面清零。这些阶段性成效充分证明,“动态清零”是科学有效的,是符合中国国情的,是经得起历史检验的。

反观有的国家,虽拥有全球最先进的医疗设备和技术,但却沦为“最大抗疫失败国”,新冠死亡人数已达超100万的“悲剧性里程碑”。触目惊心的数据背后,是其自身政治极化、贫富分化、人权异化作祟,无数底层人民的生命、健康、幸福沦为“权力游戏”和“资本游戏”的牺牲品。

乱云飞渡仍从容——中国坚持统筹疫情防控和经济社会发展,经济长期向好。过去两年,中国在世界范围内率先控制住疫情、率先复工复产、率先实现经济正增长,是全球复苏的“贡献者”、全球通胀的“减压阀”。2020年,中国是唯一实现正增长的主要经济体;2021年,中国经济总量突破110万亿元人民币;2022年第一季度GDP同比增长4.8%,继续成为世界增长的主要动力源。当前中国经济运行虽受新一波疫情冲击,但这种影响只是“插曲”,不改总体长期向好大势。国际货币基金组织、世界银行等国际机构普遍认为,中国有充足政策空间提振经济,前景值得期待。

再看美国,由于应对疫情不力,国内供应链危机频现,通胀问题愈演愈烈,今年3月更飙升至8.5%的40年新高。俄乌冲突后,美国滥用经济金融武器,对俄罗斯极限制裁,导致国际粮食、能源价格飞涨,令疫情下的世界经济雪上加霜,也令众多无辜的新兴经济体蒙受重大损失。

青山一道同云雨——中国始终和国际社会守望相助,团结抗疫。中国坚持动态清零,因时因势优化防疫措施,既有效挽救了生命,维护了经济社会正常发展,也为动荡的世界注入稳定因素,这本身就是对包括中国人民在内的世界人民高度负责任的举动。中国还最早承诺将新冠疫苗作为全球公共产品,持续对外提供大量疫苗和抗疫物资,与180多个国家和国际组织分享防控经验,以实际行动为全球抗疫合作凝聚力量。中国的抗疫政策和抗疫成就不仅得到绝大多数中国人民的支持和赞赏,也得到主流国际声音的肯定。

然而个别国家却不断将新冠疫情政治化、工具化。从炒作病毒溯源到在涉疫问题上打“台湾牌”,从奉行“疫苗民族主义”到在国际上搞卫生霸权主义,从对中国甩锅脱责到避讳自身早期疫情和生物实验室问题,其所作所为自私自利、霸道蛮横、漏洞百出,严重阻碍国际社会合作抗疫。

面对世纪疫情,谁是优等生,谁是差等生,一目了然。尽管当前国际上仍有不少杂音处心积虑污名抹黑中国防疫政策,变换花样炒作“中国抗疫孤立论”“动态清零不可持续论”云云,但在真相的对比之下,在事实与数据面前,这种狭隘、阴险的论调早已不攻自破,无法蛊惑人心。

逆水行舟,不进则退。当前全球疫情仍处高位,最终走向还有很大不确定性。在这关键时刻,“躺平”不可取,“躺赢”不可能!实践反复证明,中国完全有基础、有条件、有能力实现“动态清零”,有充分的信心打赢疫情防控硬仗,为全球团结抗疫作出更大贡献。也希望个别国家正面事实,认真对待本国疫情防控,客观看待中国防疫政策,停止无谓政治操弄,以实际行动展现出应有的良知与国际责任。

Dynamic Zero remains best option for China

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, China has put people’s lives front and center by preventing case imports and domestic rebounds under the dynamic zero policy. In battling different COVID-19 variants, omicron included, China’s approach has proved a success.

Dynamic zero requires fast and targeted measures. It is not to pursue zero-COVID infections, but rather to detect and contain the virus as quickly as possible to minimize at the smallest cost the pandemic’s impact on the lives of 1.4 billion Chinese people and on economic and social development. China’s dynamic zero-COVID policy prizes three factors — people, composure and solidarity.

First, every life matters. The Chinese government is people-oriented and protects the most fundamental human right — the right to life. China has a big population and a large elderly group, and the regional distribution of its medical resources is uneven. Though omicron is less lethal compared with previous strains, it still has a much higher fatality rate than influenza.

The latest research shows that, if China had rashly dropped the dynamic zero strategy, over 1.5 million people would have died from the virus. To be sure, the economic index cannot be overlooked in weighing the gains and costs of anti-COVID approaches, but people’s lives must come first. Protecting human rights will be just empty talk if people’s lives are lost.

Thanks to the dynamic zero policy, China has emerged stronger from the most serious epidemic situation since the outbreak in Wuhan. Shenzhen has been back on track after seven days of restrictive measures, and Shanghai has brought the epidemic under control and cut off community transmission chains. These results testify that dynamic zero is an effective policy that suits China and can stand the test of history.

By contrast, the US, despite its most advanced healthcare technology, has become “the biggest failure in fighting the epidemic”, with its COVID-19 fatalities exceeding a tragic milestone of 1 million. The appalling number mirrors the American political polarization, the rich and poor chasm, and its contempt for human rights. The lives, health, and happiness of American people at the bottom of the social ladder have fallen victims to power and capital games.

Second, composure is ever more valuable under stress. China has been fine-tuning its anti-pandemic measures to diminish their impact on the economy. In the past two years, China has taken the lead in curbing the virus, resuming production and securing positive growth, making it an engine of global recovery and a relief valve of global inflation.

In 2020, China was the only major economy to register positive economic development; in 2021, China’s total economic output reached 110 trillion yuan ($16.32 trillion); in the first quarter of 2022, its GDP grew by 4.8 percent year-on-year. Admittedly, some of China’s economic indicators went down in April because of omicron, but it is only an “interlude” in the long-term sustainability of China’s economy.

International organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank all believe that China has bright economic prospects given the government’s sufficient policy space to boost its economy.

For the US, however, its supply-chain crisis looms larger resulting from the botched COVID-19 response at home, and its inflation soared to a 40-year high of 8.5 percent in March this year. During the Ukraine crisis, the US weaponized economic and financial tools to impose extreme sanctions against Russia. Global food and energy prices have thus skyrocketed, further dragging down the world economy and causing heavy losses to many innocent emerging markets.

Third, upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all. China has been fighting the global pandemic through solidarity. China’s dynamic zero policy has not only saved lives and ensured our economic development, but injected more stability into the uncertain world, showing China’s strong sense of responsibility to the Chinese people and people all over the world.

As the first country that pledged to make the COVID-19 vaccine a global public good, China has offered a large number of vaccine doses and medical supplies to the global family and shared its experience in virus containment with more than 180 countries and international organizations.

Our anti-pandemic policy and results are supported by the Chinese people and most members of the international community.

Conversely, the US keeps politicizing the pandemic. For instance, it called for a presumption-of-guilt probe into virus origins in China, tried to bring Taiwan into the World Health Assembly as a sovereign state, pursued vaccine nationalism and health hegemony globally, but shunned the topics about its own early COVID-19 cases and biological labs. Its self-centered tricks have seriously hindered global health cooperation.

Still, some people are smearing China’s COVID-19 policy by saying that the dynamic zero approach is not sustainable and puts China at risk of being isolated. However, on the question of who does a better job in tackling the COVID-19 crisis, facts speak for themselves, and lies could deceive no one.

“For a boat to sail upstream, it has to forge ahead or be driven backward.” Omicron is still spreading around the world like wildfire, and how it may evolve is unknown. At this critical moment, “lying flat” is unwise and “lying flat to win” is impossible.

The experience over the past two years has proved that China has the foundation, conditions, and ability to achieve dynamic zero, and we have confidence to win the uphill battle and make greater contributions to global victory over the pandemic.

We hope the US could take seriously its epidemic situation, adopt a rational view toward China’s COVID-19 policy, and undertake its due responsibility with actions. After all, playing politics does little to help arrest a runaway virus.