Opinion | Time for Western leaders to join their counterparts in the East

Editor's Note: Judy Chan, a political figure in Hong Kong, made a speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday (June 24). Here is the full speech.

By Judy Chan

The US views China as a strategic competitor. But in the face of this global pandemic, aren't we all on the same team, fighting the one common enemy - COVID 19. As a citizen of Hong Kong I have seen the benefit of China's help – from providing PPE kit, to sharing information on how to combat the virus, showing us how to maximize our testing capacity and build temporary hospitals. In fact, when it comes to benefiting humanity during the pandemic, China has provided more than 350 million doses of vaccines to the international community including 23 million doses donated to over 80 countries since early this year, mostly to developing countries.

Besides going through bilateral channels, China always seeks multilateral cooperation in fighting the pandemic and is committed to donating vaccines to the UN Peacekeepers and the International Olympic Committee. But there is only so much one country can do, the world has to join hands to win this global battle. Instead of making everything political, it is time for leaders in the West to step up and join the leader in the East, to focus on helping the rest of the world to get much-needed vaccines, rich and poor nations, allies and competitors, no matter what their cultural or ethnic background may be. At the end of the day, this is science, not politics.

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