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BEIJING (The Straits Times / ANN): When news of US President Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis reached Beijing, Chinese netizens and state media reacted with a palpable sense of ‘schadenfreude’ (pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune).
Their reactions indicate the level of unhappiness among the Chinese over what they see as Trump’s unfair and unreasonable pressure on China in recent months.
Other Chinese observers and state media say the positive diagnosis by Trump and First Lady Melania shows how widespread and severe the virus situation is in the United States.
State news outlet China Daily noted that Trump’s infection was a “reminder that the coronavirus continues to spread” despite his attempts to downplay the danger posed by this viral pandemic.
“Since it emerged earlier this year, Trump, the White House, and his campaign have downplayed the threat and refused to abide by basic public health guidelines, including those issued by their own administration, such as wearing masks in public and practice social distancing, “the newspaper said.
On Friday (October 2), Trump posted on Twitter that both he and the First Lady had tested positive for the coronavirus, after a Covid-19 infection from a senior adviser was confirmed.
The tweet was widely reported by Chinese state media and the hashtag “Trump’s partner tested positive for Covid-19” became the hottest topic on the Weibo microblogging site, with more than 800 million views as of Friday through 4 pm in Beijing.
Many Chinese netizens took the opportunity to poke fun at the US leader’s misfortune.
Comments like “Trump will probably say that no one understands Covid-19 more than I do” and “Look what happens when you don’t wear a mask” were common in many threads.
Others thanked the President of the United States for giving China this “National Day gift.”
As the US presidential election approaches, Trump has been putting increasing pressure on Chinese and Beijing firms.
His administration threatened to ban popular Chinese-made apps WeChat and TikTok, canceled the visas of Chinese students and researchers over espionage concerns, and criticized China’s handling of Covid-19.
The measures have allowed Beijing to stoke feelings of nationalism among its people, as they point to China’s own success in curbing the spread of Covid-19 within its borders.
Trump’s diagnosis comes just a day after the People’s Republic of China celebrated its 71st anniversary.
It ushered in an eight-day holiday and an in-country travel fever, just as countries abroad were contemplating more closures and travel restrictions.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the nationalist tabloid Global Times, wrote on Weibo that Trump’s Covid-19 infection showed the severity of the outbreak within the United States and said this would likely affect his re-election campaign.
The United States has registered more than 7.3 million cases of Covid-19 and has suffered more than 200,000 deaths.
Trump and the First Family have “paid the price” for the way the pandemic was handled in the United States, Hu wrote.
“President Trump has downplayed the impact of the pandemic in the US, leading voters to ignore the danger … Maybe under the American system you can’t prevent politicians from doing things like this, but their Negative influence on American society is very obvious, “he said. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network
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