HOUSTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Leading experts in a well-known Germany-based political and economic think tank have denounced recent Western media outlets' comments on the novel coronavirus outbreak, voicing their support for China.
In an article published on Thursday, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and president of the Schiller Institute, criticized German weekly magazine Der Spiegel and Danish daily broadsheet newspaper Jylllands-Posten, as well as some U.S. media outlets, for their "ugly face of racism" of linking the coronavirus with "made in China" and their use of allegedly racist terms.
"To call any virus a 'Chinese' virus is as silly as to say that it is someone's fault if he catches the flu or gets sick in general, as the illness can happen anywhere in the world and it can happen to every person on the planet," Zepp-LaRouche wrote.
"What all of these portrayals demonstrate is the ugly reality of an obviously deep-seated racism under a very thin varnish of 'western values,'" Zepp-LaRouche commented.
"If Europe and the U.S. want to be credible in talking about 'human rights' and 'western values' then they should join hands with China and cooperate on the fight to defeat the coronavirus," Zepp-LaRouche added.
The institute has also called for Europe and the United States to cooperate with the extension of the Belt and Road Initiative, an idea proposed by China to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.
The scholar also said that the reaction to the coronavirus outbreak shows who in the international community is capable of responding to dangers that threaten all of humanity, as well as who is "a troglodyte," and who is not.
The article also praised the Chinese government for its full genome-mapping of the new variants of the virus within days of the outbreak, which made it easier for scientists in other countries to start working on possible vaccines.
"Significant breakthroughs in the biological sciences over the past 15-20 years" have happened in China, Zepp-LaRouche noted.
Brian Lantz, representative of the Schiller Institute in Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas, said on Friday that all nations, in particular the United States, China, Russia and India, should work together to advance cooperation and coordination to defeat the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Lantz told Xinhua that it is natural for medical researchers and doctors to collaborate and seek discoveries that will benefit us all.
"We must support fully their collaborative work, on the front lines and in their laboratories," he said. "We must all be concerned that states with weaker healthcare systems are now protected."
