Foreign news
Global online poll shows tracing COVID-19 origins politicized
CGTN Think Tank has released a global online opinion poll, in which 80 percent of respondents believe that the issue of tracing of the origins of COVID-19 has been politicized.
Download the full report in PDF: Is virus tracing for COVID-19 politicized?
“Do you think the issue on the origin of COVID-19 has been politicized?” CGTN Think Tank released an online survey on the evening of July 26, Beijing time. According to the survey, 80 percent of the global respondents believed that this issue has been politicized.
The survey is available in several UN official languages, i.e. Chinese, English, Russian, French, Spanish and Arabic, and it was conducted from the early hours of July 24, Beijing time. As of 10 p.m., July 25, among netizens who participated in the survey:
Twitter:
Ninety percent of Spanish-speaking netizens agreed that the origin of COVID-19 has been politicized; 88 percent of French-speaking, 83 percent of Russian-speaking, 70 percent of English-speaking and 68 percent of Arabic-speaking netizens agreed.
Facebook:
On average, 83 percent of English-speaking, Spanish-speaking, French-speaking, Arabic-speaking and Russian-speaking netizens agreed the origin of COVID-19 has been politicized.
Chinese Weibo:
As many as 95 percent of survey respondents believe “the issue on the origin of COVID-19 has been politicized,” showing a high degree of consensus.
The comments left by these global netizens were meaningful. Some English-speaking netizens pointed out that the World Health Organization (WHO) should try to ease the political pressure, and they believe virus tracing of COVID-19 is a political move of the United States to contain the rise of China. Some Spanish-speaking netizens believe that the public opinion about the source of the virus is controlled by major media outlets. A French-speaking netizen left a message saying that the U.S. wants to further sanction China on the grounds of virus tracing. An Arabic-speaking netizen commented that the virus was already politicized during the Trump administration. “This is a lie made up by Western countries and we should not be deceived by politicians,” the comment read. One Russian-speaking netizen said bluntly that this is a fight/war initiated by Western countries.
In analyzing the survey, CGTN Think Tank found certain keywords appeared frequently in these comments: “political pressure,” “U.S. sanctions,” “media control,” “economic compensation,” and “hold back the development of China.”
The second of the three questions in the CGTN Think Tank’s online poll is, “Do you support investigations into the origins of COVID-19 in multiple countries?”
The results of the survey show that 83 percent of the English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian-speaking respondents on Twitter support origin-tracing investigations in multiple countries. The favorability rate on Facebook was 79 percent, while the rate on Chinese Weibo was as high as 93 percent.
In response to the question from CGTN Think Tank, “What is the most pressing task to combat COVID-19 on a global scale?”,a large number of global respondents chose expanding vaccine supply, intensifying medical treatment and imposing a lockdown on the outbreak area among the five options available, namely expanding vaccine supply, intensifying medical treatment, immediately origin-tracing the virus, imposing a lockdown on the outbreak area, and lifting travel ban. They left aside the option of immediately origin-tracing the virus with a high degree of unanimity. On Twitter, only about 17 percent of respondents agreed with immediately origin-tracing the virus, while on Facebook, only 2 percent of Spanish-speaking respondents selected this option.
Although netizens participating in the survey are from different parts of the world, they reached consensus quickly and effectively in their comments. They expressed the same aspirations in different languages. “The investigation of the origin of the virus does not help to solve the problem of pandemic control. This is nothing but a stupid and unhelpful political move to cover up the United States’ attempt to contain China’s rise.”
“I believe that the priority now should be that each country can produce effective and specific vaccines, so that people can make their choices.” “The most urgent task to fight the COVID-19 pandemic is to strengthen testing and tracking, and actively carry out vaccination and drug supply. The international community needs a strong network of vaccine manufacturing.” Arabic-speaking netizens called for global vaccines to be well managed, and hope China continues to provide affordable and quality vaccines to the people around the world.
Foreign news
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Seeks Nigeria’s Support for Self-Determination Struggle
By Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Foreign Relations and African Affairs of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Mohamed Bessat, has called on the Nigerian government and the international community to support his country’s quest for self-determination and an end to Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.
Speaking during an official visit to Nigeria, Bessat emphasized the deep historical and diplomatic ties between Nigeria and the Sahrawi Republic, expressing appreciation for Nigeria’s longstanding commitment to anti-colonial struggles across Africa.
“I am in Nigeria at the invitation of my brother and colleague, His Excellency, the Honourable Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,” Bessat stated. “This visit reflects the long-standing relationship of brotherhood, solidarity, and cooperation between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.”
He said the visit aims to brief Nigerian leaders, lawmakers, diplomats, and the general public about the ongoing struggle in Western Sahara, a region he described as under illegal Moroccan occupation since 1975.
Bessat traced the origins of the conflict to the 1975 Madrid Agreements, in which colonial Spain—then under dictator Francisco Franco—ceded control of Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania after withdrawing.
“That agreement was a betrayal and a theft of our territory,” Bessat said. “It triggered a long war. Although we have good relations with Mauritania today, Morocco continues to occupy nearly two-thirds of our land. We are engaged in both military and diplomatic resistance to this illegal and brutal occupation.”
According to him, a joint African Union-United Nations peace plan was signed in 1990, proposing a referendum to allow the Sahrawi people to choose between independence or integration with Morocco.
“Sadly, Morocco has sabotaged this process repeatedly—first with delays, then by refusing outright to cooperate,” he added.
Describing Nigeria as the “backbone” of Africa’s anti-colonial history, Bessat praised the country’s leadership role in the liberation of African nations from Portuguese, apartheid, and colonial rule.
“We are calling on our Nigerian brothers and sisters to continue this proud tradition and help us close the last chapter of decolonisation in Africa,” he said.
He expressed gratitude for the support already received from Nigerian political parties, parliamentarians, and the government, calling it “encouraging and deeply appreciated.”
Bessat said that since 2020, Morocco has violated a longstanding ceasefire and resumed aggressive military operations, leading to near-daily confrontations between Sahrawi and Moroccan forces.
“Morocco has not only expanded its occupation but also constructed more military walls within our territory,” he explained.
He also highlighted ongoing human rights violations and resource exploitation in the occupied territories, urging the international community to act decisively.
Western Sahara, he said, is one of the most resource-rich territories in the world, with petroleum, gas, gold, diamonds, iron, copper, uranium, and rare earth minerals.
“Our natural wealth should be a blessing, but instead it has fueled conflict. Morocco is plundering these resources, further deepening the crisis,” he said. “We are calling for cooperation, not conflict. Recognize our right to self-determination, and we can engage in partnerships for mutual benefit.”
Bessat concluded by appealing to the global community to uphold international law and support the Sahrawi people’s legitimate aspirations.
“The world is becoming increasingly unstable due to the erosion of international legality. It’s time for all nations—big or small—to commit to the rule of law. Supporting our cause is the fastest route to peace, African unity, and economic cooperation,” he stated.
“We urge the world to help end the human rights violations and economic plunder in Western Sahara and bring Africa’s last decolonisation battle to a close.”
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