WASHINGTON — 

After U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern about the outbreak in China, and the World Health Organization (WHO) accused Beijing of underreporting the number of deaths from the epidemic, Beijing on Thursday (January 5) publicly criticized its response to the "epidemic tsunami" sweeping the country. excuse.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning argued in response to questions from reporters at a regular press conference on Thursday that the Chinese government has been sharing information and data related to the new crown epidemic "openly and transparently" with the World Health Organization and the international community.

It comes after Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program, said Wednesday that Chinese officials had underreported data on several fronts. It also marks the WHO's most severe criticism of the Chinese government so far in terms of the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic.

On the same day, U.S. President Joe Biden also expressed concern about the way the Chinese government handled the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.

"When we brought up their lack of candor ... they were very sensitive," Biden told reporters in Kentucky.

The highly transmissible but much weakened Omicron mutant strain began to wreak havoc across China in November last year, breaking through the Chinese government's nearly three-year-old "dynamic clearing" extreme epidemic prevention and control measures to prevent the spread of the virus. suppression. After the authorities announced on December 7 last year that they would abandon the "clearance" policy, and stop large-scale universal nucleic acid screening and the counting and notification of asymptomatic infected persons, the epidemic swept across China like an avalanche.

In the past month, there have been tsunami-like epidemics in major cities in China. In some large cities, the number of infected people accounted for 80% of the entire urban population. Major hospitals and medical institutions were overcrowded with patients, and even funeral parlors and crematoria were closed. Dead bodies overwhelmed. However, the number of confirmed cases and the number of deaths from the epidemic provided by the Chinese government is ridiculously low. There are only one or a few cases a day, and no more than five cases at most. Therefore, they have been questioned and ridiculed by medical experts and the Chinese people.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also stated on Thursday that the current epidemic situation in China is "controllable" and will continue to carry out technical exchanges with the WHO, but hopes that the WHO Secretariat will uphold "scientific, objective, and fair principles" stand" and strive to play an active role in the global response to the challenge of the epidemic.

"China has always maintained close communication with the WHO and shared relevant information and data in a timely manner based on the principles of law, timeliness, openness, and transparency," Mao Ning added.

China's National Health Commission reported one new death from the virus across mainland China on Wednesday, up from five the previous day. Since the outbreak first broke out in Wuhan at the end of 2019, the total number of deaths in China has been only 5,259.

Ryan of the WHO said on Wednesday that the data released by the Chinese government were insufficient in terms of the number of hospital admissions, the number of intensive care units, and the number of deaths from the epidemic.

International health experts predict that at least one million more coronavirus-related deaths will occur in China this year if urgent measures are not taken.

According to Reuters, the French health minister also expressed the same concerns about the outbreak-related data reported by China; while the German health minister expressed concern about a subtype of new mutant strains linked to hospitalized patients in the northeastern United States.

In the past three years, China has required strict multiple tests and long-term isolation for immigrants, and even refused to issue visas to some Chinese who wish to return to China for funerals. Faced with the United States and more than a dozen other countries worried about the outbreak of this round of epidemics, the Chinese people China Some temporary epidemic prevention restrictions have been imposed on immigrants. On January 3, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the "lack of scientific basis" and "unacceptable" and threatened that "corresponding measures will be taken in accordance with the principle of reciprocity according to different situations."

In addition, Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee Ka-Chao announced on Thursday that mainland China and Hong Kong will implement "customs clearance" on January 8, which is the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic three years. In the first phase, up to 60,000 Hong Kong people can "cross the border" to enter the mainland through different ports of sea, land, and air every day, and seven entry and exit ports will also be opened in the first phase.

As the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year is approaching, hundreds of millions of Chinese people are about to or are taking various means of transportation to return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. Many people also embarked on the journey back home for the first time since the outbreak.

According to Chinese official media, the peak of the first broadcast of the epidemic in many major cities in China, including Beijing, has passed, and the number of infected people and the number of patients admitted by medical institutions have also begun to decrease significantly. However, a Reuters reporter observed at a hospital in Shanghai's Qingpu District that the corridors of the emergency room and the lobby of the hospital were still full of sick beds. Wear an oxygen mask.