
U.S. is terminating its relationship with World Health Organization, Trump says - Farbodkhz
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-trump-who/trump-says-terminating-us-relationship-with-world-health-organization-over-virus-idUSKBN2352YJ
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pazimzadeh
This is not going to reduce China's influence on the WHO.

Who is going to be the trusted source now? The NIH?

Every year Trump proposes budget cuts to the NIH, and Congress ignores him and
increases the budget.

I bet this money will end up in private companies' pocket.

~~~
Simulacra
I hate to see you getting down-voted because I do agree with point one. It
won't diminish Chinese influence at all. In fact, it might increase their
influence. China has always worked to replace America, why not at the UN?

~~~
Rapzid
China and Russia have been increasing soft power significantly over the past
few years by filling voids the USA has left. We have been leaving the table,
and they have been taking our seats.

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LinuxBender
I would love to see some of the money routed to NIH.gov instead. They have
lost a great deal of funding over the years and we have a greater need for
scientific research of diseases now more than ever.

~~~
NicoJuicy
Dividing global response isn't bad enough?

He already cut NIH and is now doing the same with WHO. These both are bad
decisions from an incompetent leader.

This is a sad situation... Again.

~~~
effingwewt
Agreed, if we had a fallback solution it wouldn't be so bad, but as is, I just
feel like the whole world is the worse for it.

Hopefully something good will come of it, but I can't see what from here.
Funding cuts to CDC, now this. I just wonder whether the WHO could have been
repaired as-is?

~~~
djaque
> I just wonder whether the WHO could have been repaired as-is But that's the
> thing. The WHO isn't perfect and I'm uncomfortable with how much power China
> has inside of the UN in general, but I don't understand why people are
> saying it's broken. I've been searching for those arguments and the only
> sources I can find are conspiracy theorists and far-right news
> organizations. Could you please explain the reasons you think the WHO isn't
> functioning?

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threatofrain
If the US pays a magnitude of money more than China to the WHO, how are we to
believe that the WHO is China's puppet, and not an extension of western power?
How is China so clever with its maneuverings that its relatively puny
contributions go so far?

~~~
meowfly
The theory goes (which I'm not espousing just relaying) that you could simply
bribe top WHO officials and avoid having to provide magnitudes of money.

The WHO has been in scandal before regarding [exorbitant spending on travel.]
([https://apnews.com/3d8569ea7bd140e4ba02bc1712cd12ab](https://apnews.com/3d8569ea7bd140e4ba02bc1712cd12ab))

~~~
Simulacra
I don't know if it's bribery at work here. Rather, it's anger at American
behavior over the last decades which is pushing it closer to China. America is
the WHO's primary superpower sponsor, and protector. In the courtship of a new
sponsor, China, it could be just that: stoking anger and offering a choice.

~~~
meowfly
I don't know either. I think all of this is obviously couched in the fact that
the poor initial US response to Coronavirus has made it politically expedient
to [make this a story about China] ([https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-
memo-advises-candidates...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-memo-advises-
candidates-to-attack-china-over-coronavirus))

That doesn't mean the WHO or China have clean hands, just that in an election
year for the US my bias would lean towards this being about politics.

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Simulacra
I don't agree with this. Freezing of funding, investigating, etc. is fine, we
should. But this is like the withdrawing of ambassadors. Not quite breaking
off diplomatic relations but we really should want more cooperation with US
and UN officials, not less.

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foogazi
How does this make the US safer?

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DeonPenny
It gives the US the ability to create a non-corrupt institution. Right now the
WHO is not a reliable global partner. If the US can find other people that
feel this way you get a more efficient institution that possibly is more
efficient.

Whats not safe is continuing to work with someone obvious playing fast and
lose with the world.

~~~
djaque
> WHO is not a reliable global partner

That's based off of what evidence? When I search for "WHO corruption" I only
find conspiracy theory youTube videos and far-right leaning publications that
have a leg in that race.

Besides, as was said earlier, this is the equivalent of pulling diplomats out
of a country. If corruption is the issue (and I'm not convinced it is) then
you'd cut funding. This is a political stunt which is trying to draw attention
away from an administrations failed response to a pandemic.

~~~
josephh
I'm sorry, wasn't the interview with Dr. Bruce Aylward enough to convince you
that there's something seriously wrong with the organization's leadership?

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supercanuck
No, I see a physician-epidemiologist by training from Newfoundland Canada
struggling to manage a global pandemic with two global superpowers in a
political arm wrestling match on the global stage when he knows he needs both
to cooperate.

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briantakita
Here's President Donald Trump's announcement. Hong Kong's special trade status
is also revoked.

[https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/12664558344579686...](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266455834457968640)

~~~
Simulacra
Thank you for posting this, it was nice to see Honk Kong's status under
review; does congress need to approve? We have tools we can use to reign in
China's harmful behavior - perhaps next in the dock for consideration should
be China's Most Favored Nation status....

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kjsingh
in line with Make America Great Again..

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NicoJuicy
Let's be clear here. This is not about China.

The US under Trump wants to make billions of profits because of Covid-19.

The WHO wants to make the medicine available for free.

That's why he is out of the WHO and frankly, if that is the reason, the WHO is
better off without the US.

Ps. I have no doubt that he would buy the stock of the creator of the vaccine
to earn billions with his access to private information.

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bill_from_tampa
Somehow withdrawing funding from the current only worldwide public health
organization at the beginning of a pandemic seems ?? shortsighted.

Is trump admitting that he is incapable of negotiating his desired changes in
WHO functionality, that his ability to communicate and work with international
players is so deficient that his only option is to take his baseball bat and
baseball and go home?

Or is this all a political move to attempt to shift the 'blame' for
his/Trump's failings to some other boogeyman? My bet is on this option -- he
failed to recognize the magnitude of the epidemic, he failed to take timely
and early actions to mitigate the impact on the US economy and lives, he
repeatedly minimized the size of the tsunami of death that was approaching our
shores, he failed to motivate his FDA/CDC to get working PCR viral tests
immediately and produce them in the amounts needed, he failed to coordinate
obtaining necessary PPE supplies for the 50 states leading to a dysfunctional
free-for-all where states were bidding against each other and FEMA confiscated
all shipments they could find, he refused to take any responsibility for all
of the above failures, he has recommended use of experimental medical
treatments out of clinical trials (hydroxychloroquine), he has actively
interfered with the public health necessity of transitioning the US to a "mask
wearing culture" by making it a macho / political question instead of a life
saving public health intervention, he has demanded that States not follow the
'reopening' metrics advanced by his own covid-19 group.... need I continue?

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free_rms
It's 100% blame-shifting.

We all saw this happening in China for 2-3 months before it got here, then in
Italy a month before it got here. It was all over the news. And we did
nothing, as you note.

So now the line is that the WHO abetted some sort of cover-up? Does everyone
have the memory of a goldfish?

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exabrial
Who's performance has been abysmal, and they've proven to be the lap dog of
the CCP. I totally agreed with the funding hiatus, this is a surprise move to
me. There's a lot we don't know.

