中国驻美大使崔天凯：我们欢迎各国专家来帮助我们
#1.
Q
Steve Inskeep: We have an editor who closely follows China, who regards this as China's worst crisis in years, because it is a health crisis, but also an economic crisis and a political crisis. How severe is this, in your view, compared to other crises that China has faced in recent years?
Cui Tiankai:
Well, this is a very big challenge to us. And I think in a sense, this is very big challenge to the entire international community as we develop, as our economy grows, how we take care of public health needs. How do we respond to epidemics like this? So this is a challenge for the entire international community. For any government. And we are, somebody is saying the challenge and the response is also unprecedented. I think this is quite true. I know we are doing our utmost to contain, control the virus, and provide treatment to the people, and reduce its impact on economic and social activities, and we're still doing whatever we can do right now.
Q
Steve Inskeep: ... And health officials will say that that China's response has not necessarily been that slow, but something went wrong because two officials were removed. What went wrong?
Well, everything we are doing now, including all these personnel changes, have one goal, to respond to the call of the people and meet the needs of the people. This is the only goal for everything we are doing now. So naturally, under such special circumstances, people who are, people who can do the job better should be given the responsibility to do it. And this is a very heavy responsibility.
#3.
我们欢迎各国专家来帮助我们
China welcomes experts of all countries
Q
Steve Inskeep: Is China prepared to welcome American health experts into China to help with this?
Of course we will welcome them. We welcome experts of all countries to come to help us. But you see, first of all, the World Health Organization is sponsoring such expert group...They have already sent an advance team to China. They are working in China. Secondly, people have to understand right now, people in China are so preoccupied with their work to combat this virus. So we have to have some ordered manner to have experts from other countries. And also there's a real risk that they might be exposed to the virus. We'll have to take good protection of them.
Q
Steve Inskeep: Will American experts from the Centers for Disease Control specifically be let into the country?
... I think that they have recommended a list of names to the W.H.O. and this is all under the consideration of our communication with the W.H.O…I don't know the latest progress, but the W.H.O. is doing a good work in this regard. They have an advanced team already in China making all the necessary arrangements and actually some American experts, a professor from Columbia University, I think Professor Lipkin, has already visited China and he's now back in New York. He has been working with a Chinese counterpart for many years, ever since SARS.
#4.
我为人人，人人为我
One for all, all for one
Q
Steve Inskeep: ... Americans might say it is impressive that China can shut down an entire city to try to stop the spread of a virus that would not very likely happen in the United States. But they will also argue that the American system is more open and would be a little more free about sharing information and trying to get reliable information to the public. That is the way that an American might look at strengths and weaknesses of China's system compared to the United States. How would you make that comparison?
Well, as a diplomat, normally I don't compare the government of China, and the government of the United States, but you can have your own views because you also have had things like disasters, emergencies here, like the Hurricane Katrina some years ago. And you do not shut down the city, but there was total disorder in the city. I visited Louisiana. People told me all kinds of stories. So we're shutting down some of the cities, especially Wuhan to stop the transmission of the virus, to protect more people. We are doing all this of course, at a high cost. But we are doing this in the larger interest of the entire world. If we fail to stop the virus, it could spread to other countries. Then this will cause an international crisis. So this is, I believe, a real example of one for all, all for one situation. We are doing this for the world, and we appreciate that the world is helping us.
#5.
努力恢复正常的经济和社会活动
Restore normal economic and social activity
Q
Steve Inskeep: So you're going to continue this effort until the virus is controlled. There is not a point at which you would say this is just too costly we need to go on about.
I think we are working on two fronts. On the one front, we are doing our utmost and this is a nationwide effort to fight the virus. At the same time, we are doing whatever we can, to the extent that we can, to maintain some normal economic and social life. For instance, people's daily necessities have to be provided and some of the companies, factories have to resume their work after the Lunar New Year holidays. And we are looking at when and how schools could be reopened.
Q
Steve Inskeep: ... Is there a point at which China's government might have to decide the cost is too high, that this is a disease, it's endemic, some people will die, but you need to reopen cities and resume economic activity?
First of all, people's well-being, their health, their safety, their lives, are the most important thing for us. So we'll do our best to protect people's well-being in a sense at whatever cost. At the same time, people also need economic development. They have to have the economy grow and more normal social life. So we are also trying our best to restore normal economic and social activity.