So this is really interesting. Shinzo Abe of Japan put out a statement saying that he sees problems with the World Health Organization and Japan will review its funding after the pandemic is over. BUT… look at how it was reported in some media:
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe urges the international community to rally around the World Health Organization https://t.co/A2ihMyI3iL
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) April 17, 2020
Uhm… that’s a little misleading, right? It kinda seems like it says Shinzo Abe is defending the WHO from Trump – but here’s his complete statement from CNN:
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told media in a Friday press conference that the WHO has issues and Japan will review its financial contributions after the pandemic is over.
“We must support WHO firmly now. However, it is true that there are problems and issues. I think it Is necessary to look into it once the coronavirus outbreak has ceased,” Abe said.
Abe says the WHO takes a political stance and that Japan has been requesting for Taiwan to becomes a member for several years. China considers Taiwan a renegade province and objects to its inclusion as an equal by international organizations.
It is not an unmitigated support of Trump’s accusations against the WHO, but it DOES seem like he’s admitting they have problems. Kinda weird, huh?
And in case you were wondering, Japan has declared a nationwide emergency over the coronavirus. They think that the cases jumped after the cherry blossoms bloomed and people all went outside to have a look.
Will more governments come out against WHO? At the very least, I think this will result in much greater scrutiny at how WHO operates, and hopefully it will help beat down the influence of China there in other global organizations…