Foreign
COVID-19 exposes grim reality of ‘putting money above everything else’ in U.S.
When faced with major public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, governments must try their best to treat patients, save lives and cut all channels for the transmission of the virus. However, in the U.S., which often boasts of being a “beacon of democracy” and “shining example of human rights”, response to the pandemic has always been dominated by capital, and capital, rather than the well-being of the people, is always the top priority of politicians.
The profit-seeking nature of capitalism determines that in the U.S., capital, not lives, is put above everything else, which is both the truth of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and an important reason why the country has failed to control the pandemic.
In the eyes of U.S. politicians, people’s right to be informed and rights to life and health are insignificant compared to capital.
At the beginning of the pandemic, then U.S. leaders deliberately ignored early warnings of the virus and downplayed the risks of the pandemic in a bid to prevent a stock market crash, thus wasting crucial weeks for pandemic prevention and control.
According to The New York Times, White House coronavirus task force and the National Security Council of the U.S. jointly prepared a memorandum on coping with the COVID-19 pandemic on Feb. 14, 2020, suggesting explicitly that a series of strict measures be adopted to control the pandemic. However, U.S. policymakers immediately rejected the memorandum after hearing the judgment that relevant measures would lead to the collapse of the U.S. stock market.
U.S. media reports have also revealed that while telling the American public that there wasn’t much to worry about, many members of the U.S. Congress dumped their stock holdings after being briefed about the emerging threat of the coronavirus and the massive impact it would have upon the economy.
“He ran for the exits when the theater was on fire, while selling tickets to women and children,” a U.S. Internet user commented on a post of the social media account of a U.S. senator who sold stocks amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Caring only about capital and their own interests, such U.S. politicians have led the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the wrong direction from the beginning.
U.S. politicians seem to believe that safeguarding their private finances should always be placed before public health security.
After the pandemic turned into a full-blown crisis in the U.S., the federal government and many state governments hastily reopened the economy before the COVID-19 situation was truly under control, leading to the rebound of the pandemic.
Over the past more than one year, the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. has been trapped in the cycle of “deterioration-alleviation-deterioration”, with peaks frequently appearing on the curve of the COVID-19 infections, which is closely related to the U.S. government’s swinging between pursuing short-term economic interests and safeguarding public health security.
It’s worth noting that the severe COVID-19 situation in the U.S. has been accompanied by an abnormal boom in the country’s stock market, which has benefited the wealthy the most.
Data show that the U.S. stock market has soared after a seismic decline on March 23, 2020. As of January 2021, the combined wealth of more than 600 billionaires in the U.S. had rocketed from about $2.9 trillion to around $4.1 trillion, representing an increase of 38.6 percent compared to their collective net worth in mid-March of 2020.
As the gap between the rich and poor has been further widened by the COVID-19 pandemic, American economist Paul Krugman pointed out bluntly, “America’s response to the coronavirus has been a lose-lose proposition.” The country is “failing dismally on both the epidemiological and the economic fronts,” he wrote in an article published on the website of The New York Times.
It’s shocking that U.S. politicians even used the social Darwinian “law of survival of the fittest” to excuse themselves for their indifference to what people have suffered in the public health crisis.
When asked if it’s right for professional athletes and other well-connected people to get tested for the coronavirus while others can’t, then U.S. President Donald Trump said, “Perhaps that’s been the story of life.”
The answer is very “America”, as in this country, emergency beds are left empty rather than used for treating the poor, officials would rather die than see public health measures damage the U.S. economy, and pandemic control efforts were like a “state-sanctioned killing,” where “the old, factory workers, and black and Hispanic Americans” were deliberately sacrificed.
According to reports, hospital cost for an uninsured COVID-19 patient could reach tens of thousands of dollars in the U.S.
One in seven American adults said that they would avoid seeking medical care if they experienced key symptoms of COVID-19 because they’re afraid of the financial cost of treating the disease, revealed a research jointly conducted by American analytics and advisory company Gallup and non-profit organization West Health.
Acts of “putting capital above everything else” have seriously twisted U.S. response to the pandemic, during which people’s health and lives are merely figures that can sometimes even be neglectable in the ruthless calculation of U.S. politicians.
“Nations, like individuals, reveal themselves at times of crisis,” wrote BBC’s New York correspondent Nick Bryant.
Acting in the interest of capital rather than people in political decision-making is in fact not an accidental phenomenon that just happened during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Policy choices, made over decades, have re¬lent¬lessly favoured the interests of the private sector in general, and large corporations in particular, over both the state and labour, in ways that are proving costly to our health and our economy,” pointed out American business columnist Rana Foroohar.
Through the prism of the COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world have seen clearly that the political system of the U.S. was only established to guard capital. The concepts such as democracy, human rights and equality, which have always been flaunted by the U.S. government, have already been distorted by money and become mirages long ago.
By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
The Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, effectively dismantling institutions long seen as critical for American influence abroad.
On Sunday, contractors working for VOA received an email notification that their employment would be terminated by the end of March. “You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems,” the email read, according to multiple staff members who confirmed the development.
The move, which comes just a day after all employees were placed on administrative leave, disproportionately affects non-English-language services, where contractors make up a significant portion of the workforce. Many of these contractors are not U.S. citizens and may now face visa issues, further complicating their status in the country.
While most full-time staff remain employed for now, they have been told not to work, leaving VOA and its sister organizations in a state of uncertainty. Some services, unable to produce new programming, have resorted to playing music.
VOA, founded during World War II, has been a critical tool for U.S. public diplomacy, broadcasting in 49 languages to audiences in countries where press freedom is restricted. However, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of broader federal budget cuts.
The cuts extend beyond VOA, affecting other U.S.-funded media entities such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda (which broadcasts in Persian to Iran), and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. The administration argues that taxpayers should not fund what it calls “radical propaganda,” despite VOA’s longstanding editorial independence.
Liam Scott, a VOA journalist covering press freedom and disinformation, expressed concern over the decision. “I’ve covered press freedom for a long time, and I’ve never seen something like what’s happened in the U.S. over the past couple of months,” he wrote on social media.
The move has drawn international attention, particularly from China and Russia, which have been expanding their own state-funded media efforts. The Chinese state-run *Global Times* reacted with an editorial declaring that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”
Trump’s administration has pursued aggressive cuts across federal agencies, including eliminating most foreign aid and significantly reducing the Department of Education. With input from tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has focused on reducing government size to facilitate tax cuts.
As the global media landscape shifts, the dismantling of U.S.-funded broadcasters leaves a vacuum that could be filled by rival state-controlled networks. Whether Congress or legal challenges will intervene remains to be seen, but for now, the future of America’s international broadcasting efforts hangs in the balance.
A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to deport migrants allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under a wartime law.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued a restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel undocumented migrants accused of gang ties. The order initially protected five individuals challenging the deportation but was later expanded to all affected noncitizens in US custody.
Boasberg also directed that any planes carrying these migrants be returned to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned,” he ruled. The restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further court action.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, citing Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization that has “unlawfully infiltrated the United States” and is engaging in hostile actions. However, civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the gang’s activities do not meet the legal definition of an invasion.
The Justice Department has appealed the ruling, while the case continues in court.
By Gu Yekai, Liu Yiqing, People’s Daily
At a smart construction project site managed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a quiet technological revolution is underway. Amid cranes and concrete, engineers are deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that could fundamentally reshape the construction industry.
Li Fengjian, an AI specialistwith Xianyuan Technology, detailed how the company’s latest intelligent system – built on a large model – adapts to complex construction environments.”Engineering machinery equipped with intelligent agents can adjust its operations automatically in response to weather conditions,” Li explained, adding that a spatiotemporal sensing network further enhances the system, providing real-time tracking of both personnel and materials throughout the construction site.
In February this year, Xianyuan Technology rapidly integrated its self-developed model with DeepSeek-R1, effectively blending a general-purpose framework with industry-specific models. This integration, Li noted, has produced a solution capable of delivering expert-level performance in challenging, dynamic environments. The firm is based in the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, aburgeoning AI incubator that now hosts over 200 innovative enterprises.
China’s technological transformation extends well beyond the construction sector. Overthe past three decades, the country has evolved from its initial forays into internet connectivity to becoming a key player in global digital innovation.
Here, a steady stream of technological innovations are emerging, from the early days of emails and web browsing to the cutting-edge technologies represented by DeepSeek and the dynamic evolution of social media.
Wu Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and headof the Zhongguancun Laboratory, pointed out that while China had introduced only one internet standard before 2005, it now contributes to over 200 worldwide. Such strides illustrate the country’s concerted push toward high-level technological self-reliance – a journey marked by both persistence and determination.
Beyond the digital realm, China is makingsignificant inroads in aerospace, new energy, and other high-tech sectors. It has transitioned from being a follower to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global leaders, and in some areas, even taking the lead. Wu attributed these achievements to a dynamic ecosystem of policy reforms and talent cultivation that encourages creativity and technical expertise at every level.
Amid intensifying international competition, collaborative research and the integration of new technologies with traditional industries are central to China’s high-quality economic development.
Mei Linhai, a researcher at China’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence, remarked that the age of AI calls for continuous exploration. “In this era, everyone is an innovator. Only by persistently pushing the boundaries can we remain at the forefront of both technological and industrial development,” Mei observed.
In the field of general-purpose AI, Mei emphasized that independent innovation is paramount. He advocates for a self-driven industrial ecosystem that leveragesbreakthrough technologies to boost productivity and unlock new possibilities, Mei said.
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