International Olympic Committee vs. China’s ‘Vaccines Diplomacy’
IOC President T. Bach said on 11th March, 2021, during its on-line General Meetings that IOC would provide at its cost Chinese vaccines to all athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympic 2020 scheduled to be held in July, 2021, amid the worldwide spread of Wuhan-originated corona virus.
Responding to some strong criticism in Europe on the human rights records in China, he said that it did not matter which country would provide vaccines, and the only question was whether it would be effective and no serios side effects.
Although he added later that it would be up to each country whether it would accept Chinese vaccines for their Olympic athletes, there are other aspects to be questioned.
- Priority given to Olympic athletes among 8 billion people in the World ?
There is no question about the safe and successful holding of the much awaited Tokyo Olympic games from July, 2021, especially for all the athletes in the World. However, is it appropriate to single out Olympic athletes and give priority and special privilege to them out of 7.8 billion people in the World, most of whom are waiting for the vaccination?
It is reported that China has been providing Chinese vaccines to some selected friendly countries in limited quantity. And it is assumed that they are used in a selective way in such countries, because the quantity is limited. Such a selective practice may be possible mostly in some centralized countries. However, it is asked whether all the people in such unprivileged areas in China as Shinjang Uyghur, Tibet and Hong Kong are given equal opportunities for vaccination like people in mainland China.
- China should have been more cooperative to WHO study on Wuhan-originated corona virus
China, while offering vaccines to the IOC for Olympic athletes, has not been cooperative enough to, or delaying urgently needed study on the origin and spreading routes of the Wuhan-originated corona virus. Generally, information and data on corona virus and others are centrally controlled. Such a study and detailed data are indispensable to cope with the pandemic, and to develop and produce vaccines and medicine. China appears to be not cooperative to the early disclosure of detailed information relating to the corona virus, and to a visit to Wuhan by WHO experts. It took almost one year after the corona virus spread world-wide in early 2020. It is appreciated that China finally accepted, although delayed, the WHO team in early January, 2021, for two weeks or so.
It is learned that the Wuhan Institute of Virology has been researching a virus carried by wild bats, which people eat in China, for some time by a woman researcher, locally called a bat woman. The institute must have had important data on the virus carried by bats. Such data may have been useful to develop and produce vaccines relatively quickly. China should have provided to the entire World relevant information and scientific data on the virus as quick as possible so that the World as well as WHO could have coped better with the pandemic.
- Bringing international politics in the Olympic
Over 120 million people were infected and 2.6 million (as of march, 2021) were dead of corona virus pandemic so far. It took our usual activities and face to face contacts including diplomatic activities away from our life globally. It has become a biggest political issue domestically and internationally. Particularly, vaccines are a sensitive political and diplomatic issue, because its production is limited at one time. China expressed willingness to provide vaccines to needed countries. It is called ‘Vaccine Diplomacy’, which by itself implies that the vaccine issue is at the center of diplomacy in the World now.
If IOC finally buys vaccines from China and provide them to athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympic, it would bring politics in the Olympic. It contradicts with the purpose and spirit of the Olympic.
- Inadequate scientific evidence on the effectiveness and side effects of Chinese vaccines
Although many Chinese people and some people in selected countries are said to be vaccinated by Chinese vaccines, detailed scientific data including degree of effectiveness and side effects has not been provided enough to the World yet. It would be appreciated if China would provide detailed information and scientific data to the rest of the World as well as to IOC.
(Global Policy Group 2021.3.16.)