President Donald Trump says WHO ignored racism against Africans in China

United States President Donald Trump has criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) for not responding strongly to reports of racism and discrimination against Africans living in southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

President Trump has also called the WHO a “puppet of China” and is threatening to permanently freeze US funding. The US president has repeatedly accused China of failings in its response to the pandemic.

In his letter to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, President Trump accused the health body of not commenting on “China’s racially discriminatory actions” despite complaints of “forced quarantines, evictions and refusal of services” by African nationals.

He was referring to widespread testing of foreign nationals in Guangzhou in mid-April that was marred by claims of Africans being targeted on the basis of their race.

Video clips of Africans sleeping on the streets after allegedly being evicted from houses and hotels emerged, with those interviewed saying they were being forced into quarantine.

The Guangzhou authorities at the time denied claims of racial profiling, but President Trump has said the WHO should have condemned the “racially discriminatory actions”.

Mr Trump has shared the letter he sent to Dr Tedros on Twitter:

This is the letter sent to Dr. Tedros of the World Health Organization. It is self-explanatory! pic.twitter.com/pF2kzPUpDv

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020