China News Service, December 30th. Title: See the "illusion" of the world in one word: confusion and thought, the world of magical realism in 2021
Zhang Aolin Meng Xiangjun
There are only two days left, and 2021 will become history. Many events that occurred in the world this year can be called "magical". Ridiculous things continue to refresh people's understanding, and the practical problems hidden behind them are worth pondering.
Data map: London, England during the epidemic.
“Magic” Chaos in Fighting the Epidemic
This year, mankind is still fighting a bitter battle against the new coronavirus. From "Alpha", " delta ", to " Omicron ", the virus has changed again and again. However, when the epidemic has not substantially improved, many Western countries have shifted their epidemic prevention policies to "coexisting with the virus". ". This also made many netizens exclaim when watching the European Cup : Why are there so many people in the venue? Don't even wear a mask? Is there no epidemic anymore?
The answer is of course no. Let’s look at a set of data: One month after the European Cup was held in the UK, the cumulative number of new confirmed cases exceeded 610,000, with an average daily increase of nearly 20,000. Soon after the European Cup ended, the United States, France, Germany and other countries also suffered from the onslaught of the virus.
On December 21, local time, anti-epidemic demonstrators on the streets of Brussels, Belgium.
Faced with the cruel reality, some politicians who shouted to "lay down" to fight the epidemic had to change their words. However, whenever epidemic prevention policies are tightened, demonstrations against epidemic prevention will always break out in these countries, and even violence and vandalism will occur. While the protesters chanted "freedom", the virus further "conquered the city" and more people fell into shackles. Not to mention, from intravenous injections to drinking disinfectant water, from parents taking their children to burn masks to refusing vaccinations, the anti-intellectual phenomena that have appeared in some countries such as the United States are surprising.
What is even more "magical" is that British Prime Minister Johnson was exposed to have repeatedly violated epidemic prevention and held parties; Finnish Prime Minister Marin knew that he was a close contact and even went to nightclubs to dance; Norwegian Prime Minister Solberg violated Anti-epidemic regulations are punished... If policymakers in Western countries regard epidemic prevention regulations as nothing, the idea of defeating the virus as soon as possible can only be wishful thinking.
"Magic" Security Challenge
This year, the United States staged a "big drama" at the beginning of the new year. The scene of Capitol Hill being occupied by Trump "fans" shocked the world. The Capitol Building, one of the highest symbols of American freedom and democracy is blazing. This was the most serious attack on Congress in the past 200 years, reminding many American netizens of the terrible past when British troops burned down the White House in 1812.
Only about half a year after the "fall of Capitol Hill" became a global laughing stock, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan and repeated the "Saigon Moment", which brought the image of the United States to its lowest point. The footage of multiple Afghans falling from a US military transport aircraft broke the hearts of many netizens. Such a superpower that often talks about "human rights" and "global security" has repeatedly exposed disorderly domestic and foreign policies and human rights anomie to the world. It itself is the biggest threat in the security field. risk.
Despite this, the "ceiling" of this year's global annual absurdity award is Japan's shocking decision announced in April: to discharge more than one million tons of nuclear sewage accumulated in the past Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant years. Japan originally had better treatment methods, such as hardening the sewage and burying it underground, but in order to save money, it finally chose the cheapest method of discharging it into the sea, and even claimed that the filtered water was almost pollution-free.
Japan’s move drew strong condemnation from the international community, local fishermen and environmental organizations. However, the United States, which may also be contaminated, supports Japan's decision. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken also "thanked" Japan for its "transparent efforts" in handling nuclear sewage. The United States is shielding such a barbaric and selfish act that endangers global ecological security, and the international community is in an uproar.
"Magical" American Double Standard
In fact, the relationship between the United States and Japan is very "plastic". Just a few days ago, Japan promised that the United States would bear an additional US$660 million in funding for the US military stationed in Japan in the next five years. South Korea, also an ally of the United States, has also increased its defense costs by 13.9% in 2021.After the "blackmail" was successful, the United States did not forget to brag about its "alliance." However, the Japanese and Korean public opinion circles reached a rare consensus on the issue of paying more "protection fees": anger.
htmlOn September 15, US President Biden held a joint video press conference with British Prime Minister Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Morrison to announce the establishment of a US-UK-Australia trilateral security partnership called "AUKUS". Not only that, on September 15, the United States, Britain and Australia suddenly announced the establishment of a security partnership (AUKUS). After Australia received the commitment from the United States and Britain to help it develop the nuclear submarine , it expanded and directly transferred the submarine to France for up to 90 billion Australian dollars. The contract was torn up. The French Foreign Minister said: This is "stabbed in the back by an ally"! For the first time in 250 years, France recalled its ambassador to the United States in such a mood, and also recalled its ambassador to Australia. President Macron threatened to retaliate strongly against the treacherous Australia, making it "painful for a long time."
In addition to the conflicts on the table, the secret war between transatlantic allies is even more explosive. At the end of May, it was revealed that the United States had used the Internet to monitor senior officials from Germany, France and other countries from 2012 to 2014. The name of then-German Chancellor Merkel was also prominently listed. Being monitored at will by "close allies", France and Germany were angry, and and the EU were also angry. Despite this, Biden still went to the UK to attend the G7 summit as originally planned a few days later, where he hooked up with Macron and chatted and laughed with Merkel. Perhaps Biden's inner monologue is: As long as I am not embarrassed, others will be embarrassed.
Data map: Assange, founder of WikiLeaks.
In addition, the United States is still taking great pleasure in portraying itself as a cyber security victim country. For many years, the United States has been "hunting" Assange, the founder of " WikiLeaks " who exposed secret documents of the United States' foreign wars, under the banner of justice. The matter made new progress on December 10: the British High Court approved the United States' request to extradite Assange. If found guilty, he will face a maximum penalty of 175 years.
The thief shouts to catch the thief, and the United States perfectly interprets it. Such wanton trampling on human rights and "double-dealing" with allies is destined to damage its credibility again and again.
The international community this year is both magical and realistic. Behind the seeming absurdity, there are many real contradictions that are difficult to reconcile. 2022 is coming, how will the next episode of the absurd drama unfold? People still don’t know which one will come first, tomorrow or the accident. (End)
Source: China News Network
