GENEVA, June 3, 2020 — A international coalition of 100 non-governmental organizations from more than 30 countries today urged the World Health Organization to remove its celebrity ambassador James Chau, a news presenter with China Central Television, claiming that he abused his position to “whitewash” China’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic. (See statement below).
On Friday, the Financial Times reported that the WHO has launched an internal review into Chau’s role, but the organizations are calling for his “immediate removal.”
The joint appeal was submitted today to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom and UN chief Antonio Guterres by 100 associations accredited to the United Nations, including charities that promote health, development, protection of children and mothers, and human rights.
The organizations accuse Mr. Chau of “purveying propaganda for Beijing” as a television presenter of government-sanctioned news, noting his role in broadcasting the forced confession of Peter Humphrey, a British private investigator who was arrested in 2013 on charges of illegally obtaining and selling Chinese citizens’ data. Mr. Humphrey was drugged, chained to a chair, locked in a cage and forced to read a confession, “which was then presented to the world as legitimate news by Mr. Chau.”
During the Coronavirus pandemic, “Mr. Chau has exploited his WHO title to lend international authority to his whitewashing of China’s troubling response to the Coronavirus pandemic,” according to the statement. “Armed with his UN badge of legitimacy, Mr. Chau has been articulating a one-sided narrative portraying Beijing as heroic.”
At the same time, the UN-accredited organizations accuse Mr. Chau of glaring omissions. “Not one of Mr. Chau’s statements on China’s response to the pandemic mentions how the Chinese Communist Party purged the public sphere of dissent, censored news reports, harassed citizen journalists, shut down news sites and summoned Dr. Li Wenliang to a middle-of-the-night interrogation for sounding the alarm in Wuhan.”
In order to restore the WHO’s credibility, say the organizations, the WHO must “take action to ensure the immediate removal of James Chau from his position as Goodwill Ambassador.”
‘Culture of Corruption’
Observers say the appointment and ongoing role of Chau as well as Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan as Goodwill Ambassadors—both named by former WHO chief Margaret Chan, whose candidacy was officially backed by China—raise many questions about the relationship between China and the WHO.
“When you have the Chinese-nominated WHO chief appointing figures tied to the Chinese regime as goodwill ambassadors, and when the current WHO chief from Ethiopia appointed the late Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe to the same post, it points to a certain culture of corruption within the World Health Organization,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, the Geneva-based human rights watchdog which led the joint appeal, and the first to expose Mr. Chau in a Newsweek op-ed.
“Goodwill ambassadors of the United Nations are appointed to promote the world body’s goals, and not the political agendas of totalitarian regimes,” said Neuer.
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oppose 🇨🇳 China TV's propagandist James Chau serving as WHO "Goodwill Ambassador." https://t.co/ZaYjdonSRf pic.twitter.com/7IFMhdqZSX— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 3, 2020
__________
JOINT APPEAL FOR THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
TO REMOVE JAMES CHAU AS GOODWILL AMBASSADOR
Sent on 3 June 2020 to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
We, the undersigned human rights activists and members of civil society, appeal to the World Health Organization for the removal of James Chau as Goodwill Ambassador.
WHO Goodwill Ambassadors are appointed to “raise awareness of important health problems and solutions” around the world.
In 2016, then WHO chief Margaret Chan—whose candidacy was officially and strongly backed by China—decided to appoint China Central Television’s James Chau as a Goodwill Ambassador.
However, Mr. Chau has a record of purveying propaganda for Beijing as a television presenter of government-sanctioned news. As reported by The New York Times, Chau broadcast the forced confession of Peter Humphrey, a British private investigator who was arrested in 2013 on charges of illegally obtaining and selling Chinese citizens’ data. Mr. Humphrey was drugged, chained to a chair, locked in a cage and forced to read a confession—which was then presented to the world as legitimate news by Mr. Chau.
During the current Coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Chau has exploited his WHO title to lend international authority to his whitewashing of China’s troubling response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Armed with his U.N. badge of legitimacy, Mr. Chau has been articulating a one-sided narrative portraying Beijing as heroic, on Twitter, Weibo, YouTube and the broader web since the beginning of the outbreak.
Not one of Mr. Chau’s statements on China’s response to the pandemic mentions how the Chinese Communist Party purged the public sphere of dissent, censored news reports, harassed citizen journalists, shut down news sites and summoned Dr. Li Wenliang to a middle-of-the-night interrogation for sounding the alarm in Wuhan.
In light of the above, it is clear that Mr. Chau is entirely unfit to represent the World Health Organization, whose constitution speaks of the “fundamental rights of every human being.”
The WHO is under pressure after repeatedly lavishing praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping and his regime for their “seriousness,” “transparency” and “leadership” in handling the pandemic. Mr. Chau is complicit in pushing this false narrative.
To begin to restore the WHO’s credibility, we call on you to take action to ensure the immediate removal of James Chau from his position as Goodwill Ambassador.
Sincerely,
- Hillel Neuer, United Nations Watch, Switzerland
- Oke Omagbitse, Alpha O Centre For Malaria Prevention and Control, Nigeria
- S M Islam, Rural Mother & Child Health Care Society, Bangladesh
- Elvis Wepngong, Organization for Gender, Civic Engagement & Youth Development, Cameroon
- Sylvanus Murray, Advocacy Initiative for Development, United States
- Sybil Nmezi, Generation Initiative for Women and Youth Network, Nigeria
- Eric Ndubueze Ufom, Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International, United States
- Anantharaj Karunakaran, Child Care Consortium, India
- Pierrette J Cazeau, Haiti Cholera Research Funding Foundation, United States
- Stan Henkeman, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, South Africa
- Yusuf Adama, Organisation National des Donneurs de Sang Benevole, Cameroon
- Aristide Jean François Zongo, Association Burkinabè pour la Survie de l’Enfance, Burkina Faso
- Ulrich Delius, Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany
- Banding Gassama, Cause Première, Senegal
- Platon Nozadze, South Caucasus Office on Drugs and Crime, Georgia
- Humenuc Lucica, Romanian Independent Society of Human Rights, Romania
- Petru Botnaru, Terra-1530, Moldova
- Nathaniel Odudele, African Heritage Foundation, Nigeria
- Noma Eloundou Damien, Respect Cameroon, Cameroon
- Taz Mukorombindo, Canterbury Business Association, New Zealand
- Muhamad Aslam, Peace Foundation, Pakistan
- Toyokatsu Habata, International Shinto Foundation (ISF), United States
- Ariella Rosita King, Ariel Foundation International, United States
- Jenifer White, Project 1948, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Mohamed Hassan, Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Committee, United States
- Fareed Ullah Khan, Participatory Rural Development Society, Pakistan
- Davy Koller, Österreichischer Bundesverband – Österreichische Lebens – und Rettungs – Gesellschaf, Austria
- Visaka Dharmadasa, Association of War Affected Women, Sri Lanka
- Rudolph C. Bester, Memory Trees Corporation, United States
- Datuk Agung Sidayu, Yayasan Pendidikan, Indonesia
- Patrick Spencer, Cork Forest Conservation Alliance, United States
- Romuald Djivoessoun, Autre Vie, Benin
- Karen Dunham, Living Bread International Church, United States
- Mostafa Nuruzzaman, Shushilan, Bangladesh
- Anjum Raza Mattu, Insan Dost Association, Pakistan
- Aisha Ahmed, Murna Foundation, Nigeria
- Abul Kashem Sheikh, Kathak Academy, Bangladesh
- Benedicta Assagba, Credo Action, Togo
- John Incoom, Future Hope International, Ghana
- Anne Herzberg, Institute for NGO Research, Israel
- Jean Paul Laurent, Unspoken Smiles Foundation, United States
- Rose Ngalula, Action Commaunitaire Femme et Enfant, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Walid Maalouf, The American Lebanese Renaissance Partnership, United States
- Appolinaire Zagabe, Pleaders of Children and Elderly People at Risk, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Mamadou Sarr, l’Association Nationale des Partenaires Migrants, Senegal
- Guy Antoine Dze Nguesse, Cercle d’Initiative Commune pour la Recherche, l’Environnement et la Qualité, Cameroon
- Tameem Mohammed, Human Rights Observers, India
- Dr. Sherry Dingman, Fang Protective Services, United States
- Djepang Yvonne Armande, Association pour la Promotion de la Lutte Contre les Violences Faites aux Femmes et la Participation au Développement de la Femme Africaine, Cameroon
- George Ochieng Odalo, Slum Child Foundation, Kenya
- Huwayada Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, South Sudanese Women Christian Mission for Peace, Sudan
- Gia Gaspard Taylor, Network of Rural Women Producers, Trinidad and Tobago
- Malik Jamil, Children Education & Welfare Society, Pakistan
- Masanori Kaneko, Shunichi Fujiki, Japan
- M. Aravinda Babu, OISCA, India
- Mazi Jideofur Umeh, Ugonma Foundation, Nigeria
- P.A. Surendran, Consumers Association, India
- Dr. Rachel Nisbet, International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance, Switzerland
- Chandan Kumar Sarkar, Research and Empowerment Organization, Bangladesh
- Okezie Kelechukwu, Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation, Nigeria
- Kennady Pulipati, Redemption Research for Health and Educational Development Society, India
- Narender Kumar, Shivi Development Society, India
- Albert Konan Koffi, Observatoire International pour la Non Violence – Communes des Nations pour la Paix, France
- Alfred Oscar Boffi, Fundación Democratica Italo Americana, Argentina
- Newman Enyioko, Integrity and Transparency Promotion Initiative, Nigeria
- Thomas Chen, STUF United Fund, United States
- Edgar N. Alegre, Global Academy Institute of Technology Foundation Inc., Philippines
- Lukman Adefolahan, 21st Century Community Empowerment for Youth and Women Initiative, Nigeria
- Dr. Vinod Shah, Janaseva Foundation Pune, India
- Asir Gill, Computer Literacy, Shelter Welfare RawalPindi, Pakistan
- Doubade Issaya Issac, Association National de Coopération pour le Développement du Cameroun, Cameroon
- Shola Mese, Shola Mese Foundation, Nigeria
- Josephine Agbo-Nettey, Integrated Development in Focus, Ghana
- Moka Wakassa Gabriel, Fuondation Kalipa for Development, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Bharat Gauba, Shoobh Group Welfare Society, India
- Mohamed Al Shami, Alliance Internationale pour la Défense des Droits et des Libertés, France
- Ngan Tonye François Simon Pierre, Association des Ressortissants et Amis d’Eseka, Cameroon
- Sudaba Shiraliyeva, Women and Modern World Social Charitable Centre, Azerbaijan
- Nasser Amin, The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession, Egypt
- Salma Oussama Mahamat, Association pour le développement Culturel, Chad
- Azra Gul, Pak Women, Pakistan
- Brian Bond, Edmund Rice International, Switzerland
- Pierre Félix Kandolo, Agence pour le Développement Intégré au Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Alan Goldsmith, Jewish Renaissance Foundation, United States
- Roshan Sapota, Union C, Nepal
- Churchill Butalia, Alliance for Development and Population Services, Kenya
- Erold Elcius, Organisation Constelle Pour Le Developpement Economique et Social de la Commune des Gonaives, Haiti
- Julia de Cadenet, World Protection for Dogs and Cats in the Meat Trade, United Kingdom
- Alex Gowen, The Fishermen (Aid for Orphaned Children), United States
- Obuesi Phillips, Community Agenda for Peace, Nigeria
- John Okyere, Alliance Creative Community Project, Canada
- Souad Talsi, Al-Hasaniya Moroccan Women Centre, United Kingdom
- Thierry Valle, Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, France
- Francis Komi Akpa, Partage et Action en Synergie pour le Développement, Togo
- Abdoullah Bayzar, Internationale Gemeinschaft für die Unterstützung von Kriegsopfern e.V., Germany
- Moka Wakassa Gabriel, Fondation Kalipa pour le Développement, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Gian Franco Massaro, Federation Internationale des Donneurs, Italy
- Teh Francis Yai, Goodness and Mercy Missions, Cameroon
- Godwin Osung, Godwin Osung International Foundation, Nigeria
- Sandheep Ahuja, Operation ASHA, India
