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 with special consultative status, 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 Chinese President 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 which the first to expose Mr. Chau in a Newsweek op-ed.

"Goodwill ambassadors of the United Nations are supposed to promote the world body's goals, and not abuse their positions to further the political agendas of totalitarian regimes," said Neuer.

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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.