The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 620 - 473: Accountability and Blame Shifting_2

Take the United Kingdom and India, for example. The total number of deaths due to the flu in the United Kingdom has already exceeded 400,000, and the total number of deaths in India is also close to 500,000.

But who dares to believe that these numbers are real? In India alone, the death toll should be increased by at least ten times, considering their own well-known statistical abilities.

As for the British colonial government’s statistics on Indian casualties, apart from some mixed-race Indians being counted, the vast majority of real Indians’ casualties are not cared about by the British.

Not to mention that India has the second-largest population in the world, which is an inexhaustible treasure in and of itself.

Regarding the European nations, there is currently little progress in drug research. Even though the British government has invested over £100 million to develop drugs, the problem is that there are hundreds of flu viruses simply in Europe alone, which are also increasing constantly.

It is conservatively estimated that there are at least hundreds of different flu viruses worldwide, it’s not possible to have a drug for every type, is it?

Not to mention whether it is possible to develop different drugs for each type of flu, the cost of developing over 300 kinds of drugs alone is enough to give any country a headache.

As for the possibility of countries sharing the progress of drug research, it may come true in thousands of years, but definitely not now.

The competition between countries is terrifying, far more than the severity of this flu pandemic.

Without any exaggeration, any country that develops a drug will certainly not disclose it, but instead use it as a trump card to exchange for several or even dozens of times the benefits from other countries.

As the research institutions of various countries began to declare the difficulty of drug research, the European nations also plunged into pessimism regarding this flu pandemic.

Arthur sensed that the atmosphere was ripe, so he had his intelligence personnel release the origins and initial outbreak location of the flu to the European media, emphasizing that the American government knowingly hid information about the flu outbreak, resulting in this global disaster.

Businessmen are all profit-driven, and the media and newspapers are no exception.

After utilizing a small amount of funds, hundreds of European media outlets released the news naming the main culprit of the flu pandemic, and directly pointed the finger at the United States, claiming, "If it weren’t for the carelessness and cover-up of the American government, the world would not be facing such a severe crisis."

This report not only emphasized the responsibility of the United States but also openly demanded accountability from them.

As these newspapers were purchased or read by many Europeans, the United States instantly became the target of public criticism, and even numerous European countries began to protest, demanding that the U.S. carry out humanitarian compensation and shoulder the losses of various countries in this flu pandemic.

The United States would not care if it were only one country, but if there are several or even about ten countries, even the powerful United States would have to step out and explain.

Unfortunately, the European media and countries did not accept the U.S.’ explanation. The reports provided ample evidence proving that the flu started at the Kansas army camp in the U.S.

Numerous media outlets even speculated and openly condemned the United States for researching biological weapons, claiming that a leakage accident resulted in this worldwide influenza pandemic.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not; nowadays, the United States is like mud in its pants, and there’s simply no way to explain the situation.

Several small and medium-sized European countries are already clamoring for the World Alliance to convene a meeting, collectively sanction the United States, and demand that the U.S. provide compensation to all countries in the World Alliance.

Although the intelligence departments of the United Kingdom and France are aware of who instigated these media reports initially, they also need someone to take the blame to relieve pressure from their citizens during this flu pandemic.

The fact that the British and French governments did not take the early influenza seriously could only be covered up by a bigger piece of news, and the Americans fit the bill just right.

Since part of the European countries and citizens have already believed that the Americans are the culprits behind this flu pandemic, Britain and France don’t mind further fueling the issue and making sure the Americans are entirely blamed for it.

Whether the Americans are innocent or not, they have to be the ones to take the blame right now.

In just a few days, the research institutions of the United Kingdom and France also published reports, although without directly mentioning the Americans as the main culprit for the flu. However, they implied that the second wave of flu viruses is extremely similar to the first wave, with most of the first-wave viral strains originating from the United States.

This has firmly established the guilt of the Americans, and the Europeans are united in their anger, staging protests demanding that the World Alliance sanction the United States.

The protest groups in Britain and France have shifted from criticizing the government’s inaction to criticizing the United States, even demanding to declare war if the United States does not provide compensation.

It’s hard to say how much the Europeans’ goodwill towards the United States has diminished, but at least for the next two or three years, the United States is not likely to become the most popular migration region for Europeans.

Even many Americans, influenced by the European media reports, began to stage protests against their government’s concealment in the early stages of the flu pandemic.

Keep in mind that the death toll in the United States during the flu pandemic is not low either, with the current number of deaths exceeding 300,000, which is five times the number of American deaths in World War I.</p