[ti:European Union Calls for Reforms at the WHO] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.56]The European Union (EU) wants the World Health Organization (WHO) [00:06.16]to become more open about how countries report health crises. [00:13.48]That information comes from a proposal on reforming the WHO. [00:21.56]The German government wrote up the proposal [00:25.12]following discussions with other EU member states. [00:31.24]It is the latest EU plan to deal with the United Nations health agency's [00:37.88]problems with financing, governance and legal powers. [00:46.60]EU health ministers are to discuss the proposal [00:51.08]at a video conference, which starts on Sunday. [00:56.36]The WHO has been criticized for how it dealt with the novel coronavirus [01:03.44]as it spread to Europe, the United States and other countries. [01:10.56]Health experts say the virus has infected over 40 million people worldwide [01:18.08]since the start of the year. [01:21.08]It is blamed for 1.1 million deaths. [01:27.92]Reuters news agency examined the document, [01:32.32]which is dated October 19, 2020. [01:38.60]It urges the WHO to take measures [01:42.88]that would increase "transparency on national compliance" [01:48.76]with International Health Regulations. [01:53.20]These rules require WHO member states [01:58.08]to quickly share information on health emergencies. [02:04.28]The EU document also urges the UN agency [02:09.40]to change its method for informing countries [02:13.44]about health emergencies. [02:16.72]It calls for creation of a "traffic light system" [02:21.64]that would signal the seriousness of a health crisis. [02:28.00]The United States has accused the WHO [02:32.40]of being too close to China [02:35.20]at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. [02:41.12]President Donald Trump has said the United States [02:45.28]will cancel its membership in the U.N. agency [02:50.12]and stop its funding as a result. [02:55.32]The U.S. government is the largest donor to the WHO. [03:01.68]The EU would become the top donor [03:07.32]if the U.S. withdraws from the UN agency. [03:12.20]The WHO has repeatedly dismissed criticism of its actions [03:19.52]during the COVID-19 health crisis. [03:24.92]Reuters noted that the WHO did not immediately [03:29.84]answer requests for comment on the EU proposal. [03:35.84]Asked about the document on Thursday, [03:39.40]a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said [03:43.44]China wanted to "actively participate" in WHO reforms. [03:51.72]He added that such reforms [03:54.60]should not serve the interests of any one country. [04:02.00]The Chinese official said any changes [04:06.32]should "better remove political interference" from the WHO. [04:13.60]He also said the reforms should increase the agency's funding [04:19.84]and ability to deal with public health crises, [04:24.48]and strengthen support for developing countries. [04:30.80]The German government refused to comment on the document. [04:37.68]Preparations for a study of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic [04:44.16]by the WHO and governments have been continuing for months. [04:52.20]Germany has repeatedly urged other EU members [04:57.20]to speed up that process so that a reform could be discussed. [05:03.60]Reuters notes that EU health ministers already agreed [05:09.60]on a common position on WHO reforms [05:14.68]at a meeting in early October. [05:19.20]The report said Germany wanted a "much more ambitious" plan [05:25.32]than many other states would have accepted. [05:30.32]At that meeting, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Gheybreyesus [05:37.40]told EU ministers the pandemic "should be seen as a wake-up call." [05:45.56]He added that the agency was considering [05:49.20]how its rules were applied by member states. [05:55.92]I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM