BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: INDEMNIFY

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: INDEMNIFY

By Asking China to Indemnify the world for the Coronavirus Covid 19 are World Leaders Setting a Dangerous and Unsustainable Precedent?

French Translation: Indemniser


Hello Darlings! Happy Thursday!

I have been reading in the news that President Trump and others are floating the idea that China will be asked to pay reparations for the economic damage the Covid 19 pandemic has caused. In other words, that China will be asked to "indemnify" the world for the Covid 19 pandemic.

I wonder if that is a wise position to take or not. I completely understand the frustration that world governments and even individuals have with China on this issue because for the moment, it appears that the virus started there, in Wuhan, and it also appears that China was not completely transparent when the whole thing started. I don't know the facts but I would say there is an appearance that there was a lack of complete transparency on the part of China.

However, I am not sure that asking China to pay reparations for a virus - assuming the virus was not deliberately created and unleashed on the world - is a good idea. Why? Because I believe that between now and the end of time, there will be other viruses and probably even more deadly and destructive ones. And they will begin somewhere, in some country, in some human person in the world. I think viruses don't discriminate. They don't care who you are and where you live and how you look. If a virus is going to attack and inhabit a person or animal, so it shall be. And I think all human beings are vulnerable and susceptible and so are all countries.

The risk with forcing China to pay indemnity and to indemnify the rest of the world to the tune of trillions of dollars (which will surely destroy China economically) is that what goes around comes around and one day, it will be another country who is in the same position. And that may not even be so far in the future. It could be next year that the next virus erupts someplace. Are we going to be demanding that countries pay for airborne viruses that are no fault of their own? This kind of precedent that is being set by asking China to indemnify the world for Covid19 is completely dangerous and is totally unsustainable, in my view. I think that as frustrating as this is for everyone, that governments need to cool it, get calm, and think of other solutions. I don't think virus indeminifications should become the new norm. Nobody is going to win with that.

What do you think? Do you agree with me or disagree with me?
Would love to discuss it at our next meeting.

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