Washington on Independence Day: Protests and Celebrations Intertwined

　　China News Agency, Washington, July 5 Telegram: Washington on Independence Day: Protests and Celebrations Intertwined

　　China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong

　　The United States ushered in Independence Day 2020 in the face of a continuously rising new pneumonia epidemic.

　　Compared with the liveliness and crowding of previous years, the crowd who went to the capital Washington to attend the Independence Day celebration on July 4 "shrinked" significantly, and the National Mall was cold. On the north and south sides of the White House, spectators and demonstrators gathered to remind people of the country's opposition to the epidemic and ethnic disputes.

On July 4, local time, the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, USA. The United States has ushered in Independence Day 2020 in the face of a rising new coronary pneumonia epidemic. Compared with the liveliness and crowding of previous years, the crowd who went to the capital Washington to attend the Independence Day celebration on July 4 "shrinked" significantly, and the National Mall was cold. On the north and south sides of the White House, spectators and demonstrators gathered to remind people of the country's opposition to the epidemic and ethnic disputes. China News Agency reporter Chen Meng

　　A day ago, the number of new infections in New Coronary Pneumonia in the United States exceeded 52,000, setting a new high for single-day reported cases. The epidemic situation in 40 states has shown an upward trend again. According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 23:00 on the 4th, the United States has accumulatively diagnosed 2.839 million people and killed 129,000 people.

　　In order to prevent mass infections from causing crowded infections, the traditional projects of Washington Independence Day celebrations – Constitution Avenue Boulevard Parade and Congress Lawn Concert were cancelled, leaving only fireworks displays as usual. Washington Mayor Bowser reminded the public to carefully consider travel and encourage watching live broadcasts at home.

　　With less than an hour left before US President Trump’s Independence Day speech, the flow of people in Washington’s National Mall is less than on weekdays. Madison, a mobile vendor who had planned to take advantage of the holiday season, decided to close the work ahead of time. "I have never seen the National Mall on Independence Day so empty."

　　This is the second consecutive year that Trump has delivered an Independence Day speech on the theme of "Salute to the United States." Last year, he broke the convention and became the first US president to deliver an Independence Day speech in the National Mall in nearly 70 years. The venue for this year's event is no longer the Lincoln Memorial, but is instead on the South Lawn of the White House, and the scale has greatly shrunk. There was no display of military equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles at the scene, but military aircraft flight shows were retained.

　　Speaking of the New Crown epidemic, Trump said that the recent surge in confirmed cases in the United States is the result of expanded testing. "We have made a lot of progress, and the US epidemic prevention strategy is progressing smoothly." He once again said that the United States is likely to develop anti-new coronavirus drugs or vaccines by the end of the year.

　　The White House said that medical staff, law enforcement personnel and military personnel were invited to participate in the celebration that day to pay tribute to their "great courage and spirit" in fighting the epidemic.

　　Compared with the sparse crowd waiting on the National Mall, the parade protesting on the streets of Washington is even more tidy. On the same day, small-scale demonstrations of anti-racial discrimination occurred in the White House and Capitol Hill. This protest, triggered by the death of African-American man George Freud, has recently set off a campaign to clear historical statues and commemorative signs involving racism.

　　In this regard, Trump once again expressed a strong position. He condemned the sabotage and violence in the protests, blaming it on the "radical left", anarchists, and robbers. "We will never allow angry mobs to overthrow our statues, erase our history, and instill ideas into our children."

　　According to tradition, the President’s Independence Day speech usually calls for unity and tolerance. American public opinion pointed out that Trump used a lot of space to criticize political enemies and the media for unfair reports. He talked about the epidemic situation of the new crown pneumonia, but said nothing more than 120,000 lives lost.

　　The Associated Press reported on "Independence Day, Trump intensifies internal divisions in the United States", saying that Trump's speech that day was full of his combativeness and dissatisfaction at election rallies. He vowed to "defend American values" and publicly criticized those who "slandered" him and those who did not respect American history.

　　The Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Biden also delivered an Independence Day speech that day, with the theme of race issues. He pointed out that the United States "never practiced" the principle of "equity for all", but today "we have an opportunity to eradicate the roots of systemic racism from this country."

　　"Washington Post" commented that the fatal disease, stagnation of the economy and the settlement of racial injustice, the triple blow largely canceled the 224th birthday celebration in the United States. "No longer parades and picnics. Depressed and nervous people celebrate this moment in silence, however, they are always full of hope for the future." (End)