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'DEEP-ROOTED DISEASE' China taunts US over Texas winter storm blackout as a ‘failure of capitalism’ that’s destroying ‘desperate’ Americanshttps://www.the-sun.com/news/2388816/china-taunts-us-capitalism-texas-storm/CHINA has taunted the United States over the Texas winter storm blackout as a "failure of capitalism" that is affecting "desperate" Americans.
An opinion piece in the English-language Chinese newspaper Global Times says a large number of Americans feel that the "current capitalist system" has "serious flaws" and "cannot help them with their concerns".
The article says Texans are suffering because of divisions between the Republican and Democratic parties.
It also claims that the divisions mean ordinary people could not get the help they needed during a freezing winter storm which left millions without power and water.
Author Li Haidong - a professor with the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University - writes: "The US' internal problem is too severe and is a deep-rooted disease. Profound reform is required in the US."
The author says the American model is "dysfunctional" - but the US refuses to admit it.
'EFFECTIVE REFORMS'
He adds: "The Covid-19 epidemic raging across the US combined with natural disasters such as wild fires in California and the winter storm in Texas have unmasked the drawbacks of the US capitalist system's true nature."
Haidong writes that it is difficult for the current US system "to engage in effective reforms", but if reforms are not carried out, the country will undergo more emergencies.
The White House announced on Saturday that President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Texas.
As of Sunday, over a third of Texans still remained without water, with more than 1,200 public water systems in the state still reporting disruptions in their service, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Over 8.8million Texans, or about one third of the state's 29million people, reported outages, spread across 199 counties in the state.
Over 250 boil-water notices were rescinded, TCEQ's media specialist Gary Rasp noted, but still was not enough for others living without water.
Houston had lifted its boil-water notice as of Sunday afternoon, saying: "Water quality testing submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe to drink."
At least 69 people have died of carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia, car crashes, house fires, and drownings, among other tragedies related to the severe weather in Texas and neighboring states.
