TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An African American entertainer and professional basketball player teamed up on YouTube last week to respond to allegations of racism leveled against Taiwan by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO).

During a press conference on Wednesday (April 8), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom claimed that he had been assailed by racist attacks from Taiwan. In response, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on April 9 vehemently emphasized that it had "in no way condoned nor encouraged any personal attacks on Dr. Tedros."

At a press briefing on April 10, Taiwan's Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) said that no such racist comments had come from Taiwanese. However, the bureau found the digital footprints of Chinese trolls both posing as Taiwanese issuing racist insults as well as later posting fake apologies.

On April 13, American singer Matthew Candler, who goes by the stage name "Dooley" (杜力) and American-born Taiwanese basketball player Quincy Davis posted a YouTube video response to Tedros' accusations of racism by Taiwan. The men start out by expressing their shock that anyone in Taiwan would launch such a racist attack given that neither of them had experienced a verbal assault of that nature during their many years living in Taiwan.

Both conceded that some Taiwanese have been known to use derogatory terms, although they may not realize the significance of the words in the West. Candler emphasized that Taiwanese people are generally "really compassionate, caring, and loving people," and that it is something worth sharing with the world.

Davis agreed that the caring and passionate nature of the people of Taiwan was one of the reasons that convinced him to give up his citizenship. He added that these qualities make Taiwan a very safe place to live in.

Candler then faced the camera and spoke directly to Tedros reminding him that he is the leader of the WHO and that he has more important matters to attend than "crying and worrying about what somebody in Taiwan said about you." Candler put it simply, "Pull yourself together! This is about the COVID-19 virus and how serious this is."

Davis reasoned that Tedros should not concern himself with what racial slurs internet trolls use. He said that given that Tedros must deal with the worst health crisis in living memory, getting caught up in attacks from trolls would only detract from the fight against the virus.

Davis chided Tedros to not use the alleged internet attacks as an "escape and a distraction." He called on Tedros to stop playing games with the world, "and especially not Taiwan."

The basketball star expressed his disappointment that the first time Tedros mentioned Taiwan was only to accuse the country of tweeting racial slurs. Davis called on Tedros to admit that he is "dropping the ball right now. We called you out on it and do something about it."

Both men pointed out that Taiwan is actually handling the outbreak extraordinarily well. Candler said that if Tedros really wants to learn about how to battle the pandemic, he should "come to Taiwan and learn how we handle this situation. Look how well we're doing."

Candler then reiterated that Tedros should come to Taiwan to examine how the country has been able to keep the virus at bay and achieve the lowest case rate per million in the world over the course of over 50 days.