https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-covid-19-origin-investigation-11611359401?mod=hp_opin_pos_1 The Covid-19 Origin Investigation Beijing spreads conspiracies while impeding WHO experts. By The Editorial Board Jan. 22, 2021 6:50 pm ET A logo is pictured outside a building of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. PHOTO: DENIS BALIBOUSE/REUTERS President Biden stopped America’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization on his first day in office. The premise of his decision is that reforming international institutions from inside is more effective than leaving or withholding funds, and this theory will be tested quickly. “China has total control over the World Health Organization,” Donald Trump said last year when announcing the U.S. would leave. That was typical hyperbole, but he had a point. WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus fawned over China’s response to the virus—“very impressive, and beyond words”—as Beijing destroyed virus samples, neutralized whistleblowers, and spread conspiracy theories. WHO officials privately considered speaking out but calculated that the Chinese Communist Party would be even less cooperative if criticized publicly. The agency’s reticence didn’t do much. A team of WHO experts went to Beijing to study the origins of the virus in February 2020—when their chances of discovering how it transferred to humans from animals were significantly better than today—but the Chinese government impeded them. Negotiations with Beijing dragged on through 2020. This month Dr. Tedros finally mustered the spiritless complaint that he was “very disappointed” with the delays. The Chinese foreign ministry said it welcomed the investigators’ presence shortly before they began arriving in recent days. Take this as seriously as O.J. Simpson’s vow to make finding the killer of his ex-wife “my primary goal in life.” Media reports say Beijing pushed WHO to delegate critical initial investigatory work to Chinese scientists. The WHO team at best will get incomplete data, because research on Covid-19’s origins can’t be published in China without the Communist Party’s approval. The Chinese government also approved the WHO mission’s members and agenda. The WHO team has set low expectations for a visit to Wuhan, where investigators hope to interview Chinese scientists and study how the virus may have leapt to humans. The trip won’t mean much without comprehensive access to different biological samples in the country. These could hint at how long the virus had been spreading in China before it became a highly visible outbreak a year ago. In his final days as Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said Washington believes that several researchers inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) “became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses.” He called on WHO to investigate WIV’s ties to the Chinese military and its research on viruses similar to Covid-19. “This is not about finding China guilty or saying ‘It started here, give or take three metres.’ This is about reducing the risk,” said a member of the WHO team recently. Learning about the virus’ origins could save lives by preventing future outbreaks and even lead to better treatments or vaccines in the current pandemic. Yet Beijing has shown that its image takes precedence over public health. As some Chinese vaccine results disappoint, state media have used social media to cast doubt on Western vaccines. Chinese diplomats have taken advantage of openness from countries like France—which have published research showing the virus circulating earlier than previously believed—to suggest the virus really came from elsewhere. They’ve also floated conspiracy theories about an American origin. “If the United States truly respects facts, it should open the biological lab at Fort Detrick,” a foreign-ministry spokeswoman said recently. That’s a Cold War echo: The Soviet Union accused the U.S. of creating HIV at the same site. While evidence points to China, it’s possible the virus made the leap to humans elsewhere. If WHO finds a reason to bring a team to the U.S., its officials should be welcome to investigate—so long as China provides reciprocal access. We’re not holding our breath. Team Biden has promised that the U.S. will reassert U.S. influence at international organizations like WHO. But if a U.S. return doesn’t prompt a more thorough investigation of the virus—one of the agency’s most important jobs—what exactly is the point of membership?
But if a U.S. return doesn’t prompt a more thorough investigation of the virus—one of the agency’s most important jobs—what exactly is the point of membership? 对“溯源”我还是很悲观，WHO已经被渗透成筛子了，证据也被销毁的七七八八了，大概率不了了之。可是不重回WHO怎么杜绝Sars3再来一次呢？再重新建立个组织吗？
Negotiations with Beijing dragged on through 2020. This month Dr. Tedros finally mustered the spiritless complaint that he was “very disappointed” with the delays. The Chinese foreign ministry said it welcomed the investigators’ presence shortly before they began arriving in recent days. Take this as seriously as O.J. Simpson’s vow to make finding the killer of his ex-wife “my primary goal in life.”
The Covid-19 Origin Investigation Beijing spreads conspiracies while impeding WHO experts. By The Editorial Board Jan. 22, 2021 6:50 pm ET
President Biden stopped America’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization on his first day in office. The premise of his decision is that reforming international institutions from inside is more effective than leaving or withholding funds, and this theory will be tested quickly.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization,” Donald Trump said last year when announcing the U.S. would leave. That was typical hyperbole, but he had a point. WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus fawned over China’s response to the virus—“very impressive, and beyond words”—as Beijing destroyed virus samples, neutralized whistleblowers, and spread conspiracy theories.
WHO officials privately considered speaking out but calculated that the Chinese Communist Party would be even less cooperative if criticized publicly. The agency’s reticence didn’t do much. A team of WHO experts went to Beijing to study the origins of the virus in February 2020—when their chances of discovering how it transferred to humans from animals were significantly better than today—but the Chinese government impeded them.
Negotiations with Beijing dragged on through 2020. This month Dr. Tedros finally mustered the spiritless complaint that he was “very disappointed” with the delays. The Chinese foreign ministry said it welcomed the investigators’ presence shortly before they began arriving in recent days. Take this as seriously as O.J. Simpson’s vow to make finding the killer of his ex-wife “my primary goal in life.”
Media reports say Beijing pushed WHO to delegate critical initial investigatory work to Chinese scientists. The WHO team at best will get incomplete data, because research on Covid-19’s origins can’t be published in China without the Communist Party’s approval. The Chinese government also approved the WHO mission’s members and agenda.
The WHO team has set low expectations for a visit to Wuhan, where investigators hope to interview Chinese scientists and study how the virus may have leapt to humans. The trip won’t mean much without comprehensive access to different biological samples in the country. These could hint at how long the virus had been spreading in China before it became a highly visible outbreak a year ago. In his final days as Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said Washington believes that several researchers inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) “became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses.” He called on WHO to investigate WIV’s ties to the Chinese military and its research on viruses similar to Covid-19. “This is not about finding China guilty or saying ‘It started here, give or take three metres.’ This is about reducing the risk,” said a member of the WHO team recently. Learning about the virus’ origins could save lives by preventing future outbreaks and even lead to better treatments or vaccines in the current pandemic.
Yet Beijing has shown that its image takes precedence over public health. As some Chinese vaccine results disappoint, state media have used social media to cast doubt on Western vaccines. Chinese diplomats have taken advantage of openness from countries like France—which have published research showing the virus circulating earlier than previously believed—to suggest the virus really came from elsewhere. They’ve also floated conspiracy theories about an American origin. “If the United States truly respects facts, it should open the biological lab at Fort Detrick,” a foreign-ministry spokeswoman said recently. That’s a Cold War echo: The Soviet Union accused the U.S. of creating HIV at the same site. While evidence points to China, it’s possible the virus made the leap to humans elsewhere. If WHO finds a reason to bring a team to the U.S., its officials should be welcome to investigate—so long as China provides reciprocal access. We’re not holding our breath.
Team Biden has promised that the U.S. will reassert U.S. influence at international organizations like WHO. But if a U.S. return doesn’t prompt a more thorough investigation of the virus—one of the agency’s most important jobs—what exactly is the point of membership?
对“溯源”我还是很悲观，WHO已经被渗透成筛子了，证据也被销毁的七七八八了，大概率不了了之。可是不重回WHO怎么杜绝Sars3再来一次呢？再重新建立个组织吗？
中国一直阻挠世卫组织前往调查新冠起源的要求，现在等了将近一年总算放行了。在调查人员到达前不久，中国外交部又假惺惺表示欢迎。就好像当年O J自己杀了前妻又对天发誓要把找到杀妻凶手立为自己的终身目标一样装模作样。