 |
| World Health Organization (WHO) investigation team visiting Wuhan, China © AFP=News1 |
The New York Times (NYT) on the 9th that the Chinese government’s “discussion blur” publicity strategy has been triumphant when experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) visiting Wuhan, China concluded that the corona19 virus does not seem to originate in China Diagnosed.
The WHO research team, consisting of 14 scientists, has visited Wuhan’s Virus Research Institute, Disease Control Center, and Angry Market over the past 12 days. However, according to NYT, the investigation team as a result “praised Chinese officials instead of contempt, and supported the position of Chinese officials, including some controversial content.”
◇ WHO, Only the position of’China is not the origin of the virus’ spoke: The investigation team denied all the rumors that the virus was leaked from the laboratory or originated from the angry seafood market, and outside scientists could not believe it could spread the virus by transporting frozen food, the possibility that the virus had already existed outside China a few months before the outbreak of Wuhan. I only admitted to the position.
The Chinese government has been trying to shift its focus from early on, continuing to argue that the virus may have originated abroad. Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai recently proposed that the US should allow the dispatch of WHO investigators to investigate this.
In March of last year, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China insisted on the’dispatch of US troops’. Chinese experts who attended the WHO press conference on the same day also repeated the previous claim that “the virus may have spread in other regions before being confirmed in Wuhan at the end of 2019.”
 |
| Dr. Peter Ben Embarek (right), who leads the World Health Organization (WHO) investigation team, talks with Liang Wannian, a professor at Tsinghua University, who attended a press conference in Wuhan on the 9th. © AFP=News1 |
◇ American backlash… “The investigation was lacking in transparency”: Prior to the publication of the results, officials in the United States and other Western countries have questioned the independence of the WHO investigation, arguing that China is trying to control the results.
The Chinese government repeatedly delayed the visits of WHO experts, but reluctantly allowed it this time. They also tried to limit the scope of the investigation team’s mission. In addition, the US and others saw that the Chinese government had all the information, so it would be obvious to prevent the disclosure of information unfavorable to them.
As the results of the survey that day reflected only China’s position, the United States immediately rebelled. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a meeting with reporters, “I think it is clear that until now, the Chinese government has not shown the international community and the transparency we need.”
White House spokesman Jen Saki said, “I will closely review the data contained in the WHO report released today,” after receiving relevant questions at the briefing.
◇ “Investigation team, must prove credibility…or just show”: Experts believe that the WHO investigative team will not only have to solve the tricky scientific questions related to the investigation in the coming months, but will also face pressure to prove that they have conducted a fair investigation.
“The WHO investigative team will have to show some extraordinary features to prove its credibility,” said one expert. “If the team doesn’t come up with something tangible, people risk saying all of this was just a show.”