Commentary by Li Min
Per the Biden Administration’s request for an investigation of the origin of COVID-19 in May, US intelligence agencies are going to submit their so-called report.
Before the deadline, US media, politicians, intelligence agencies and other involved parties are working together to manufacture evidence for a “lab leak theory” that blames China for the outbreak.
On Aug 5, CNN issued an exclusive report saying US intelligence agencies are digging through a “treasure trove” of genetic data that could be “key” to uncovering the origins of the coronavirus, as soon as they can decipher it. However, CNN admitted it’s unclear exactly how or when US intelligence agencies gained access to this information.
Assertions without evidence: this is the old gimmick media outlets use to attack China. In fact, since the US government re-opened its inquiry in May, the media has fanned the flames.
For example, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a story entitled “Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate on Covid-19 Origin” on May 23 – citing undisclosed US intelligence, of course – suggesting there were three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) who became sick in the fall of 2019 and shared similar symptoms with “both COVID-19 and a common seasonal illness”.
In July, when the WHO announced the second phase of traceability plan for Member States to discuss, Western media led by the WSJ began a new round of attacks on the Wuhan laboratory.
In addition to intelligence agencies and media, some US politicians are getting in on the action to burnish their credentials as Cold Warrior hawks.
Among them is US Representative Mike McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who claims there is a “preponderance of evidence” the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology sometime before September 2019.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has slammed the report as “totally based on concocted lies and distorted facts without providing any evidence, and is not credible or scientific”.
At all levels, the US is manipulating public opinion. It seems the US, the country with the world’s worst response to the pandemic, has not learned its lesson. It is sparing no effort in political manipulation, even with a deadly epidemic running rampant.
At present, the Delta variant has caused a rebound of the global epidemic, and the cumulative confirmed case count from around the globe now exceeds 200 million. According to Johns Hopkins University data, as of August 5 the United States had more than 35.31 million confirmed cases and more than 614,000 deaths, the most in the world by a wide margin.**
At this critical moment, the top priority is to fight the epidemic and save lives. On August 5, China vowed to provide the world with two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year and donate US$100 million to COVAX to promote global vaccine equity amid the rampaging Delta variant, which is bringing about more chances for developing countries to get immunized and combat the pandemic. Meanwhile, the West drags its heels and fails to live up to its promises.
Can the US shoulder its international responsibilities like China? Fiction can’t save America or the world. Only by respecting science, unity and cooperation can mankind win this life-or-death struggle and ensure a healthy future for everyone.
– Courtesy of China Daily
* Minor edits by The Macau Post Daily
**As of yesterday, the US’ COVID-19 tally stood at 37.9 million including 640,181 deaths, according to worldometers.info.
