Incredibly, more than two years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still no explanation for the origins of the virus that is universally agreed to. Nobody is more pleased at this state of affairs than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has mounted a massive propaganda operation to cover up its culpability for the global health crisis.
Fortunately, cover-ups are increasingly difficult to pull off in the age of the Internet. Paper files that would have previously found their way into the shredder or become “lost” down the back of a filing cabinet are now recorded for posterity in e-mail trails and open-source online data.
In the case of COVID-19, the evidence increasingly points toward not only an accidental lab leak from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, but also collusion between the CCP and a number of influential international scientists to cover up controversial “gain of function” research into coronaviruses.
The latest piece of the jigsaw to snap into place is a chance finding by a team of Hungarian scientists from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Lorand University, described in a paper published on Monday.
The bioinformatics specialists said they have discovered a previously unknown strain of SARS-CoV-2 after examining genetic data from soil samples collected from Antarctica, which became contaminated with the virus after the samples were sent to a laboratory in Shanghai for analysis in December, 2019. The laboratory, Sangon Biotech, is known to be used by the Wuhan institute for DNA sequencing.
The newly discovered early strain contains DNA from African green monkeys and Chinese hamsters, which are frequently used to study coronaviruses in a laboratory setting. This suggests that the virus might have been grown in a lab rather than having evolved naturally from a bat coronavirus — Beijing’s official and as-yet unsubstantiated explanation for the virus’ origin. The research adds further weight to the lab leak hypothesis, despite the best efforts of numerous high-profile scientists to stifle debate.
The Telegraph newspaper in September last year reported that all but one of 27 scientists who cosigned a letter published by the medical journal The Lancet on March 7, 2020, had connections to the Wuhan institute. The letter “strongly condemned conspiracy theories” surrounding the origin of COVID-19 and rubbished the notion that the virus could have originated in a laboratory. The letter’s publication during the crucial early stages of the pandemic shut down scientific debate over the origins of the virus.
An e-mail exchange released under UK freedom of information laws shows that the letter was coordinated by British zoologist Peter Daszak after he was asked by “our collaborators” in China for a “show of support.” Daszak is president of US-based EcoHealth Alliance, which has funded research at the Wuhan laboratory.
In earlier e-mail correspondence between the director of UK-based Wellcome Trust, Jeremy Farrar, and US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, the two said that it was likely the virus had leaked from a laboratory.
However, Farrar wrote: “Further debate would do unnecessary harm to science in general and science in China in particular.”
In language that could have come straight from the mouths of CCP propagandists, then-director of the US National Institutes of Health Francis Collins cautioned that further debate could damage “international harmony.”
A large number of leading scientists have shown spectacular naivety toward China, and some have acted in a downright mendacious manner to protect their own skins, as well as their pet projects.
China would scupper any international investigation, so instead, other nations, including Taiwan, must get their houses in order and stop any further funding of dodgy Chinese science.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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