When Politics Trumps Facts

By Wen Qing

‘They （the U.S.） have been saying that for almost a year. If there is real evidence， then its the responsibility of the U.S. to share it，” Marion Koopmans， a top virologist， told the BBC on May 27， when asked about her opinion on a recent U.S. report claiming it was “plausible” that the coronavirus had been leaked from a Wuhan lab.

“The possibility of a lab accident or even a manipulation， was discussed with colleagues， and weve published our findings，” Koopmans， part of the World Health Organization （WHO） field visit team to Wuhan in January and February investigating the origins of COVID-19， said. “If there is intelligence that says something different， please share it，” she stressed.

However， although the U.S. intelligence report was hyped by the media， there is no solid proof they can provide other than “three researchers from Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care in November 2019， a month before China reported the first cases of COVID-19.”

In fact， the hypothesis has been debunked by scientists and the U.S. intelligence community a year ago. In an interview with CNN presenter Chris Cuomo on May 14 last year， Peter Daszak， President of the U.S. EcoHealth Alliance， said explicitly that “there is no evidence that this was a virus that was created in a lab.” “In fact weve worked with the lab in Wuhan for 15 years now. We know everything they do. And we know that they do not have that virus in the lab prior to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.”

Also in May last year， then U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that “there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.” But according to German Der Spiegel magazine， Germanys BND spy agency had asked members of the U.S.-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance for evidence to support the accusation. None of the alliances members， Britain， Canada， Australia， New Zealand and the U.S. included， supported Pompeos claim.

“We would like everyone out there to separate， if they can， the politics of this issue from the science. This whole process is being poisoned by politics，”Mike Ryan， the WHOs top emergency expert， said during a press conference on May 28 after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered intelligence agencies to redouble efforts in finding the origins of the pandemic.

Even world renowned experts can bend to political pressure. When asked by a reporter on May 11 if he was still confident COVID-19 developed naturally，Dr. Anthony Fauci， Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the U.S.， changed his response for the first time. “I am not convinced about that； I think we should continue to investigate...” Soon， Faucis response was trumpeted by the U.S. media as supporting Bidens request for further investigation into the origins of COVID-19.