COVID-19 Origins-Tracing: Trust Science and Discard Politics

新冠病毒溯源：相信科学调查，摒弃政治操弄

Ambassador Qi Zhenhong Published a Signed Article

戚振宏大使发表署名文章

19 August 2021

2021年8月19日

COVID-19 origins-tracing is a matter of science, which plays a significant role in preventing and controlling the pandemic. Scientists from China, Sri Lanka and all over the world are intensifying their efforts on relevant research. However, the Biden Administration of the United States dictated its intelligence community in late May for a report on the origin of coronavirus within 90 days, they also openly claimed to press China for a so-called “full investigation” on this matter. Such bald-faced political manipulation and “presumption of guilt” against a targeted nation, violates not only scientific common sense but also the international equity and justice, which deserves to be disdained and opposed by the whole international community.

新冠病毒溯源对有效防控疫情具有重要意义，是包括中国和斯里兰卡在内世界各国科学家加紧研究的重大科学问题。然而今年5月下旬，美国总统拜登却命令中央情报局在90天内提交关于新冠病毒起源的报告，并且公然提出要对中国进行所谓“彻底调查”。美国政治操弄病毒溯源，并针对特定国家“有罪推定”，这种赤裸裸的做法既违背基本的科学常识，更是对国际公平正义的践踏，理应受到世界各国的鄙夷和反对。

Early this year, leading experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and China have already conducted a joint study in China on COVID-19 origins-tracing. During the 28-days-long study, the experts went wherever they want to go and met whoever they want to meet. An informative and authoritative joint study report was then officially released by the WHO, with key conclusions including “lab leak extremely unlikely” and serosurvey for early blood samples world-wide necessary. Based on that, the international studies are going deeper and broader. More and more countries, such as Italy, France, Brazil and the U.S. all have found samples positive for SARS-CoV-2 which had been collected earlier than the first reported cases in Wuhan, China. A preprint with The Lancet posted on 6 August, 2021 by researchers from University of Milan and Memorial University of Newfoundland finds evidence that COVID-19 “was circulating in Lombardy during the late summer of 2019” with SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected in September 2019, long before the outbreak in China. All these scientific findings highlight the vital necessity of searching earlier cases and conducting origins-tracing in multiple and various places around the world.

早在今年年初，中国和世界卫生组织的国际权威专家就已在华开展了为期28天的病毒溯源联合研究。专家们去了所有想去的地方，见到了所有想见的人，发布了翔实权威的联合研究报告，得出了实验室泄露“极不可能”、应在全球范围内寻找跟踪早期病例样本等重要结论。根据这一结论，相关国际研究不断扩大和深入，包括意大利、法国、美国、巴西等越来越多国家均发现了早于2019年12月中国报告病例的新冠病毒样本。8月6日，意大利米兰大学最新研究报告发现，在2019年9月的样本中检测出新冠病毒核糖核酸阳性，病毒可能早在2019年夏末就已在当地传播，远早于武汉报告病例。这再次说明在全球更广范围内继续寻找早期病例、开展多点多地溯源十分必要。

Encouragingly, the United States’ political manipulation on the pretext of origins-tracing gets no support but widespread opposition by the international community. Recently, 76 countries including Sri Lanka have voiced opposition to politicizing origins-tracing and emphasized the importance of upholding the joint WHO-China study report, via sending letters to the WHO Director-General or issuing statements. In addition, more and more scientists, politicians, media professionals and organizations have echoed this position at various platforms. It’s worth mentioning that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed firm opposition to politicization and stigmatization of the COVID-19 pandemic in his two phone conversations with President Xi Jinping. Days ago, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi reiterated Sri Lanka’s position on origins-tracing during our meeting. Both China and Sri Lanka agree that political manipulation on COVID-19 will do no good but hinder all countries’ efforts for early defeat of the pandemic.

令人欣慰的是，美国借溯源问题搞政治操弄的做法不得人心，已经遭到国际社会普遍反对。今年7月，76国致函世卫组织总干事或公开发表声明，反对将溯源问题政治化，强调中国—世卫组织联合研究报告理应得到尊重，不容蓄意篡改、歪曲。越来越多科学家、政治人物、媒体和组织也通过各种平台发出了支持的声音。特别值得一提的是，戈塔巴雅总统与习近平主席两次通话中均表示坚决反对将疫情政治化、污名化。时任卫生部长瓦尼拉奇日前与我会见时也重申了斯方在病毒溯源问题上的一贯立场。中斯双方一致认为，对新冠疫情的政治化操弄不仅无益于解决问题，更将阻碍各国早日战胜疫情。

The U.S. intelligence agencies have long enjoyed infamous reputation. Their credibility and ability oftentimes make people’s jaws drop. Mr. Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State and ex-director of the CIA, openly confessed that “we lied, we cheated, we stole”. In 2003, the U.S. hold a test tube of laundry powder as “evidence” provided by its intelligence agencies for Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction and then sent troops to a sovereign country. This war has led to death of around 200,000 civilians and the ghost of conflict is still haunting there. It would not be a surprise that the CIA’s so-called origin-tracing report only turns out as “Covid Investigation Artifice”, nothing but another piece of wastepaper. Facts will prove the so-called report fabricated by the U.S. intelligence community is bound to be torn to pieces again, just like its credibility on the Afghanistan issue after Uncle Sam’s hasty and panic withdrawal from Kabul.

美国情报部门早已臭名昭著，他们的信誉与能力屡屡令世人大跌眼镜。曾任美国中情局局长的前国务卿蓬佩奥曾公开表示，其任务就是“撒谎、欺骗、偷盗”。2003年，美国以情报部门提供的一瓶“洗衣粉”作为证据，指责伊拉克拥有大规模杀伤性武器并悍然派兵入侵，战争造成约20万平民死亡，战乱阴影至今未能消弭。可以预料，美国情报部门对于新冠病毒溯源问题的所谓调查报告只是中情局(CIA)的“新冠调查诡计”(Covid Investigation Artifice)，必定又是废纸一张。事实将证明，美国的所谓新冠病毒溯源调查报告同其在阿富汗问题上的信誉一样，将被再次撕得粉碎。