The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently started a new wave of claims against the U.S. as the origin of the coronavirus.
This was not the first time that the CCP made such an attempt. The last wave was initiated by China’s Foreign Minister Spokesperson Zhao Lijian who claimed that American soldiers brought the coronavirus to Wuhan. President Trump and other U.S. officials seriously and furiously rejected China’s blame.
On March 31, The U.S. Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus stated that Xi Jinping, in his conversation with President Trump on March 26, promised to control the Chinese side to keep it from blaming the U.S. China has since been quiet. (#1: Radio France International)
However, on April 23, China started the accusations again.
At a news briefing of the Joint Prevention and Join Control of the Coronavirus Mechanism of the State Council, a reporter asked Shi Yi, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences:
“Recently, foreign media reported that the U.S. military restarted the Fort Detrick Biochemical Research Laboratory in Maryland. Many local people began to flee when they got the news. Some people in the U.S. believe that there is multiple evidence indicating that the shutting down of the Fort Detrick lab in August last year was very suspicious. They suspect that the base may be the source of the novel coronavirus and caused the influenza pandemic in the fall and winter in the U.S. Then the virus mutated after American soldiers participating in the Wuhan Military Games brought it over to China and spread it in China. How do you view this issue?”
Shi Yi replied, “We have noticed relevant information on the Internet. Some people in the U.S. suspect that the Fort Detrick lab may be the source of the novel coronavirus. The U.S. has not provided a response publicly yet and we have no way to make a judgment.” (#2: China News Service)
Many Chinese media, including China Central Television (CCTV) and the government’s official site reported this Q&A. (#3: CCTV and #4: China’s Government Site)
Radio Free Asia commented that this was a well-arranged Q&A. A news reporter from an official media read a lengthy paragraph stating a prepared question (which was a statement rather than a question, which was a mixture of truth and misinformation). Then Shi Yi read back the prepared answer. In fact, the Fort Detrick lab was closed in July of last year due to the failure of the steam sterilization equipment; it now has a new wastewater treatment system. (#5: Radio Free Asia)
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Propaganda and Lies: CCP Accused U.S. and Italy as Virus Origins
- Propaganda and Lies: China’s Propaganda Machine Spread Zhao Lijian’s Accusation of the U.S.
- Propaganda and Lies: President Trump Responded to China’s Accusation
- Propaganda and Lies: U.S. Responded to China’s Accusation
- Propaganda and Lies: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Said Virus Was From the U.S.
1. Excerpt in Chinese:
美国国务院发言人摩根·奥特加斯3月31日（星期二）表示，中国国家主席习近平在上周四与美国总统特朗普的通话中，承诺将降低中共官方人员协同散布阴谋论的作法。据摩根·奥特加斯说，“习近平主席是否会履行他对特朗普的承诺，还有待观察。但至少在短期内，我们已经看到中共官员停止了重复转推这些阴谋论的作法。” 摩根·奥特加斯说，关注信息战的国务院全球接触中心(Global Engagement Center，简称GEC)发现，中共官员已不再像过去几周，对散播阴谋论如此“激进”。
报道称，摩根·奥特加斯当日是在美国智库“大西洋理事会”（The Atlantic Council）的探讨大国争夺战的视频会议上，做出上述表示的。
Source: Radio France International, April 1, 2020
http://www.rfi.fr/cn/中国/20200401-传习近平向特朗普承诺遏制虚假信息宣传
2. Excerpt in Chinese:
在23日的国务院联防联控机制新闻发布会上，中国科学院微生物研究所研究员施一表示，病毒溯源这一难题需要各国科学家深入研究。
当天有记者问：近期有境外媒体报道，美军重启位马里兰州的德特里克堡生化研究基地，当地很多民众得到消息后开始外逃。美国有人认为，有多个证据表明，德特里克堡生化研究基地去年8月被紧急关闭的原因十分蹊跷，怀疑该基地可能是新冠病毒的源头，并在美国造成秋冬季节流感大流行，之后病毒通过参加武汉军运会的美国军人在中国发生变异后再次暴发，请问如何看待这个问题？
“我们注意到互联网上相关信息，美国有人怀疑德特里克堡生化研究基地可能是新冠病毒来源的说法。美国方面对此没有公开回应，我们无从做出判断。”施一说。
Source: China News Service, April 23, 2020
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2020/04-23/9165684.shtml
3. Source: CCTV, April 23, 2020
http://news.cctv.com/2020/04/23/ARTIsTMlw3me14OozRYQ4isG200423.shtml
4. Source: Chinese Government Site, April 24, 2020
http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2020-04/24/content_5505607.htm
“美军投毒阴谋论”在中国官方的口径中消失了一段时间，直到4月23日的中国国务院记者会，以一个巧妙的形式，进入中国官方殿堂。
一位被安排发问的中国官媒记者拿着事先准好的问题，念了一段真假参半的”提问”，询问台上专家意见：”近期，有境外媒体报道美军重新启动位于马里兰州的德特里克堡生化研究基地，当地很多民众得知消息后开始外逃。美国有人认为，有多个证据表明，德特里克堡生化研究基地去年8月被紧急关闭的原因十分蹊跷，怀疑该基地可能是新冠病毒的源头……”
记者会上，中国科学院微生物研究所研究员施一念着事先准备好的稿子回应到，”美国有人怀疑德特里克堡生化研究基地可能是新冠病毒的来源，美国方面对此没有公开回应，我们无从作出判断。”
随后，这段官媒记者与中国官方的对答，以各种不同形式与标题在中国各大官媒传播。《环球时报》、凤凰台、《人民日报》做成视频，以问句方式下标：《病毒来源于美国德特里克堡生化研究基地？中方回应》；新华社则一连几天发出评论文章《美国疫情还有多少谜底待解》、《美国疫情时间线须尽早厘清》。
事实是，德特里克堡实验室早已在3月27日获美国疾病控制与预防中心批准重启。此实验室于去年7月被关闭的原因，是因为蒸汽消毒设备出现故障，已经启用了新的废水处理系统。
Source: Radio Free Asia, April 27, 2020
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/jt-04272020102908.html