“Determining the origin of the novel coronavirus should be a joint scientific research effort, rather than a unilateral investigation into China,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday, following an open letter released by a group of “international scientists” calling for the issue to be investigated again.
This letter, published in the French newspaper Le Figaro and signed by more than 30 Western scientists, calls for a new scientific study on “all the plausible hypotheses concerning the origin of the virus” and requests “unlimited access to all files , samples and relevant personnel in China and elsewhere ”.
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference that these calls for an alternative investigation exposed the real views of some countries on the presumption of guilt and political manipulation.
“This is not the first time that so-called international scientists have resorted to sensationalism. It is ignorant of them to publish unverified information and make irresponsible remarks, ”the spokesperson criticized. “Some have a political inclination or pose as scientists,” he observed.
Wang Wenbin hopes that the signatories of this letter, who have been manipulated and are unaware of the truth, will succeed in finding the path of scientific rationality. He recalled that the correct way to determine the origin of the virus was to trust scientists, to defend a scientific attitude and to follow scientific methods.
“The right direction is to comply with the requirements of the World Health Organization (WHO) resolution and the findings of the joint mission reports on the Covid-19 epidemic, to conduct further scientific research and to cooperate on a larger scale, ”he stressed.
“Any politicization of this issue poisons the atmosphere of scientific research, hinders global cooperation and undermines global anti-epidemic efforts,” he insisted, urging some countries to stop their “clumsy performance” and make positive contributions to save lives and promote health.
At the same time, Wang Wenbin announced that new revelations showed that the United States had forced companies to install “backdoor” programs in digital devices to obtain user data in violation of the rules.
The United States is the main threat to global cybersecurity, he says, pressuring companies in other countries under the guise of safeguarding cybersecurity and at the same time touting a so-called “clean network”, which is an example. typical of their two weights and two measures.
“The United States is not really looking to preserve cybersecurity, but rather to put pressure on its competitors and to maintain its hegemony in cyberspace. […] We call on the international community to jointly expose and reject US practices, which threaten global cybersecurity and undermine international rules, ”he added.