Chinese news anchor claims coronavirus started in US lab before being transmitted to China
In an Arabic program, a Chinese state media presenter has claimed that the coronavirus originated from a lab in the United States and was then transmitted to China.
In an opinion show on CGTN, a Chinese anchor named 'Ms. V' referred to several conspiracy theories when she stated that "it is clear that the virus in China was transmitted from abroad." She added that the COVID-19 virus escaped from a US research facility or had been brought into China during the Military World Games in Wuhan last October, an annual sports event attended by over 100 countries, Daily Mail reported.
The seemingly baseless claims were first drawn from unidentified research by Ms. V in one episode of her show called 'China View.' "The research also reported that the virus had started spreading after the Wuhan International Military Games ended in October 2019. So, it is expected that the 'patient zero' in China has come from outside China," said Ms. V in the video uploaded on March 17.
During her CGTN show, the news anchor based her claims on a report made by the Asahi Corp. of Japan to justify her claims.
"The Asahi Corp. of Japan published a report in the past days indicating the possibility of new cases of coronavirus in the United States among deaths caused by influenza infection and the US government recently recognized this possibility," said Ms. V. "This news has caused a widespread debate on social media about the possibility of the virus being transmitted to China from abroad during the period of the Military Olympic Games in Wuhan, which was attended by 109 countries, including the United States."
According to the South China Morning Post, the existence of such a news report was denied by the Japanese broadcaster.
When it came to pushing the conspiracy theory that the contagion had escaped a lab facility in the US, V said "CDC suddenly and completely shut down" the Fort Detrick Biological Weapons Laboratory in September after failing to "fully prevent the loss of pathogens."
It was highly likely that Ms. V was referring to the Maryland lab which was partially closed by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention over sanitation concerns in July last year. It reopened in April this year.
The anchor concluded: "It is concluded that the new coronavirus has started outbreaks in the United States for a while and its symptoms were like symptoms of other diseases, so it was easy to hide the truth."
Zhao Lijian, a Chinese government spokesperson, wrote a tweet in March that said it "might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan," echoing one of the conspiracy theories pedaled in the country. After the Pentagon called the suggestion "false and absurd," Zhao stated that his post was "a reaction to some US politicians stigmatizing China."
China and the US have been in a consistent war of words over the source of the deadly disease, which has infected over 2.2 million people worldwide. Meanwhile, the video reflected the fact that ties between China and the Arab world have grown stronger after China's trillion-pound Belt and Road Initiative to start building infrastructure in the region.