US is guilty of "origin-tracing terrorism"

Ignoring the research results on origin-tracing of the novel coronavirus reached by global scientists under the framework of the World Health Organization (WHO), the US has aggressively hyped up the "lab leak" theory, and ordered intelligence agencies to investigate the virus.

These actions have proven once again that the so-called "investigations" have nothing to do with science or the truth, but only serve the US agenda of stigmatizing China.

The US attempts to link the origin of the virus with China and even Asian countries as a group have caused rising anti-Asian sentiment in the US and some other countries in the West. Many people of Asian descent are facing discrimination, oppression and even physical violence.

The US is also playing dirty tricks on the scientific community, stifling the righteous voice of scientists, subjecting many outspoken scientists to verbal abuse and threat of physical assault. Some media have called such behavior "origin-tracing terrorism".

The previous US administration hyped up the ridiculous theories of "man-made virus" and "lab leak". In response, the joint WHO-China study report published on March 30, 2021 stated clearly that "a laboratory origin of the pandemic was considered to be extremely unlikely".

Currently, COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US both top the world, but the COVID-19 vaccination rollout there is slowing precipitously. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that the US is at a critical moment in the fight against pandemic as the Delta variant circulates around the country.

A pedestrian walks past a COVID-19 testing billboard in New York, the United States, July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Instead of paying attention to their domestic anti-pandemic situation, certain US politicians have called for a second round of investigations in China, attempting to make the country a scapegoat and divert attention away from the US' obvious failures in tackling the pandemic domestically.

The study of origins is a serious matter of science, and the job should be jointly carried out by scientists. The second phase of origin-tracing should be conducted based on wide consultation by WHO member states, and what has already been conducted during the first phase, especially where conclusive findings were already reached, should not be repeated.

The US' denial of the joint WHO-China study report, as well as its manipulation of the second phase of origin-tracing, both based on presumption of guilt, are in defiance of science and truth, and will not result in any just or objective conclusions.

There is a great deal of evidence to prove that COVID-19 broke out in multiple countries around the world as early as the second half of 2019. People in five US states were infected with COVID-19 well before those states reported their first cases. The US has ignored this, and never investigated any of its bio laboratories, including Fort Detrick and the over 200 overseas labs. The principle of transparency the US often talks about is nothing but lip service.

And it's even more ridiculous of the US to ask its intelligence agencies to trace the origins of the virus. In fact, these agencies have a list of bad records, including murder, overthrowing governments of other countries, promoting "color revolutions" and instigating unrest.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was also the CIA director, once said, "We lied, we cheated, we stole… we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."

The US' acts of politicizing virus origin-tracing and practicing "origin-tracing terrorism" are a continuation of the CIA actions of lying, cheating and stealing.