Maybe they meant the death sentence for the team of scientists working on coronavirus research at the Wuhan virology lab, that surely must have had to make some kind of statement to the Chinese state if it did exist. I’m sure they have the greatest interest to leave the rest of the country and world in the dark.
This happens to a lot of Chinese scientists. Quite a number of them were silenced during Covid for expressing opinions contrary to the State propaganda.
As far as I know, the government may have tried, but the scientists themselves were not down with it.
This sort of culture of the openness of science is why the Chinese government distrusts scientists inherently. And also why Shi Zhengli has maintained an extremely consistent story with the pandemic despite the government's changing its story like 3 times. Also why they've since silenced her. They don't trust their own citizens, and definitely not their own scientists.
3. Experts who conduct or fund virology research don't want it to be true, because it would inevitably cause a massive clampdown on what research is allowed and how it is conducted. It would also cause lasting damage to the field's reputation and prestige. Eg. imagine being a nuclear researcher in the aftermath of Chernobyl.
4. People who have significant personal or business ties with China are concerned that a finding of culpability will result in escalating tariffs and other sanctions, damaging China's economy and potentially causing collateral damage for those who do business with Chinese firms.
Some more background on this. First, an interview in Science from a few months back[1]. I very much trust the reporting in that interview (Kai Kakape is an award-winning science journalist), but it also has the air of words being chosen very carefully.
Second, this thread[2] is very interesting. The Chinese government is freaking out pretty hard against the idea of doing more of a real investigation. I'm not sure how all the pieces fit together, but I find it curious for sure.
I uh, don’t see anything in this article except fluff? It basically says ‘researchers were in wuhan’.
The original I read had such helpful statements as ‘the chinese government insisted that every outside researcher was accompanies by a chinese partner’, ‘the government took days to procure the data, and when they finally did, a lot was missing’ and ‘a visit to x was denied for unclear reasons’.
I’m sorry, I’m vaguely remembering these, so they may not be 100% accurate.
Then the western researchers made one gloriously ambiguous statement while still in China, and turned about after they left the country.
If I remember rightly, the news articles about those US scientists embedded in Chinese laboratories eventually admitted about half-way in that they wouldn't have access to any more useful information on Covid-19 than the US already had. Which, of course, made the articles kind of pointless except as a way of stoking outrage amongst people who didn't care about little details like that.
> The result would be uncomfortable not just for the Chinese Communist Party
Outside of the ethnic cleansing that's already going on? Pfft.
> It would shake science to its foundations for carrying out risky research despite clear warnings of the dangers, and then collaborating in an epic whitewash.
The grand statement in the face of history rings hollow.
> it would challenge a media that meekly accepted the establishment view
The "media" is as corrupt as the politicians (since access is traded as part of information dealing), but you still have some marginal sources that never give up on various theories. Unsurprising that what's considered crackpot and credible shifts under our feet. Facts are hard to come by, when they are withheld.
Can we add?: Why aren't the people behind GoF in Wuhan (from grant funders, to scientists, to CCP) shouting from the rooftops that their research (1) was necessary all along and justified their fight to protect it (2) and can now quickly lead cures and vaccines, as promised?
Instead, nothing. In their perfect moment of glory and justification, they prefer you didn't notice their work.
I think you might find that labs like the one in Wuhan are or were being operated at arms length by US companies and individuals anyway. I doubt much will happen here, maybe some funding cuts
That's an interesting perspective, but faced with an immediate painful death I doubt science would be on your mind. Not to mention that it's not known if the research obtained is useful at all. There's already a serious crisis in Chinese science in terms of falsified results.
I don't think anyone should be absolutely sure one way or another, but China is a pretty big place and the country only has two labs at that level. Coincidences happen, yes, but this one seems pretty unlikely.
What is up with these comments? State sponsored behavior modifications? Eugenics? Public propaganda while hiding some sinister truth? China isn't some kind of dystopian conspiracy-laden techno-thriller enemy state. The team simply wanted to sneak this experiment past medical practice laws and scientific ethics -- they probably would have been fined and punished in a similar fashion have they done it in the U.S or Europe.
Keyphrase: Health scientists OUTSIDE of China. They're not in China. They don't have the independence to investigate. They have no way to say one way or another. There has not been an independent, forensic investigation into the origins because the CCP controls everything in China.
interesting and compelling analysis. Their response was also swift. The complete isolation of Wuhan so early also makes me think they knew it was an accidental release.
To me, the most likely explanation is that one or more researchers became ill or died and WIV triggered the release protocol. This isn't the fault of PRC but this plus the treatment of Uigher, illegal fishing, IP theft etc. Can we just say F China as this point and bring our manufacturing back to the US and its allies? China has good people but their government shouldnt be allowed superpower status given their transgressions.
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