State-run China Daily newspaper censors opinion article by European Union ambassadors
- The US has been putting pressure on Beijing to reveal the origin of the virus
- The top Chinese diplomat overseeing operations at the World Health Organisation rejects the idea of arranging an international investigation mission to Wuhan
China has censored an opinion article in a state-run newspaper co-authored by all European Union ambassadors in Beijing, removing a mention insinuating China as the origin of the coronavirus, the EU confirmed on Wednesday.
This comes as the top Chinese diplomat overseeing operations at the World Health Organisation rejected the idea of arranging an international investigation mission to Wuhan, the city where the first outbreak occurred last year.
The US has been putting pressure on Beijing to reveal the origin of the virus, and China has repeatedly pushed back, accusing Washington of pursuing a political agenda rather than a scientific one.
The European Union has been leading efforts to draft a resolution for the upcoming World Health Assembly at the WHO, though the Post understands that it faces opposition from China over the inclusion of origin in a probe that the resolution is expected to call for.
02:06
The latest incident, over the China Daily article published on Wednesday, follows simmering tension between the EU and China over the latter’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.