Just Saying | China-US Cold War heats up with coronavirus conspiracy and cover-up charges
- Yonden Lhatoo breaks down Beijing’s latest broadside at Washington in the context of the growing hostility between the world’s biggest economic and military powers
In response to a relentless barrage of American accusations over the origin of Covid-19 and the extent of China’s responsibility and culpability, Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily has challenged the US to answer 10 awkward questions suggesting that the pot should not be calling the kettle black if it wants to complain about cover-ups.
Here’s a sampling of the mysteries China wants the US to explain.
“Regarding the restarted avian influenza virus modification experiment last year, why does the US release no more updates?” The implication here is that the Americans may have raised the risk of human-to-human transmission of bird flu.
“The US Department of Health and Human Services ran a scenario last year that was similar to the Covid-19 outbreak. Is this just a coincidence?” This highlights a health emergency drill that simulated a fictional outbreak involving a group of tourists visiting China who then spread it to the US and other countries. It also draws attention to a high-level pandemic exercise last October which simulated a scenario identical to the one Americans are now saying they were not warned about.