03:25
Did China force US diplomats to take anal-swab Covid tests?
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3123673/coronavirus-tokyo-asks-china-stop-anal-swab-tests-japanese East Asia
Coronavirus: Tokyo asks China to stop anal swab tests on Japanese citizens
- Some of those subject to the tests complained of ‘psychological distress’, a top government spokesman says
- The US has also protested after its diplomats were also reportedly subjected to the tests, a claim denied by Beijing
A man holds a swab and tube used for nasal testing. Some Japanese employees in China have called coronavirus tests using anal swabs an action that would humiliate people. Photo: DPA
The Japanese government has requested China not to subject Japanese citizens entering the country to anal Covid-19 tests after receiving complaints of “psychological distress” from some of them, the top government spokesman said Monday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the government has made the request through the Japanese embassy in Beijing, although it has not been informed of any change in China’s policy on how it conducts the polymerase chain reaction tests for the novel coronavirus.
Kato said at a regular press conference the government will continue to urge China to exempt its citizens from such a test method, which is used on some of those quarantined or entering China, noting it “has not been confirmed anywhere else in the world”.
Already the United States has protested to China after learning some US officials were subjected to the testing method, according to CNN. Beijing has denied the claims.
Many Japanese employees in Beijing have criticised China’s carrying out coronavirus tests using anal swabs as an action that would humiliate people and could violate their human rights and dignity.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters later in the day that China has adjusted anti-epidemic measures “in a scientific manner” in accordance with “relevant laws and regulations”.