WHO Chief blames China for not sharing data on the origins of Covid-19 virus: Need to impose financial penalty

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused China of not sharing the proper data with the researchers appointed by the WHO to look into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. “In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data,” Tedros said. He also asserted that further probe was required on the allegations that the virus may have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, though he added that it was least likely. He expressed his desire to undertake additional missions with specialist experts for this task. This strengthened the global perception that the virus originated from the Chinese lab.

Chinese reaction was on expected lines. Chinese spokesperson Hua Chunying harped on the words that ‘the leak from the lab was least likely’ and tried to deflect the question for further probe by demanding that such investigations should be directed on other countries from where the virus could have leaked. The Global Times- a mouth-piece of CCP, selectively quoted Xin Qiang, a deputy director of the Centre for US Studies at Fudan University, who said that the virus could have many origins and some countries had reported earlier cases than China.
However, several authentic reports indicating that the Covid-19 originated in Wuhan are well documented. Dr Li-Meng Yan, a Chinese virologist, who had fled to the United States fearing persecution by the Chinese authorities, claims that the Covid-19 virus was created at Wuhan lab and is not natural. She also said that the genome sequence of Covid-19 looks like a human fingerprint and added that based on this, one can identify that the virus is not from nature. Last month, German scientist Dr Roland Wiesendanger from the University of Hamburg published his conclusion highlighting his reasons why Covid-19 could have leaked from the Wuhan lab. He asserted that there are no natural host for the Coronavirus which leads him to believe that it was created in the lab.

Broadly there are two theories on the origins of the virus. While some scientists concluded that the Covid-19 probably evolved naturally and infected humans via incidental contact with a wild or domesticated animal, others including microbiologist and biosafety advocate Richard Ebright, suggest that Covid-19 escaped from a biohazard laboratory in Wuhan. However, they all point out that it originated in Wuhan.
The Chinese state’s responsibility for checking the spread of the virus and concealing the report of its leakage from its lab gets confirmed by the Chinese authorities acts of destroying the evidence soon after its detection. That China took immediate measures to remove all the evidence from Wuhan are well-covered in media. It imposed strict censorship so that nothing should leak out from Wuhan. On December 30, eight doctors sent warnings on chat groups about the outbreak. Among the whistle-blower doctors was Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist. The eight were hauled up by police for “spreading rumours” and forced to sign statements withdrawing their claims. Dr Li later died in February from the Covid-19. Media reports also suggest that Chinese labs studying the novel coronavirus in late December and early January received orders to destroy their samples.

China continues to project that the virus was also simultaneously detected in other countries or that the US Army was responsible for the spread of virus. It launched a high voltage propaganda to cover its responsibility. China is not only trying to project that the virus did not originate in Wuhan but also that it was the first country to report. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The world knows that it concealed the information on this issue for number of days-from end of December to the third week of January.

The world in now convinced of the Chinese culpability over the Covid-19. Since WHO Chief’s statement on non-cooperation of China, the US and the UK, along with 12 other countries, have issued a statement of resistance against the WHO’s report and have accused China of “withholding access to complete, original data and samples”. They have demanded that China shares the real data on the origins with independent investigators.

The anti-Chinese feelings are on the increase since its efforts to conceal information on the origins came to light. Earlier a study by Sweden-based Lowy Institute, concluded that China suffered a diplomatic hit in the wake of the pandemic after accusations of withholding information about the severity of the Wuhan outbreak.
It is extremely sad that China instead of sharing the information on this issue continues to reject any suggestion for sharing the real data that can help in containing pandemic in future. The current pandemic caused havoc. The entire world is suffering because of the Covid-19 that originated from Wuhan.

The moot question is what should be done. The demand for seeking financial compensation has been on the increase for causing unbearable damage to the entire mankind. While a German newspaper earlier called for compensation of $ 160 billion, the then President of the US Trump stated that he would seek a lot more money than what Germany was talking about. Trump’s basic argument was that China could have taken steps to prevent the spread by issuing timely warning. The state of Missouri has filed a case in an American court against the Chinese government for failing to prevent the global pandemic. The current US President Biden has also blamed Xi for concealing information in the beginning. Similar voices were also witnessed in other countries inter alia UK, France, Australia, Italy and India that included well-established scientists.

Some experts have commented that it is difficult to make China accept the guilt based on the international principle of ‘no harm’. They point out that regulations in this regard are very weak. The allegation of Brazilian education minister Abraham Weintraub that coronavirus is part of China’s “infallible plan for world domination” has several takers in several countries, especially in those which perceive the Chinese hegemonic designs. But as biological and cyber-attacks have no visibility of conventional war, it becomes difficult to prove.
However, convincing circumstantial evidence is available. Not only there are indicators of Covid-19’s linkages with Wuhan lab but the Chinese motive is also palpable. China tried to exploit the situation for its expansion in Eastern Ladakh and the South China Sea clearly indicating its sinister motive. China’s image in international public opinion has taken a severe beating because of its role in spreading Covid-19. This impression cannot be erased even by its high voltage propaganda using different means including social media platforms. The argument that Chinese national were also the victims of the Covid-19, does not hold good as for China, its national are dispensable commodity for national-level objectives.

It may be mentioned when international regulations were weaker than the present system and there was no League of Nations or any international organisation in 1919, Germany was made to pay heavy reparations by the Treaty of Versailles. Similarly, after the Second World War, Germany and Japan were made to pay reparations after the Potsdam Conference 1945 and Treaty of Peace 1951 respectively. The current pandemic is compared to world wars in terms of fatalities and destruction.

While China’s use of the Covid-19 virus as an instrument of biological warfare would be difficult to prove, the Chinese culpability at least in concealing the information is well established and supported by the current WHO Chief. This itself should attract a severe penalty. The comity of nations should seek reparations from China as an exemplary punishment so that such acts are not repeated in future.