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China out of U.N. wildlife survey for pandemic controls

30 Comments
By Francesco Guarascio

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30 Comments

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What a surprise: China doesn't think it needs to be a part of any international organizations and will generate the next pandemic through sheer stubborness.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

What I've been saying for years. The CCP is the enemy of the entire human race. This is no exaggeration. Xi talks and acts exactly like Thanos.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

How irresponsible is Modern China?

Don't they feel any guilt or a sense of responsibility for humanity?

SARS (2002-2004)

COVID-19 (2020-present)

For a country with a great history, the current leadership puts the country to shame.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Since no pandemic has ever been originated in a lab this would be a waste of resources compared with the surveys being conducted in natural reservoirs, that bring much more useful and pertinent information.

I usually cheer your posts and have my own doubts about the Chinese origin of SARS-CoV2 but I would not be too sure about the safety of labs. At least one SARS outbreak in Beijing is traceable to staff from a virology lab there.

https://www.cdc.gov/sars/media/2004-05-19.html

https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/gb-spotlight-20040427-03

4 ( +5 / -1 )

How about looking at lad leaks?

It is a fact that infections are commonly caught in laboratories.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Is China trying to hide something? or is deliberately trying to spread a virus?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The truth never comes out of China.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

All China is doing is making themselves look more sus

1 ( +1 / -0 )

China's hesitancy to join the U.N. project involving other Asian nations may compound frustration by global researchers who have been pressing Beijing to share information about the origins of COVID-19, as they seek to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease transmission.

Seems the global researchers made the key mistake in expecting that China would assist in joining the project.

If they could figure out how to eliminate lab leaks, that would be a great start.

Nowhere in your quote the WHO says it is impressed with China's transparency. It just thanked it because of the very limited information it offered, but never supported the personal claim you are making.

A simple read shows in fact the WHO did say it was impressed with China's transparency:

*said its work and commitment to transparency were “very impressive, and beyond words.*

He said China still allows wildlife breeding on a massive scale for fur trade, traditional medicine, pet trade and for entertainment or display in low welfare conditions.

I'm not worried about fur coats so much as another lab leak.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Interesting that the WHO relied so heavily, and believed China on this matter when this whole pandemic broke out.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

What is interesting about it?

Happy to let you in on it. Most people not involved in the science or medical fields had little interest in this topic.

China was the only country with the information about the initial outbreak, who else would provide it? and no the WHO reported on what information China was giving, it never vouched for it to be complete and truthful.

The WHO didn't vouch for China being complete and truthful? Why did the WHO congratulate China then?

*"The Chinese government is to be congratulated **for the extraordinary measures it has taken to contain the outbreak," Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, said at a press conference on January 30. "In many ways, China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response."*

Looks like the WHO is vouching for China's response with such accolades.

Seems like the WHO agency wasn't being "complete and truthful" though:.

Despite publicly lauding China, WHO officials complained privately that the country wasn't sharing vital information.

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-coronavirus-hid-information-delayed-response-who-2020-6

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/how-china-blocked-who-chinese-scientists-early-coronavirus-outbreak-n1222246

0 ( +3 / -3 )

No, in fact the WHO was impressed with China's transparency (unless you mean the WHO is not an international expert):

Nowhere in your quote the WHO says it is impressed with China's transparency. It just thanked it because of the very limited information it offered, but never supported the personal claim you are making.

From your very own source

A January recording obtained by the AP shows that Michael Ryan, executive director the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, compared China's response to its handling of SARS. 

"This is exactly the same scenario, endlessly trying to get updates from China about what was going on," Ryan said to colleagues, according to the AP. "WHO barely got out of that one with its neck intact given the issues that arose around transparency in southern China."

Saying that China has issues around transparency is precisely the opposite of what you want to misrepresent about the article, in fact it helps proving the opposite of what you claim.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I still don't trust China and the WHO, which said China was being transparent in an impressive way.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The scientific consensus is it was a lab leak. Namaste!

Since you were completely unable to present even one respected scientific institution that support that claim even after this was explicitly mentioned you are only making it obvious this is not the case.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I still don't trust China and the WHO, which said China was being transparent in an impressive way.

Now that was funny

0 ( +1 / -1 )

How about looking at lad leaks?

Since no pandemic has ever been originated in a lab this would be a waste of resources compared with the surveys being conducted in natural reservoirs, that bring much more useful and pertinent information.

It is a fact that infections are commonly caught in laboratories.

So are houses, or gyms, or any other space with humans in them, that does nothing to negate the fact that for the purpose of pandemic control natural wildlife is an astronomically more likely source of emerging or re-emerging diseases.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

China won't participate in lab leak surveys either. Thankfully, be ause the WHO has been complicit in promoting China's handling of the pandemic from day one. We need to make sure no more pandemics are created in labs.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

China won't participate in lab leak surveys either

Hardly suprising seeing how it has been repeatedly criticized for this lack of transparency by international experts long before the pandemic began, much more once it became clear it was hiding cases and deaths during it.

Thankfully, be ause the WHO has been complicit in promoting China's handling of the pandemic from day one. We need to make sure no more pandemics are created in labs.

One, you have still to demonstrate the personal claim you keep making about the WHO doing anything but repeating the information given by China when it was the only source of information available about covid. Two, there has been exactly zero pandemics originated on a lab, the natural sources are still a much higher priority to stop.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Someone claiming China was criticized for lack of transparency: No source. Just a personal opinion. Soneone claiming China was praised for its commitment to transparency: Source--the WHO.

Hmmmm...a bit difficult, but I'll go with the claim backed up by the source.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

The truth does not come out of China but shame on the W.H.O for praising China for its impressive transparency, when it wasn't at all.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

So now it is acknowledged that the WHO praised China for being transparent

For the small contribution of the genetic sequence of the virus, but not for the rest of the way they treated the pandemic, something that has been heavily criticized by the WHO and other scientific authorities repeatedly.

You still have not argued how the genetic sequence was not transparent.

And no big deal China isn't participating in this project, especially when the experts believe the pandemic resulted from a lab in Wuhan.

That claim is false, easily proved the moment you don't offer any respectable scientific institution supporting this as the cause of the pandemic. The scientific consensus is that the natural origin is the hugely more likely source of the pandemic, the same as it has happened for every other pandemic in history.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The scientific consensus is it was a lab leak. Namaste!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Interesting that the WHO relied so heavily, and believed China on this matter when this whole pandemic broke out.

What is interesting about it? China was the only country with the information about the initial outbreak, who else would provide it? and no the WHO reported on what information China was giving, it never vouched for it to be complete and truthful.

I usually cheer your posts and have my own doubts about the Chinese origin of SARS-CoV2 but I would not be too sure about the safety of labs. 

If the purpose is to increase biosafety and biosecurity then there is no problem in investing on security measures and protocols, but when the purpose is to avoid pandemics the resources are simply much more efficiently invested in the source of every pandemic that has happened instead of focusing on a theory that has already been proved to be much less likely to be true.

Lab leaks can happen, specially with pathogens already adapted to humans (from the animal source) but pandemics originating in a lab? a much more difficult situation.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Hardly suprising seeing how it has been repeatedly criticized for this lack of transparency by international experts long before the pandemic began,

No, in fact the WHO was impressed with China's transparency (unless you mean the WHO is not an international expert):

*"Throughout January, the World Health Organization publicly praised China for what it called a speedy response to the new coronavirus. It repeatedly thanked the Chinese government for sharing the genetic map of the virus “immediately,” and said its work and commitment to transparency were “very impressive, and beyond words.”"*

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-coronavirus-hid-information-delayed-response-who-2020-6

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

The truth does not come out of China but shame on the W.H.O for praising China for its impressive transparency, when it wasn't at all.

There is no problem with the small contribution China actually did (the viral sequence) it has been already confirmed as veridic by the data of other countries, the problem is trying to misrepresent this as a generalied judgment to the full conduct of the country, which is not true, the WHO has crtiiziced repeatedly the lack of transparency and openess from the Chinese government, even on references brought on this comment section trying to say the opposite.

Seems the global researchers made the key mistake in expecting that China would assist in joining the project.

One thing is to understand the global benefits of China joining the project and another very different to actually expect the country to suddenly begin behaving according to the global priorities, when the country that is more likely to originate the next pandemic is not cooperating in preventing this the situation can be frustrating, even if unfortunately an expected outcome.

A simple read shows in fact the WHO did say it was impressed with China's transparency:

On a small contribution they made, not the whole pandemic response, against it it has repeatedly criticized the country.

I'm not worried about fur coats so much as another lab leak.

The brest experts of the world do worry much more about another natural introduction, not lab leaks that have not ever originated any pandemic.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Mere opinion.

That is an argument, the comment clearly specifies the importance is related to pandemics, ignoring this to make a point is obviously invalid.

The article, which is a scientific source, contradicts your personal opinion.

The article you brought as a reference do not mention laboratory leaks as the origin of any pandemic, so there is no contradiction.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

So now it is acknowledged that the WHO praised China for being transparent. And no big deal China isn't participating in this project, especially when the experts believe the pandemic resulted from a lab in Wuhan.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I still don't trust China and the WHO, which said China was being transparent in an impressive way.

Why? do you have any source that says the genetic sequence of the viral genome was not correct? because that is the collaboration the WHO qualified this way. If this small contribution was transparent there is no problem in recognizing it, specially at a time when convincing China to help more would have meant many more lives saved.

Unfortunately this appeared to be an exception of the Chinese contributions and not the rule, which is why it has been heavily critized until now.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Happy to let you in on it. Most people not involved in the science or medical fields had little interest in this topic.

There is nothing interesting on a misrepresentation that do not reflect the actual situation, if only one country has the information about the pandemic it is not logical to find interesting that people have to rely on that country to get that information, it is terribly obvious there was no other option.

The WHO didn't vouch for China being complete and truthful? Why did the WHO congratulate China then?

Because they end up at least sharing something, and it was necessary for more information to be shared, so it is much more productive to congratulate them for this limited amount than antagonize them for not being open and trutful, that would have a cost in lives around the world, something that unfortunately still happened.

Looks like the WHO is vouching for China's response with such accolades.

Where in that quote it says the information is precise and complete?

Despite publicly lauding China, WHO officials complained privately that the country wasn't sharing vital information.

There you have proved yourself wrong, the WHO clearly did not trust China, nor considered the information complete, they still had to convince it to do more, they never said their collaboration was as complete as they actually promised in the case of emerging diseases outbreaks.

Once you bring yourself evidence that refutes your point it becomes clear you already understand your previous beliefs are wrong.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

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