Biosafety protective suits for handling viral diseases are hung up outside a chemical decontamination room in a biosafety level 4 training facility at Fort Detrick Photo: AP

Chinese embassy to the US wrote a letter to The Washington Post after the newspaper posted an editorial related to COVID-19 origins tracing, calling the opinion piece “seriously misleading to readers.” 

The embassy said that Washington Post’s refusal to publish the embassy’s letter and later posting another “lab leak” article show the newspaper’s “no respect for science, facts or freedom of speech and of the press.”

The Washington Post editorial "Hunting the virus origins" dated September 1 alleged "It (China) created serious roadblocks during a joint mission with the World Health Organization earlier this year. Recently, government spokesmen have demanded a probe of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick, so China appears to be hiding something."

Chinese embassy said the editorial distorted facts about COVID-19 origins tracing and is seriously misleading. To get the record straight, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy responded to the editorial board with a letter, asking for it to be published, but the newspaper said no. 

After that, the WP published other editorials and letters claiming that SARS-CoV-2 was leaked from Chinese laboratories. This shows the US newspaper has no respect for science, facts, or freedom of the press and speech. “They refuse to be objective,” said the embassy.

Where have WHO experts been during their visit to Wuhan? What clues have they found about COVID-19’s potential origins? Graphic: Feng Qingyin/GT

The WHO experts visited China twice for origins tracing studies and they were given full access in Wuhan city. They visited every site on their list, met every individual they wanted to interview, and were provided with all the data they aspired. It is the US which is intentionally shutting its doors to origins tracing in order to cover up the truth, said the embassy.

It said that with considerable suspicions surrounding the military lab at Fort Detrick, an investigation into it has been demanded not only by China but also by the media and experts of many countries. Fort Detrick has long been engaged in coronavirus studies and modification, and had recorded multiple biosafety incidents.

Fort Detrick is not the only suspicious place. The team of Ralph Baric of the University of North Carolina (UNC) possesses mature capability in synthesizing and modifying coronavirus. 

From January 2015 to June 2020, the UNC reported 28 lab incidents involving genetically engineered organisms to the National Institutes of Health. Six of these incidents involved coronaviruses including SARS, MERS and the novel coronavirus. Altogether 8 researchers may have gotten infected. But disturbingly, most of the staff who were exposed to the virus only took the steps of wearing masks and recording temperatures, and they went on with their work and life as usual.

The above information is from open sources. It is not made up by the Chinese side to shift people's attention. If the world truly wants to prevent similar pandemics in the future, the truth is important. “As victims of the pandemic, the Chinese people have ample reason to ask: If the US side insists on the lab leak theory, shouldn't the US open up Fort Detrick and the UNC for international investigation? Shouldn't the origins tracing be conducted in multiple places over the world?” asked the embassy.