While the pandemic is affecting millions of people worldwide, many people accuse China of a foul play in its role of spreading the virus. These accusations range from controversial lab activities to failing to contain the virus, the role of China during the time Covid-19 was on an initial rise has been suspected to be foul by many. We in this blog are going to take a deep dive into the country's role in the spread of the pandemic and will also see how the country might try to satisfy its desire for world dominance.
I got this idea behind writing this blog when I saw in the news that a Chinese virologist fled to the US from Hong Kong. The virologist, Li-Meng Yan has accused China of foul play in its role with the handing of Covid-19. She, with many other expert virologists, was asked by the University to study a SARS-like virus that is coming out of Mainland China at the end of December 2019.
After a few days, these experts at the University were not allowed to talk about it but on the other hand, they were asked to wear masks at all times. There was also a change in the tone of the people who were dealing with the virus, like the authorities and the other scientists at the University when they were asked about the virus.
Yan, after seeing all this decided to pack her bags and leave the country for good. She took a flight from Hong Kong to the United States and left the country. She was chased by the Chinese government by asking her to shut her mouth about the news of the virus and various cyber-attacks were plotted against her. The Chinese authorities also thrashed her apartments in Qingdao in the hopes of finding a proof of her whereabouts in the US. They also questioned her parents about the same.
This is not the first time China has been accused of foul play by its scientists. On 30th December 2019, a doctor at the Wuhan Central Hospital, Dr. Li Wenliang shared a message with his fellow doctors warning them about the outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin and also advised them of wearing protective gear at all times when at the hospital. Later Li was summoned by the authorities for spreading false reports and disturbing the social order. He died of coronavirus after a month on 7th February 2020.
China's role has been heavily criticized by many in the spread and handling of the virus. People also suspect China of deliberately spreading the virus so that the world order could be shaken, trade may be affected and China's medical equipment manufacturers could be given an upper hand in the entire scenario. This could only be confirmed if the world initiates an international level investigation against the country, and also if whistleblowers like Yan come out of the dark and speak openly about the truth.
I am not accusing China of actually playing a foul act in the Covid-19 outbreak, but since there are so many people accusing the country of doing such a thing, I can only think where there is smoke, there is a fire.