China Brief: What did WHO uncover in Wuhan?
A weekslong World Health Organization (WHO) investigation into the origins of the coronavirus came to a spluttering end this week. The investigators simultaneously dismissed suspicions that the virus could have originated in a laboratory leak and endorsed Beijing-backed conspiracy theories about possible origins beyond China.
The investigation was a propaganda victory for the Chinese authorities and a bizarre misstep by WHO, which botched early information about the pandemic while pandering to Beijing and has faced frequent criticism for being too close to China. The Biden administration was quick to express skepticism, with good cause.
All indications are that the coronavirus originated through zoonotic transfer, most likely connected to China s largely unregulated trade in wild animals. But numerous theories have hypothesized that the virus emerged from one of Wuhan s laboratories, one of which was conducting research on bats. The only evidence for this is sketchily circumstantial despite leaks from the Trump administration pushing the story.
But WHO s investigation of the issue was hardly thorough. Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO team leader, said he had questioned lab personnel extensively: They re the best ones to dismiss the claims and provide answers to all the questions. But this isn t true, especially in an autocratic system that often scapegoats people for accidents: Lab personnel would have every reason to cover up the story.