{"id":227043,"date":"2021-01-06T15:59:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T23:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=227043"},"modified":"2022-09-09T18:21:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T01:21:22","slug":"who-team-denied-entrance-to-china-while-hebei-deals-with-virus-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2021\/01\/who-team-denied-entrance-to-china-while-hebei-deals-with-virus-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO Team Denied Entrance To China While Hebei Deals With Virus Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, rebuked the Chinese government for blocking a team of WHO researchers investigating the origins of the coronavirus from entering the country. Team members were preparing to depart for China\u2014two researchers were already en route\u2014when they learned that their visas had not been approved by Chinese authorities. At CNN, Helen Regan and Sandi Sidhu detailed the back-and-forth between Dr. Tedros and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Hua Chunying, and the breakdown in WHO-China relations it reflected<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very disappointed with this news,” Tedros told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday. “I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made clear that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team.”<\/p>\n

[\u2026] In a press briefing Wednesday, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, said China had “always held an open, transparent and responsible attitude” on tracing the origin of the virus.<\/p>\n

[\u2026] In order to ensure that the international expert group that comes to China can work smoothly, it is needed to fulfill the necessary procedures and make relevant specific arrangements. The two sides are still negotiating about this,” said Hua. [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Early on in the epidemic, the WHO came under fire from the U.S. government and others<\/a> for apparently acquiescing to undue Chinese influence in its reporting on the virus. Since the initial outbreak, the Chinese government has attempted to maintain tight control of information surrounding the coronavirus. Citizen-journalists who reported on the crisis have been jailed or disappeared<\/a>, while propaganda authorities have issued numerous directives restricting coverage<\/a>. State media organs have implied that the virus originated abroad<\/a>. During the first days of January, Chinese social media was rife with speculation that coronavirus might have been introduced to China through imported auto parts<\/a>, until the chief epidemiologist of China\u2019s CDC shot down the theory. Research into the origins of the virus is so politically fraught that the central government has mandated that all scientific research into its origins pass a State Council review before publication<\/a>. At The Washington Post, Emily Rauhala and Lily Kuo interviewed the head of the WHO\u2019s investigative team and laid out the team\u2019s research goals<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

The team will start by revisiting the earliest coronavirus cases and reinterviewing people as it works backward, looking for clues, according to Peter Ben Embarek, a food safety expert and head of the mission.<\/p>\n

The scientists will try to reconstruct what happened at the Huanan Seafood Market in central Wuhan, initially linked to the outbreak, retracing everything that went in and out of that market in November and December 2019, Ben Embarek said, including products, animals and goods. From there, the team will \u201ctriangulate\u201d the results, trying to determine a possible source.<\/p>\n

[\u2026] Phelan noted that the scientists selected for the upcoming mission do not have a great deal of experience operating in China, where information is tightly controlled, and may not be well equipped to navigate choppy political waters.<\/p>\n

The WHO, said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, \u201cneeds more savvy diplomats.\u201d [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

The delay and the comment point to the many challenges facing the WHO team tasked with investigating. The challenges are both scientific and political. 3\/<\/p>\n

— Emily Rauhala (@emilyrauhala) January 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n