The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months.

The Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus from the first weeks of the outbreak, despite statements supporting open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation found. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country.

The investigation drew on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews that showed the freeze began far earlier than previously known and involved political and scientific infighting in China as much as international finger-pointing.

    • @Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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      117 months ago

      Yeah, whatever the origin was, I’ve gotta assume that it doesn’t leave China looking good.

      My only question is whether they are covering up embarrassing incompetence or deliberate malice.

      • @barsoap@lemm.ee
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        137 months ago

        Nah if it was malice you’d see them openly defending the necessity of biological weapons research for the safety of the revolution and shit.

        This is the usual Chinese game of “lose more face by trying to save face in the hope that the rest of the world is Chinese and lets you get away with it”.

      • @Shard@lemmy.world
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        37 months ago

        Why not both? I’m guessing when we eventually see the full picture, its going to be Scooby Doo levels of malice and incompetence.