Chinese military may have been in possession of COVID-19 bioweapons much earlier than thought, scientist says

A leading vaccine scientist has uncovered evidence suggesting that the Chinese military may have actually had the COVID-19 virus months earlier than previously believed.

Writing in The Epoch Times, Dr. Joe Wang noted that in a report titled “Potential Links Between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Origin of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” released by Office of the Director of National Intelligence on June 23, there was little new information for someone like him who has been closely monitoring this matter. However, on page 5, a noteworthy revelation emerged from the report: the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) had apparently developed a technique that effectively eliminated any discernible genetic modifications in SARS-like coronaviruses, leaving behind no detectable traces.

“Some of the WIV’s genetic engineering projects on coronaviruses involved techniques that could make it difficult to detect intentional changes,” the report said.

The motivation behind the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s (WIV) pursuit of such a technique remains a subject of speculation. It is worth noting that scientists at the institute had indeed been openly publishing their virus-related research, including studies on the “genetic modification of SARS-like coronaviruses,” in reputable scientific journals. This suggests that they did not appear to have a desire to conceal their published work.

However, it is possible that the published research represented only a fraction of their overall scientific endeavors, leaving room for undisclosed or unpublished research. The nature and content of such unpublished research remain unknown, leaving room for speculation and further investigation, Wang continued.

Prior to the ODNI report, investigative journalists in the United States brought to light an intriguing claim in early June. According to their findings, three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) named Ben Hu, Ping Yu, and Yan Zhu allegedly contracted COVID-19 in the autumn of 2019, making them potentially the initial patients of the disease.

These researchers were purportedly involved in the study of SARS-like viruses and were conducting experiments related to “gain-of-function.” Gain-of-function experiments aim to modify a pathogen’s characteristics to examine its potential impact on human health. Such modifications can enhance the infectiousness or lethality of viruses, Wang noted further.

The WIV denied such allegations. “The recent news about so-called ‘patient zero’ in WIV are absolutely rumors and ridiculous,” Ben Hu told the journal Science in June.

“I was hoping that the ODNI report would shed more light on the origin of SARS-CoV-2. It didn’t, but a patent application I found through a web search strongly suggests that the Liberation Army (PLA) had the genetic sequence of the virus in its possession as early as September 2019,” Wang continued. “This would fit well with the allegation that the three WIV scientists were infected by the virus in the fall of 2019.”

Wang added that it is “worth noting that the same allegation was made by the Department of Justice in a fact sheet published Jan. 15, 2021, which said the U.S. government had ‘reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak.'”

The initial instances of the unusual pneumonia, which later became recognized as COVID-19, were documented in Wuhan in December 2019. However, the Chinese Communist Party reportedly suppressed the news around that time, as it coincided with preparations for the Lunar New Year — a period when the dissemination of negative information is typically discouraged, Wang noted.

Whistleblowers like Dr. Wenliang Li faced repercussions for their attempts to raise awareness. According to official accounts, Chinese virologists did not have an opportunity to study the novel virus until early January 2020.

Then he added: “I am a vaccine scientist who worked for one of the world’s largest vaccine companies for more than 10 years, and I spearheaded SARS-CoV-1 vaccine development in 2003. I was stunned by the speed these PLA inventors were able to not only study the new virus and develop and test a vaccine so quickly, but also put together a patent application in merely 44 days.”

China’s military unleashed this virus on the world. That much seems crystal clear now.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Science.org