Fauci doubts about the origins of the covid-19 6:08
Hong Kong (CNN) -
After weeks of facing fierce attacks from Republicans, America's leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci now has new critics: Chinese state media.
"The American elites further degenerate in morality, and Fauci is one of them," was the headline of a scorching opinion column written by Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the State-run
Global Times
, this week.
In the article, Hu accused the top US infectious disease expert of "stoking a big lie against China" by exaggerating the theory that the coronavirus leaked from a Wuhan laboratory.
Another
Global Times article
stated that Fauci had "betrayed the Chinese scientists."
ANALYSIS |
Origin of covid-19: why there is new interest in the Chinese laboratory leak theory
Anger centers on Fauci's comments this month that he is no longer convinced that the covid-19 pandemic originated naturally.
"I think we should continue to investigate what happened in China until we continue to find out as best we can what happened," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said at a fact-checking symposium in May.
The comments appear to be a change from Fauci's earlier view that the disease was likely the result of transmission from animals to humans.
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Fauci's comments were followed by a
Wall Street Journal
exclusive
, citing a US intelligence report, which said that three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill enough in November 2019 to seek hospital care, one revelation that, if true, could add weight to growing calls for further investigation into whether the coronavirus may have escaped the Chinese lab.
Origin of covid-19 is again at the center of the debate 1:57
Unsurprisingly, China has vehemently refuted the report, echoing its repeated rejection of any claim linking the origin of the virus to the laboratory.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the report was "totally inconsistent with the facts" and a laboratory director called the report "a complete lie."
Meanwhile, Chinese state media have lashed out at Fauci, saying he has joined a "war of opinion against China."
The attack on Fauci is a sea change from the positive portrayal of him in previous coverage.
Last year, when Fauci repeatedly spoke out against the Donald Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, Chinese state media published enthusiastic reports praising the scientist for his professionalism and courage in telling the truth.
Dr. Fauci says he is not convinced that covid-19 developed naturally
Since then, Fauci has tried to clarify his comments.
On Tuesday, he told CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang that his opinion on the origins of COVID-19 has not changed and he still believes that its origin in nature is "very likely."
“Since no one is 100% sure, he is open to a thorough investigation.
Dr Fauci said that does not mean that he believes the virus first emerged in a laboratory, as some have suggested, ”Jiang wrote on Twitter.
However, it is not clear if that will redeem its image in China.
Covid-19
