坚持科学溯源 反对政治操弄

Uphold Science-Based Origin-Tracing and Oppose Political Manipulation

陈晓东

Chen Xiaodong

当前新冠病毒变异引发的新一波疫情在世界蔓延，国际社会更需聚焦合作，通过科学手段携手抗疫。但美国非但不关心不解决自身日益严峻的疫情，反而沉醉搞政治操弄，捣鼓世卫组织所谓“第二阶段病毒溯源计划”，纠缠“实验室泄露病毒”等谬论。包括中国在内的众多国家已清楚地对此表明立场：这份所谓工作计划同第73届世卫大会决议要求不符，同中国-世卫组织新冠病毒溯源联合研究报告的结论和建议不符，受到了严重的政治化干扰，是一份违背科学客观原则、缺乏合作精神的文件。

As variants of COVID-19 are now triggering new waves of infections around the world, the international community needs to join hands to fight against the pandemic with science. However, instead of focusing on addressing its increasingly severe COVID-19 situation back home, the United States indulges in political manipulation and masterminds the so-called WHO’s work plan on the second-phase origins study and mouths fallacies such as the so-called theory of a lab leak. Many countries including China have clearly stated their position in this regard: this so-called plan does not comply with the resolution of the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA), and is inconsistent with the conclusions and recommendations of the WHO-China joint mission report. The plan was heavily disrupted by politicization and was a document that lost scientific principles and objectiveness, and lacked a spirit of cooperation.

病毒溯源必须反对政治操弄。病毒溯源是严肃的科学问题，绝不能将政治凌驾于科学之上，不能将政治私利置于人民生命健康之上。我们看到，从去年公然把病毒称为“武汉病毒”，到悍然退出世卫组织，美国从一开始就试图把疫情政治化、病毒污名化、溯源工具化，甚至无视科学家的辛勤工作，改用情报手段进行所谓溯源，炒作有罪推定的“实验室泄漏论”。美方用心昭然若揭，就是转移自身抗疫不力的责任，达到抹黑打压别国的政治目的。在美国政治操弄及施压下，不久前出台的第二阶段溯源计划起草过程不透明，事先未征求成员国意见和建议，未经成员国充分广泛协商，明显偏离客观中立立场。在全球抗疫形势依然极其严峻的情况下，美国罔顾科学事实，用政治伎俩操弄病毒溯源，大搞“有罪推定”，是对全球抗疫的不负责任，进一步破坏了全球溯源合作的基本氛围。

Political manipulation must be opposed in origin-tracing. Origin-tracing is a serious scientific issue. Politics shall never be allowed to be placed before science. Political interests cannot be above people’s lives and health. The US openly called COVID-19 the “Wuhan Virus” last year and withdrew from WHO. From the very beginning, the US has tried to politicize the pandemic, stigmatize the virus, and use origin-tracing as a tool and it is still doing so. It even turns a blind eye to the hard work of scientists by resorting to the intelligence community to conduct origin-tracing and hype up the so-called lab-leak theory with the presumption of guilt.

US motives are obvious to all: to evade the responsibility of its incompetence to fight the virus and achieve the political goal of discrediting and suppressing other countries. Due to the political manipulation and pressure imposed by the United States, the Phase II origin study plan introduced not long ago was not drafted in a transparent manner. The plan obviously deviated from an objective, neutral position because the opinions and suggestions of WHO’s member states were not included. The plan was not fully and extensively negotiated among member states. In the tough global fight against the COVID-19, the United States turns a blind eye to science, uses political tricks to manipulate origin-tracing of the virus, and advances the narratives of “presumption of guilt”. This is an irresponsible act and will further undermine the atmosphere of global cooperation on origin-tracing.

病毒溯源必须秉持科学精神。探究在全球肆虐的新冠病毒起源、传播及演变，是国际科学界面临的艰难课题，其科研举证过程复杂，需要众多生物学信息和流行病学证据汇聚成相互支持的证据链，耗时长且存在不确定性。只有推动在全球多国多地范围内开展早期病例搜索、分子流行病学、动物（中间）宿主引入等多方面溯源研究，完全以科学证据为指引，才更有希望找到最有可能的病毒起源。一段时间以来，已有越来越多2019年下半年全球多点多地出现新冠病例的报道，仅在美国就有至少5个州的新冠病毒感染情况早于美国首例确诊病例报告时间。一系列研究显示，美国、西班牙、法国、意大利、巴西等多国出现遭病毒侵袭痕迹的时间早于武汉首例病例。这些都说明，新冠病毒溯源是一个复杂的科学问题，应基于全球视野，由国际科学界合作开展。

The spirit of science must be held in origin-tracing. It is an arduous task for the international scientific community to explore the origin, transmission and evolution of the raging COVID-19. It is a complex process to collect evidence in a scientific way, and a wealth of biological information and epidemiological evidence is required to establish a mutually supporting evidence chain. This is a time-consuming process fraught with uncertainties. In order to locate the most likely origin of the virus, efforts need to be made in the search for early cases, molecular epidemiology, animal (intermediate) host introduction, among others, in many countries and regions worldwide under the guidance of science.

For some time, more and more cases of COVID-19 have been reported in multiple locations around the world. In the United States alone, COVID-19 infections occurred in at least five states earlier than the time when the first confirmed case was officially reported. A host of studies show that traces of the virus appeared in the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Brazil and other countries earlier than the first case in Wuhan, proving once again that COVID-19 origin-tracing is a complex scientific issue, and should be carried out by the international scientific community in a cooperative manner with a global perspective.

病毒溯源应尊重权威报告结论建议。中国一直以开放的态度参与国际溯源合作。中方已两次邀请世卫组织专家来华开展溯源联合研究，为此付出了巨大努力。专家们去了所有想去的地方，见到了所有希望见到的人。经过年初为期28天的中国实地考察，今年3月，34名多国专家组成的世卫组织-中国联合专家组发布了联合研究报告，得出了“实验室泄漏极不可能”的科学结论，并提出“在全球范围内搜寻可能的早期病例”、“研究冷链传播病毒的可能性”等重要建议。研究报告关于病毒来源的结论是中外专家经过大量认真、细致的研究工作得出的科学、客观、权威结论，得到国际社会和科学界公认，标志着当前阶段中国范围内的新冠病毒溯源研究已有科学结论，这理应是下阶段全球溯源工作的重要基础。第一阶段已经开展过的，尤其是已有明确结论的研究，第二阶段不应重复开展。

Conclusions and recommendations of authoritative reports should be respected in origin-tracing. China has always kept an open mind towards international cooperation in origin-tracing. China twice invited WHO experts to China to conduct joint research on origin-tracing and put in tremendous efforts to this end. The experts went wherever they wanted to go and met all the people they wanted to meet. After a 28-day field visit to China at the beginning of this year, the WHO-China joint expert group composed of 34 experts from multiple countries issued a joint report in March this year, with the scientific conclusion that “it is extremely unlikely that a laboratory leak caused the first COVID-19 cases”. It also put forward important suggestions such as “searching for possible early cases worldwide” and “studying the possibility of cold chain transmission of the virus.”

The conclusion of the report on the origin of the virus is scientific, objective and authoritative based on a wealth of serious and meticulous research work by Chinese and foreign experts. It has been recognized by the international community and the scientific community, and established authoritatively that there is already a scientific conclusion to the origin-tracing study of the COVID-19 in China. This conclusion should be an important foundation based on which subsequent global origin-tracing efforts should be carried out. As the first phase of research has already concluded and clear conclusions have been drawn, a second phase in China is apparently redundant and uncalled for.

病毒溯源应听取国际社会正义呼声。新冠病毒溯源的目的是把病毒源头搞清楚，以便有效采取措施，防止类似疫情再次发生，而不是为了指责某个国家，更不能让国际社会走向分裂。借疫情污名化、将溯源政治化的图谋和行径，只会遭到国际社会坚决反对，注定不会得逞。迄今已经有近60个国家致函世卫组织，认同第一阶段溯源研究成果，反对溯源政治化图谋。我们高兴地看到，非国大、南非共等已就此发表声明，南非多名政府官员、专家、学者近来纷纷积极发声，要求全面反思新冠疫情，反对溯源政治化、污名化及意识形态化。这是客观、科学、正义之声，理应受到重视和倾听。

The voice of justice from the international community should be heard in origin-tracing. The purpose of tracing the origin of COVID-19 is to find effective measures to prevent similar epidemics, as opposed to blame a certain country and still less to divide the international community. Attempts and acts to stigmatize other countries using the virus and politicize origin-tracing will get nowhere. They will only be resolutely opposed by the international community. To date, nearly 60 countries wrote to WHO to uphold the results of the first stage of origin-tracing and oppose politicizing origin-tracing.

We are pleased to see that the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party have issued statements on this matter opposing political manipulation. Many government officials, experts, and scholars in South Africa have also aired their views to demand a comprehensive reflection on COVID-19 and oppose attempts to politicize, stigmatize origin-tracing or take an ideological view on this issue. This is an objective, scientific, and just voice that should be heard and valued.

南非也曾深受病毒污名化、标签化之苦。中方愿与南方一道，继续秉持开放、透明、科学、合作的精神，共同维护溯源研究的科学性和严肃性，共同抵制溯源问题政治化，共同反对政治操弄，共同维护全球抗疫合作良好氛围。

South Africa was also plagued by COVID-19-related stigmatization and labeling. China stands ready to work with South Africa to uphold the spirit of openness, transparency, science, and cooperation, ensure scientific and serious origin-tracing research, oppose politicizing origin-tracing and political manipulation, and maintain good global cooperation in the fight against COVID-19.