China clamps down on research into the origins of coronavirus as officials demand the right to vet scientific papers
- Two websites for Chinese universities allegedly put up and removed notices
- Notices said research papers would have to undergo special government checks
- Director of SOAS China Institute said China wants to ‘control the narrative’
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China is clamping down on research into the origins of the coronavirus after officials have demanded the right to inspect its scientific papers before they are made pubic.
Two websites for leading Chinese universities have allegedly recently published and then removed pages that discuss a new policy which requires academic papers about Covid-19 to undergo extra checks before they are published, according to The Guardian.
Both Fudan University and the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) allegedly posted notices saying that research on the origins of the coronavirus will be subject to government checks.
China is clamping down on research into the origins of the coronavirus after officials have demanded the right to inspect its scientific papers before they are made pubic. Pictured are two Wuhan residents
The director of the SOAS China Institute in London, Professor Steve Tsang, said that the Chinese government is more concerned with ‘controlling the narrative’ surrounding coronavirus than public health or economic fallout.
He told The Guardian: ‘If these documents are authentic it would suggest the government really wants to control the narrative about the origins of Covid-19 very tightly.’
The source who found the cached versions of the websites said they were concerned at what appeared to be a governmental coverup.
Two websites for leading Chinese universities have allegedly recently published and then removed pages that discuss a new policy which requires academic papers about Covid-19 to undergo extra checks before they are published
They added that researchers publishing other academic papers on different medical topics did not have to undergo the same examination process.
It is unclear whether this is a new governmental policy in China.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, put ‘tracing the origin of the virus’ on a list of national priorities as the exact origin of the pandemic is still unclear.
The Chinese embassy in London has been contacted for comment.
Both Fudan University and the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) allegedly posted notices saying that research on the origins of the coronavirus will be subject to government checks. Pictured are Wuhan residents
One widespread theory about the origins of the disease is that it began from a seafood ‘wet market’ in Wuhan after a human came into contact with an infected animal.
Scientists believes Covid-19 originated in bats and was passed to another animal before the first human was infected.
China has faced criticism after it didn’t shut down wet markets after previous outbreaks of coronaviruses such as Sars in 2002.
The director of the SOAS China Institute in London, Professor Steve Tsang, said that the Chinese government is more concerned with ‘controlling the narrative’ surrounding coronavirus than public health or economic fallout. Pictured are Wuhan residents
A senior research fellow of Chinese studies at Monash University, Kevin Carrico, said that while he wasn’t aware of these specific recent changes the allegations are in line with efforts from the Chinese government to control the narrative of the outbreak.
Mr Carrico believes the efforts have been made clear in communications from the government throughout the epidemic.
He said: ‘There is a desire to a degree to deny realities that are staring at us in the face … that this is a massive pandemic that originated in a place that the Chinese government really should have cleaned up after Sars.’