A Chinese virologist Yan Li-Meng, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong who came under spotlight accusing Beijing of Coronavirus coverup recently, has alleged now that the novel Coronavirus came from a People's Liberation Army (PLA) lab, without elaborating it further.
As of now the many foreign researchers have suspected that the global pandemic-- which affected over 17 million people and killed more than 679,000 individuals globally— could be a result of the virus leaking from a Wuhan lab.
In a recent live stream interview with Lude Press, Li-Meng said in her research into the human-to-human transmission of the Coronavirus, she found that the source of the outbreak is a PLA lab. As per the Chinese scientist, she had "clearly assessed" that the virus SARS-CoV-2 came from a military lab of the Chinese Communist Party, and "the Wuhan wet market was just used as a decoy." But when she reported it, her superior did not take it seriously.
Exposing CCP
The Chinese virologist, who is currently hiding at an undisclosed location, said that it would be impossible for her to report the discovery to the higher officials in the Chinese Communist Party, as she knew that "once I spoke up, I could disappear at any time," like many Hong Kong protesters. Now she says that it is her responsibility to get the information out before disappearing.
While talking about the Communist regime, Li-Meng explained that as she was raised and educated in the CCP-ruled country, she knew the capabilities of the government. She felt an urgency to reveal the truth would help other countries to understand about the regime.
Earlier in an interview with Fox News, she claimed that her former supervisor, Leo Poon had assigned her to investigate a cluster of COVID-19 cases, reported in December 2019. Li-Meng said a friend of hers who is a scientist at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in China told her that the virus can transmit from human-to-human. After that, when she delivered more evidence about the outbreak in mid-January, her supervisor told her to be "careful."
Li-Meng said Professor Malik Peiris, visiting professor and co-director of a WHO-affiliated lab in Hong Kong University, knew about her findings but did not take any action. It was because Peiris knew how the Chinese authorities treat whistleblowers to hide the facts about the epidemic, said Li-Meng.
HKU Response
In response to the Fox News interview, HKU said in a statement that Li-Meng had been a post-doctoral fellow and former staff member before leaving Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight in April 2020. However, the university claimed that the assertions made in the previous interview do not present the key facts "as we understand them."
The university also denied Li-Meng's involvement in the Coronavirus human-to-human transmission research between December 2019 and January 2020 and would not comment further on the matter.
However, Li-Meng co-authored a paper with the university colleagues on novel Coronavirus transmission and the research findings were published in the scientific journal Nature in May 2020, with the title "Pathogenesis and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in golden hamsters."
People's Liberation Army (PLA) Lab
As biotechnology and genetic engineering have developed in recent years, China's national strategy of military-civil fusion has highlighted biology as a priority. It was thought that the PLA would expand and exploit this knowledge, though research on gene editing, human performance enhancement, and more.
PLA's medical institutions have emerged as major centers for gene editing research and other new frontiers of military medicine and biotechnology. The PLA's Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS) was placed directly under the supervision of the Academy of Military Science, which itself has been transformed to concentrate on scientific and technological innovation.
However, recently as per the U.S. Department of Justice, four individuals have been charged in the U.S. with visa fraud in connection with a scheme to lie about their status as members of the PLA while conducting research in America. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said,
These members of China's People Liberation Army applied for research visas while hiding their true affiliation with the PLA. This is another part of the Chinese Communist Party's plan to take advantage of our open society and exploit academic institutions. We will continue to conduct this investigation together with the FBI.
