For over a year, the world has been preoccupied with fighting COVID-19. The tide of that battle has now turned. And it is now time for the free world to turn its attention to what caused this pandemic: the malicious and destabilizing behavior of the Chinese Communist Party.
As new evidence emerged over the last few weeks, the once pooh-poohed theory that the COVID outbreak may have initiated in a Chinese government lab is now being treated seriously. It is vital that we determine the truth of the virus’s origin and spread. This knowledge can help the world prepare to prevent the next pandemic.
Questions about the lab aside, it has long been known that virulent, communicable diseases often arise from zoonotic transmission–when humans catch diseases from animals. The problem is most acute where wild animals, domesticated herds and flocks, and humans are densely packed together. Parts of China are infamous for being “hot spots” for these types of outbreaks.
Five years before the COVID outbreak, a team of Chinese scientists wrote in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases: “Contributing factors that continue to affect emerging and re-emerging zoonoses in China, include social and environmental factors and microbial evolution, such as population growth, urbanization, deforestation, livestock production, food safety, climate change, and pathogen mutation.”
The world must understand how deadly, communicable diseases emerge out of China—because plagues out of China are likely again. The world must ensure it has global health surveillance in place to identify, prevent and mitigate future outbreaks. Understanding how COVID happened is vital if we are to plug the holes and gaps against future threats.
Clearly, however, the world cannot rely on China’s cooperation in the effort. Beijing has consistently sought to hide the truth, spread misinformation, and shift the blame elsewhere. There is zero chance China will ever voluntarily cooperate with an international investigation, let alone to agree to reparations. Rather, they will likely destroy evidence and aggressively counter efforts to hold the regime accountable.
The U.S. needs to lead a concerted and sustained intelligence effort to investigate the origins of COVID. Merely asking for a review of current intelligence is not adequate. In fact, this could be interpreted as a weak and indecisive response that avoids taking responsibility for getting to the bottom of the matter. Here are three steps that must be taken.
