3 ms·

I disagree with this point of view. It only encourages covering things up. The US frequently has it's own lab incidents including even with anthrax (this was re

I disagree with this point of view. It only encourages covering things up. The US frequently has it's own lab incidents including even with anthrax (this was reported in some of the Newsweek articles). There's no indication of carelessness or violations of lab procedures in the Chinese labs yet. This could have happened anywhere in the world. The problem now is that there is no real investigation into the true source of the outbreak. That is all we should be demanding right now. And if it turns out to have escaped from the lab that does not imply a need for punishment beyond perhaps the lab director and those in an oversight position. What is more important is probably to recognize how dangerous it is to work with bats and that much greater safety precautions be taken with them even when not working on gain of function research. And the entire world needs to learn how to research infectious diseases in a safer way that doesn't create outbreaks.

petre 7y ago
Maybe you're right, but what about the CCP culture of covering things up and finding scapegoats? Do you trust the CCP to conduct this investigation? Because I do not. And I doubt they would let a board of international experts conduct it and cooperate with them. They'll just cover things up like they're used to, punish some innocent people for spreading rumors or alleged negligence or who knows what. Let's not forget that he CCP is a totalitarian state actor which throws innocent people in reeducation camps, harvests organs from Falun Gong practitioners and sells them abroad, abducts people critical of its regime, claims that Taiwan is part if China etc. The only thing we can do is handle it like we handle Iran or North Korea. They only get a free pass because they're the PRC and we build stuff cheaply there with their blessing and the blood sweat and tears of Chinese people working in subhuman conditions.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  "culture of covering things up and finding scapegoats" That sounds bad, doesn't it?
- twelve40 6y ago
  > The only thing we can do is handle it like we handle Iran or North Korea That sounds like a great way to _never_ find out what really happened, and boycott 1.4 billion people in the process.
  - petre 6y ago
    We already know what happened: messing around with wildlife. Wildlife smuggling. Open air markets where meat is processed near potentially sick wild animals that are kept in cages. Bushmeat (Ebola). Caring for camels who got it from bats (MERS). Preparing monkeys for dinner, whoops a knife cut (AIDS). Habitat destruction (Lyme). There's a reason they're called zootonic diseases. Maybe another accidental lab escape. Does it really matter? Then what? Wildlife smuggling should have been banned anyway but I guess "lab escape" sounds more pressworthy. I realize there are people who have no other option or education in Africa but China is quite a different story.

petre 7y ago

Maybe you're right, but what about the CCP culture of covering things up and finding scapegoats? Do you trust the CCP to conduct this investigation? Because I do not. And I doubt they would let a board of international experts conduct it and cooperate with them. They'll just cover things up like they're used to, punish some innocent people for spreading rumors or alleged negligence or who knows what. Let's not forget that he CCP is a totalitarian state actor which throws innocent people in reeducation camps, harvests organs from Falun Gong practitioners and sells them abroad, abducts people critical of its regime, claims that Taiwan is part if China etc. The only thing we can do is handle it like we handle Iran or North Korea. They only get a free pass because they're the PRC and we build stuff cheaply there with their blessing and the blood sweat and tears of Chinese people working in subhuman conditions.

perl4ever 7y ago
"culture of covering things up and finding scapegoats" That sounds bad, doesn't it?
twelve40 6y ago
> The only thing we can do is handle it like we handle Iran or North Korea That sounds like a great way to _never_ find out what really happened, and boycott 1.4 billion people in the process.
- petre 6y ago
  We already know what happened: messing around with wildlife. Wildlife smuggling. Open air markets where meat is processed near potentially sick wild animals that are kept in cages. Bushmeat (Ebola). Caring for camels who got it from bats (MERS). Preparing monkeys for dinner, whoops a knife cut (AIDS). Habitat destruction (Lyme). There's a reason they're called zootonic diseases. Maybe another accidental lab escape. Does it really matter? Then what? Wildlife smuggling should have been banned anyway but I guess "lab escape" sounds more pressworthy. I realize there are people who have no other option or education in Africa but China is quite a different story.