The full text from the Introduction of Horizon Advisory’s second report in the Coronavirus Series is copied below. The report, titled The Prestige: Sensible Questions about the Wuhan Lab, was authored by Horizon Advisory’s Emily de La Bruyère and Nathan Picarsic.
Introduction from The Prestige: Sensible Questions about the Wuhan Lab
The first cases of COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, a city in Hubei Province. Also in Wuhan is the Chinese National Bio-Safety Laboratory – a cell within the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Virology dedicated to coronavirus research and the United Nations’ reference laboratory for infectious diseases. This is a remarkable coincidence. It may be no more than that. It does not mean that COVID-19 came from the Wuhan laboratory. But the global silence on this coincidence illustrates the degree to which China controls global narratives.
The history of the Wuhan National Bio-Safety Laboratory reveals China’s strategic manipulation of the international regulatory system for prestige and power – as well as the potential global risks that come of such manipulation. Beijing gamed international systems in order prematurely and unnecessarily to govern the world’s most dangerous pathogens. Its hold over international systems is such that it continues to do so even after covering up the emergence of a global pandemic – and at no point has been called upon to account for its safety protocols or preparedness. This is emblematic of a larger Chinese strategic approach not just to international medicine and biotechnology, but across the board: transportation, agriculture, telecommunications, children’s toys, cyber security.
This research note is part of a series documenting the Chinese reality of and response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It documents the Wuhan Laboratory’s history in order to raise questions for Beijing. This note also documents the Wuhan Laboratory’s history in order to illustrate the manner in which China manipulates global systems, medical and otherwise – systems designed to protect international health and security but that, if subverted, can devastate those.