Urge not to be frivolous: what China could hide in Wuhan

V. Andriukaitis, who is currently the Special Envoy of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, assured that until now only investigations are being carried out on the possible origin of the virus.

“One should appreciate the World Health Assembly meeting that took place a few weeks ago. It presented an interim report on coronaviruses worldwide. (…) It raises many additional questions about the reaction of Member States and about what to do, what theories could justify the spread of the virus from certain wild animals to humans, “he said in the program.

According to V. Andriukaitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not interfere with political evaluations.

“It was decided that in the future a large group of experts will be formed to answer those questions. There were several statements in the same assembly that were more political in nature, but the WHO is distancing itself from any political statement,” said V. Andriukaitis.

L. Kasčiūnas, the representative of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) in Seimas, mentioned all the mistakes made by China in the program.

“We probably all understand by now that the WHO is not a ‘holy cow.’ There are problems there, you will also need to find out how you reacted to the situation. There have certainly been many independent studies in various western states. They unanimously state that at the time that the virus was at its peak in Wuhan, China, even then, official local authorities assured that the virus would not be transmitted from person to person, ”conservative L. Kasčiūnas recalled the events of six months ago on the Delfi Diena program.

At the same time, the politician assured that “very serious information” had been withheld for a long time.

“Even more interesting, after all, it was possible to see the voice of freedom, which tried to penetrate through social networks, several doctors, who said that the situation is very serious, were sent to the security services. Several studies show very interesting things. If at least a week earlier there had been a response to the Wuhan virus outbreak, the disease could have been controlled by approximately 66 percent, if three weeks earlier, even 95 percent could have controlled that outbreak, “said L. Kasčiūnas in the program.

“Naturally, we are talking about an authoritarian state that hides information,” said the MP.

No need to panic

V. Andriukaitis, in response to L. Kasčiūnas’ statements, asked that all available data be put on the table, assessing the parliamentarian’s position as “politicization”.

“The very beginning when a doctor detected the virus and probably China’s reaction was, as they say, probably well beyond the country due to the same fact. (…) As far as I know, China has acknowledged that it has not denied this mistake by itself. And everything else, unfortunately, it is necessary to have an investigation that is isolated both from social networks and from certain political fields that use this tool, “said V. Andriukaitis.

He reiterated, as in February, that there was no need to panic.

“The coronavirus pandemic continues. There can be no reassurance, but there is no need to cause panic, there is no need to persuade fears,” said V. Andriukaitis, who participated in the program.

He said he did not question WHO data on the global coronavirus pandemic situation.

“I can say with great responsibility: the data published by the WHO, with an interval of several days, is verified, there is no doubt about it and there is no reason to do it,” he assured.

“Mask diplomacy”

L. Kasčiūnas urged not to be frivolous in the “Delfi Diena” program, hoping that China will be held accountable if research indicates that the response to the pandemic was too late.

“Expecting China to take responsibility would be very frivolous, certainly it will not be. Clearly, there is international law, you can talk about the search for justice. But there is no global legal mechanism, nor the so-called pandemic court. (… ) In an ordinary court, China should agree to sue, which is highly questionable, “said the MP.

He said he saw several targets that China was pursuing through the pandemic.

“We have to be with the United States, China will try to take advantage of the entire pandemic, it can be called ‘mask diplomacy’. When one of these agents became a semi-savior, this could be seen when humanitarian aid was introduced in the countries Europeans with very useful messages. Where their main strategic objectives are is the concept of a global Silk Road, as well as the telecommunications sector, 5G connectivity, “he said.