“At
the moment he is not trying to save the country, he is more worried of what will happen to his children in the future. Even the wealthiest
person on earth would not be able to give birth to three ‘billionaires’.
TMJ.
Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the US again gave the "lab-leak" theory a major boost, as its Energy Department, citing "new intelligence" but holding "low confidence" in it, joined the FBI in smearing China.
Reported exclusively by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Sunday, the claim immediately made headlines in major US news outlets. However, its timing and source "only show the low credibility" of the report, analysts said, adding that the new hyping of an old topic is part of the US' political and information warfare with China.
Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at Monday's routine press briefing that the origins-tracing of SARS-CoV-2 is about science and should not be politicized. Certain parties should stop rehashing the "lab leak" narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing the origins-tracing, she noted.
The WSJ reported that a classified intelligence report provided by the Energy Department to the White House and key members of Congress said the virus likely spread due to a mishap at a Chinese laboratory.
The department admitted to having "low confidence" in the conclusion, which was made after "new intelligence" was gathered by the department's network of national laboratories, according to the WSJ report.
One of the WSJ report's authors is Michael R. Gordon, who was behind the "weapons of mass destruction" narrative the US fabricated to justify its invasion of Iraq 20 years ago.
Lü Xiang, research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday that the timing of the hype is not a coincidence, and that the US will not leave COVID out of its "ammunition depot" against China.
China's smooth transition in its COVID-response policy over the past months didn't give the US a chance to attack China over an out-of-control epidemic or economic failings, which is why the US had to rehash the same old story, Lü said.
Lü also ascribed the latest hype to the earlier-than-usual presidential election campaign, as media will bring topics to the table for both parties to "make a fuss about."
The WSJ report has already prompted debate between Trump supporters and opponents on Twitter. Some netizens also suspected the report aims to divert public attention from recent US mishaps, such as the train derailment and chemical leak in Ohio.
The WSJ report remained very ambiguous in its wording despite its sensational headline. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said there is "not a definitive answer" on the origins tracing as the intelligence community has "a variety of views."
Being ambiguous and non-official and using media rather than government departments to announce something demonstrated the US' skill in fighting a political war, Lü said.
Hysterical crusades against China have become a signature of the US in our time. To win the competition with China, the US will not let a single chance go by to smear China, whether it is a balloon that has gone astray, a carefully planned "lab-leak" theory, or unfounded weapon supply accusations regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the expert said.
As we write this editorial, the hearing has not yet started, but we can roughly imagine what kind of scene it will be. From
the "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq to the "White Helmets" in Syria, they are all produced on the same assembly line. Historical
experience tells the world that no matter how many lies Washington spreads and how many humanitarian disasters it causes, its political
elites and media may not even blush. Otherwise, how could this shameful political farce be staged one by one?
Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday refuted the COVID-19 origin-tracing issue hyped up by US Ambassador to China, warning that
politicizing the issue will not smear China, but will only undermine its own credibility.
The US, with around 750 military bases across the globe, warships in most oceans, which is waging a proxy war, stirring up conflicts here and there, is now vehemently making a fuss about so-called "threats" it is confronting: Earlier this month, it was balloons, and now, it is TikTok.
The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have short-video platform TikTok on federal devices and systems, Reuters reported on the same day. In December last year, US Congress voted to bar federal employees from using the video app on government-owned devices. Now, US President Joe Biden officially tossed out the deadline.
The decision is as unreasonable as Biden's order to shoot down balloons with missiles. It is a typical irrational action generated by security anxiety stemming from a kind of mental illness, Shen Yi, an international relations expert from Fudan University, told the Global Times.
If the move reveals anything, it is that the US has gone hysterical in its anti-China stance while its relevant decisions have gone far beyond reality. TikTok has been trying to demonstrate its global nature. However, in the eyes of American elites, being born in China is an "original sin."
Over the past years, TikTok has been questioned on whether the Chinese government has access to US user data; whether its content is censored by China; whether its stored US user data is based on US soil … However, after TikTok appropriately responded and met all these requirements, the US still claims the app is a "national security threat."
In 2020, then president Donald Trump even tried to mandate that ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, strike a deal to sell TikTok's US operations. In other words, the US government has been attempting to harm this globally leading short-video platform which was not born in the US, using various excuses.
The latest ban is aimed at government devices and will only affect a small portion of TikTok's users in the US, yet some observers believe that, the US is actually attempting to fan the flames of a wider call to ban the app throughout the country. On the global arena, some US allies have already followed suit. Also on Monday, Canada announced a ban on TikTok from government-issued devices. Last week, the European Commission and Council of the EU, EU's two biggest policy-making institutions, banned staff from using the app.
It is a mystery why the US and its Western allies are afraid of TikTok, when there is no evidence to prove its "danger," and when it is basically a purely entertainment platform, which people can download out of their own free will. Against the backdrop, banning TikTok is absurd. And the US is behaving like the emperor in the folktale "The Emperor's New Clothes." Don't ask why he has no clothes, he is just being unreasonable and even mentally ill, Shen said.
"How unsure of itself can the world's top superpower be to fear a young people's favorite app like that?" Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, asked at a daily briefing on Tuesday, when responding to the White House's TikTok ban.
It cannot be ruled out that the Biden administration needs some scores to demonstrate its capability to keep staying in the White House and protect so-called US national security, observers noted. Moreover, reports show that TikTok was the most-downloaded app worldwide. That being said, killing TikTok means US internet companies will have one less competitor.
US Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said this latest decision on TikTok is "part of the Administration's ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people's security and privacy."
US officials keep talking about "American people's security and privacy," do they mean it? As George Galloway, a six-term British parliamentarian, tweeted, "It's American intelligence, not Chinese, which is coming through your back door, your front door and all of your windows."
Worse, it was speculated that Washington's balloon frenzy earlier in February has a lot to do with covering up the scoop over what US did behind Nord Stream bombing. There is also reason to suspect the hype of TikTok is aimed at distracting people from Ohio derailment and chemical spill. Thanks to social media platforms like TikTok, short videos can be uploaded anytime and anywhere. And they helped to push the story into the public when traditional mainstream media covered their eyes. US' crumbling railway system is shocking, and US government's attempt to cover up the toxic train has been nakedly exposed to the world.
The eagerness the US government has
shown in killing Huawei by cutting off Huawei from all American supplies
of less advanced tech components is unusual and surprising. It is
completely ..
