US House Foreign Affairs Committee releases reports on the origins of the covid pandemic

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McCaul Releases Final Report on Origins of COVID-19 Pandemic

Blog 09.21.20

Report uncovers additional evidence showing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and World Health Organization are culpable in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic

Click Here or Above to Read the Report

Washington, D.C.- Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul released the final report detailing the investigation into the origins and initial handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, following the interim report released in June 2020. This investigation further uncovered how coronavirus spread throughout China and to other countries because of the CCP’s cover-up, as well as grave missteps by the World Health Organization. In addition, it builds on recommendations in the interim report to better protect the world from another pandemic.

“As we continued our investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, we uncovered even more disturbing evidence about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) coverup and WHO Director General Tedros’s gross mishandling of the virus that allowed it to turn into a deadly pandemic,” said Lead Republican Michael McCaul. “It is crystal clear that had the CCP been transparent, and had the head of the WHO cared more about global health than appeasing the CCP, lives could have been spared and widespread economic devastation could have been mitigated. Revealing the truth is just the first step; we must hold both the CCP and WHO Director General Tedros accountable for the suffering they have allowed the world to endure.”

This report builds on research conducted for the interim report and utilizes multiple sources of information including WeChat logs and social media posts from doctors and residents of Wuhan, domestic and international open source media reports, academic papers, peer-reviewed scientific research, think tank products, and public assessments from the American and French intelligence communities.

Rep. McCaul also serves as the Chairman of the China Task Force, a group of lawmakers working to find and address the most serious threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party. A summary of the final report’s findings on the CCP’s cover-up and WHO’s missteps will be included in the upcoming China Task Force report.

Background

Early Stages of the Pandemic:

CCP officials knew about human to human transmission and took steps to hide it from the public as the virus spread both inside and beyond its borders. (pg. 12-13)

The Chinese Communist Party’s Cover-up:

There are multiple examples of the CCP harassing, detaining, and in some cases disappearing journalists, scientists, and healthcare professionals who were telling the truth about the CCP’s handling of coronavirus. (pg. 27)

As early as mid-December, the CCP had enough information to assess it was legally obligated to inform the WHO that the outbreak in Wuhan was an event “that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” (PHEIC) but they chose not to in violation of international law. (pg. 30)

The CCP nationalized their medical supply chain in early February, directing the production of medical supplies, including U.S. companies’ production lines in China, to dramatically increase and stop foreign exports so that they could stockpile Personal Protective Equipment. (pg. 33)

This is further evidence the CCP knew how catastrophic this virus could be before they took steps to warn the world.  (pg. 33)

Had the CCP been transparent and followed international health regulations, it is estimated that, at a minimum, the CCP could have prevented two-thirds of cases in China before the end of February. This would have enabled an earlier and more focused global response. (pg. 36)

The Wuhan Institute of Virology:

There are documented concerns about the safety and integrity of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, including in State Department Cables. The CCP still refuses to share lab samples from WIV that would help assess if WIV played a role in the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. (pg. 42-43)

World Health Organization Missteps:

The WHO refused to heed warnings from Taiwan and Hong Kong about human to human transmission. (pg. 44-45)

WHO Director General Tedros had enough information to declare a PHEIC on January 23^rd, though he opted not to; this decision violated WHO mandates. (pg. 45)

The evidence shows the decision to not declare a PHEIC was likely political in nature rather than scientific. (pg. 46)

WHO guidance has routinely lagged behind the scientific community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to not recommending the widespread use of masks for 130+ days, their guidance on aerosol transmission has been widely criticized by health experts. (pg. 47-48)

The WHO has been complicit in the spread and normalization of CCP propaganda and disinformation. According to outside experts, the WHO’s public statements were “heavily influenced by the Chinese Communist Party”. (pg. 50 – 51)

Recommendations:

Director General Tedros should accept responsibility for his detrimental impact on the COVID-19 pandemic response and resign as head of the WHO. (pg. 57)

Taiwan should be readmitted to the WHO as an observer to ensure that future warnings about potential health and emergencies do not go unheeded. (pg. 58-59)

We recommend the WHO fix the deficiencies outlined by the Administration, adopt the recommendations of this report through internal action where possible, and make preparations for improvements and reforms that need to be ratified by the World Health Assembly at its next meeting or emergency session. By remaining part of a WHO that is ready for change, the United States can be drive forward the necessary reforms of the International Health Regulations and the WHO. (pg. 59)

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed several flaws in the International Health Regulations that must be reformed to help mitigate the spread of future health emergencies.  (pg. 60)

https://gop-foreignaffairs.house.gov/blog/mccaul-releases-final-report-on-origins-of-covid-19-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR14QEqzdLfolVw09El1yvTy0R8aEbYnzN69oHlubfduJbFnJoLgquZH_e0

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The Republican Party of the U.S. House of Representatives releases the complete report on the origin of the pandemic

Publisher : Voice of America / Editor : He Yating

Ref : https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2020/09/22/a102946793.html / Direct translation

The Republican leader of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives released a full version of the investigation report on the origin of covid, the outbreak process, the response of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese government's handling after the outbreak . The content lists multiple evidences and details accusing the Chinese government of concealing the epidemic and virus threats, and accusing the World Health Organization of failing to perform its duties as a global health check.

The final version of the investigation report released by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX, the chief Republican member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, on Monday (September 21) is the "About COVID-19 Global Report" published by the same research team in June this year. The origin of the pandemic includes the continuation of the Minority Party Interim Report on the Role of the CCP and WHO.

In addition to updating the timeline of events over the past nine months since the outbreak of the global pandemic of the new crown virus, the report also provides new evidence of the hiding of the epidemic by the Chinese government and several enquiry letters and calls made by the WHO to McCall's office Response. Compared with the interim report, the final version of this report extended the timeline of the epidemic to March 11, 2020, when the WHO announced a pandemic, and discussed major events thereafter.

McCall: The first step in revealing the truth must be held accountable by China and the WHO

Representative McCall, who is also chairman of the China Working Group of the House of Representatives, said in a statement on Monday, "As we continue to investigate the origin of the new coronavirus pandemic, we have found more disturbing evidence that the Chinese Communist Party is covering up In fact, the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tan Desai mishandled the virus and turned everything into a deadly global pandemic."

McCall, who has repeatedly called for the resignation of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also accused the World Health Organization of disabling in this epidemic in a statement. "Obviously, if the Chinese Communist Party is transparent, if the leaders of the World Health Organization care more about global health than how to appease the Chinese Communist Party, then many lives will be spared, and large-scale economic damage will be mitigated. "

"The first step in revealing the truth is that we must hold the Chinese Communist Party and the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tan Desai accountable, and hold them accountable for the suffering of the world," McCall said.

Trump: China prevented the virus from spreading within the country, but it did not stop the virus from spreading abroad

The investigation report of the Republicans of the US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee echoes President Trump's criticism of China's handling of the epidemic.

President Trump also stated in an interview with Fox TV on Monday morning that his perception of China has changed drastically after the new crown virus pandemic.

"I have a completely different feeling about China (the Chinese Communist government), a very different feeling," Trump said on the show. "I am very angry about this. They can stop all of this, they can easily stop it. They prevented further spread within their borders, but they did not prevent (the virus) from spreading to other countries in the world, including us."

"To be precise, 188 countries (affected), they did not stop, all countries were hit hard," Trump said dissatisfied.

"In short, if the CCP acts in a transparent and responsible manner, the global pandemic of the new crown virus can be avoided," said the investigation report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives.

The number of confirmed cases of the new crown virus in the United States is currently close to 7 million, and the death toll is about to exceed 200,000, making it one of the countries with the most severe outbreak of the new crown virus in the world.

Report: WHO is talking about it

The 90-page report mentioned that the World Health Organization’s reply to the McCall’s office and its external explanations stated that the World Health Organization-China Joint Expert Investigation Team began a 9-day investigation in China on 16 February covering research work, on-site investigations in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and even Wuhan.

The joint investigation team is composed of 25 Chinese and foreign experts, including two American experts. They are Clifford Lane, clinical director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Research, and Zhou Weigong, medical officer of the Influenza Department of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, there are actually only three experts who entered Wuhan, where the new crown virus epidemic originated, and none of them are American. According to reports, after arriving in Beijing, all the experts were divided into two groups of itineraries. One group went to Chengdu, Sichuan, and the other group was sent to Guangzhou, Guangdong, where they visited the local agricultural produce fresh market and medical center.

McCall’s office told Voice of America via email that the World Health Organization claimed that the United States could also send personnel there, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told them that American experts were excluded from the selection list of personnel who went to Wuhan for inspection .

In addition, the report also questioned the timing of the WHO's declaration of the covid epidemic as a "PHEIC".

According to the report, WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros reconvened an emergency meeting on January 30. According to the decision of the meeting, the new crown virus epidemic was declared a "public health emergency of international concern". According to the WHO, this decision was made "after receiving further information from outside China."

The report pointed out that after repeated requests and inquiries from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, the WHO confirmed that the first case of human-to-human transmission from outside China in Vietnam was the fuse for a “public health emergency of international concern”. . However, in fact, when the relevant announcement was made, there were nearly 10,000 confirmed cases of covid worldwide, including 83 cases in 18 countries outside China. At the same time, three countries have confirmed that they have occurred within their borders. Person-to-person transmission.

The report further stated that on the same day, 30 January, the United States also confirmed the first case of human-to-human transmission. And WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not declare the 2019-nCoV outbreak as a global pandemic until March 11, 41 days after the announcement of the "public health emergency of international concern".

The report cite another example: China continues to silence medical staff talking about the covid epidemic

The investigation report also pointed out that what is disturbing is that the Chinese Communist Party continues to harass and pressure any medical staff who try to warn others about the actual situation of the epidemic.

The report published the disciplinary notice of the Second People's Hospital of Taizhou, Jiangsu Province to a nurse working in the emergency department of the hospital on January 27. The notice read, “On January 26, 2020, emergency nurse Li Min, ignoring the discipline of epidemic prevention and control, talked about epidemic prevention and control information without authorization when chatting with classmates on WeChat. The chat records were sent to the WeChat group by his classmates. Causing adverse effects, it was decided to give Li Min a circular to criticize and deal with it, and the subsequent handling opinions are to be further studied and determined.

The notice also warned medical staff that “not to accept media interviews or release information related to epidemic prevention and control without authorization, and not to release sensitive information on WeChat groups such as family groups and classmate groups.”

The report further emphasizes that it is worth noting that the time point of this notification is two days before WHO Tedros arrived in Beijing for a visit. The report said, "This example also highlights another question: How many Chinese medical staff or frontline personnel have been punished by the CCP or forced to remain silent?"

Report: The United States should stay at the WHO and call on the WHO to restore Taiwan’s observer status

The report concludes with four recommendations, including the replacement of the leader of the World Health Organization, the restoration of Taiwan’s observer status at the World Health Organization, the cooperation between the United States and WHO’s member states to investigate the early response to the new crown Health Regulations.

Compared with the interim report released in June this year, the restoration of Taiwan’s WHO observer status is a new recommendation.

The report also believes that the United States should remain in the World Health Organization and use its right to participate in the organization to promote substantial and meaningful reforms in the World Health Organization.

The report concluded, “Studies have shown that if the Chinese Communist Party fulfilled its obligations under international law and responded to the epidemic in the most compliant manner, it could have reduced the number of cases in China by up to 95%. The ongoing pandemic is likely to be Preventable."

“Although the WHO has internal discussions on the CCP’s lack of transparency and cooperation, the WHO continues to praise the CCP’s General Secretary Xi Jinping and the People’s Republic of China’s response to the virus,” the report continued. “Therefore, the United States and like-minded It is the responsibility of WHO member states to ensure that the WHO carries out the necessary accountability and reforms to prevent China’s malfeasance from triggering a third pandemic in the 21st century."

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Report by : Gan Yung Chyan

                   / KUCINTA SETIA

Images : NTD Video Screenshots

On 15 June 2020, the US House of Representatives (officially known as House Foreign Affairs Committee) Republican Michael McCaul, has released an interim report, detailing the investigation into the origins and initial handling of COVID-19 (covid, in short) pandemic and the responsibilities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and World Health Organization (WHO), showing that the CCP is the culprit of the pandemic. The report recommends that the United States and WHO member countries should hold the CCP accountable and prevent the CCP from causing another pandemic.

The report sorted out the relevant events in the early stage of the outbreak.

The first case confirmed by the Chinese authorities can be traced back to 17 November 2019.

On 16 December 2019, a man with lung infection in the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan was discovered.

On 20 December 2019,  60 people were infected.

On 25 December 2019, the medical staff of Wuhan's two hospitals were infected.

On 30 December 2019, the laboratory test result was confirmed as "SARS coronavirus", and Li Wenliang released the message "7 cases of SARS diagnosed".

The report also cited the fact that the CCP covered up the epidemic.

The report questioned the safety of the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its research work, stating that although it was impossible to prove the leakage of SARS-CoV-2 from the laboratory, the CCP required laboratories outside the institute to destroy samples, further masking the source of the coronavirus.

The report recommends the abolition of WHO leaders,accountability of the CCP and reform of the International Health Regulations.

The report concludes by saying that if the CCP fulfills its international obligations and responds correctly to the epidemic, the number of infections in China may be reduced by 95% and global spread can be avoided.

The interim report can be accessed here : 

https://gop-foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Interim-Minority-Report-on-the-Origins-of-the-COVID-19-Global-Pandemic-Including-the-Roles-of-the-CCP-and-WHO-6.15.20.pdf

Below is the complete official press release of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on McCaul's interim report, accessible on the House Foreign Affairs Committee web-site:

McCaul Releases Interim Report on Origins of COVID-19 Pandemic

Press Release 06.15.20

Media Contact 202-225-5021

House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul Releases Interim Report on Origins of COVID-19 Pandemic

Report details how the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cover-up combined with the World Health Organization’s refusal to heed warnings led to the virus becoming a pandemic

Washington, D.C.- Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul released an interim report detailing the investigation into the origins and initial handling of COVID-19.  The report includes sections on how it spread throughout China, how it spread to other countries, and why international regulations put into place to address challenges identified as a result of the CCP’s handling of the 2003 SARS epidemic were not followed. In addition, it has various recommendations to help ensure the world does not have to suffer this fate again. 

“After months of investigating, it’s become crystal clear the Chinese Communist Party’s cover-up of the coronavirus, especially in the early days of the outbreak, played a significant role in turning what could have been a local epidemic into a global pandemic,” said Republican Leader Michael McCaul. “And, unfortunately, the World Health Organization under the leadership of Director General Tedros only exacerbated the problem by repeatedly ignoring warnings about the severity of the virus, including from their own health experts, while at the same time parroting the CCP’s propaganda without independently confirming their claims. This was a failure of monumental proportions and it is imperative that we uncover the truth so we can set up future safeguards to prevent this from happening yet again.”

The report is the culmination of months of detailed research and utilizes multiple sources of information including WeChat logs and social media posts from doctors and residents of Wuhan, domestic and international open source media reports, academic papers, peer-reviewed scientific research, think tank products, and public assessments from the American and French intelligence communities.

Rep. McCaul also serves as the Chairman of the China Task Force, a group of lawmakers working to find and address the most serious threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party. This interim report will be submitted to the China Task Force and others as a part of the ongoing investigation. A more expansive report will be produced in the coming months. 

Read the report here.

Background:

Early Stages of the Pandemic

• The CCP had sufficient information to warrant a full scale public health response as early as mid-December, 2019. (pg.5)
• The CCP repeatedly, and intentionally, violated the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) that were put in place after Beijing’s failed response to SARS between 2002-2004. (pg.7)
• Reports from Taiwan, outside experts, and in the media were ignored by the WHO. (pg.8)

The Chinese Communist Party’s Cover-up

• The CCP actively engaged in a cover-up designed to limit the spread of information about the virus. (pg.14 and throughout this section)
• These efforts included punishing doctors, disappearing journalists, censoring the internet in the PRC, spreading disinformation on social media, and withholding information from the WHO and international community. (pg.16)
• To date, the CCP has refused to provide the international community with lab samples, accurate case data, and access to sites of interest around Wuhan, PRC. (pg.14)
• The CCP cover-up means it is unlikely that we will be able to identify the source of the outbreak. (pg.23)
• General-Secretary Xi and senior CCP leaders knew a pandemic was occurring weeks before they implemented a lockdown in Wuhan. (pg.10)
• Had the CCP instituted a full scale, public response in early February, up to 95% of cases in the PRC at the end of February could have been prevented. (pg.21)

The Wuhan Institute of Virology

• State Department cables from 2018 suggest ongoing safety issues – safety issues at a different lab in Beijing in 2004 resulted in the accidental release of the SARS virus, killing one and infecting 7 others. (pg.27)
• Developed with France, the construction was marked by deep distrust between the governments and concerns from the French military and intelligence services regarding possible dual-use technology. (pg.24)
• Senior leadership at the institute are local CCP leaders. (pg.25)
• The WIV has a long history of coronavirus research activities, including gain-of-function research. (pg. 26)
• The BSL-4 lab was taken over by a senior bioweapons expert in the PRC’s People’s Liberation Army earlier this year. (pg.26)

WHO Missteps

• From the early days of the outbreak, Director-General Tedros and the WHO have overly relied on unverifiable CCP talking points. (pg.33)
• The WHO appears to have repeatedly violated their own IHR and their obligations to Member States. (pg.29)
• The WHO claimed for weeks that human-to-human transmission was not occurring, despite warnings from a WHO Collaborating Center at the University of Hong Kong and elsewhere. (pg.35)
• It is likely that DG Tedros delayed the announcement of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern for political, not medical reasons. (pg.31)
• DG Tedros and the WHO continue to use misleading statements in public statements and written material that enables CCP propaganda, misinformation, and revisionist history regarding COVID-19. (pg.33)