Now on to a surprise twist in the story of Swiss biologist Wilson Edwards. If you haven''t heard it yet - Wilson is a Facebook user who''s been heavily featured in Chinese state media these past few days. It''s because he wrote a Facebook post criticizing the U.S. for attacking China over COVID-19. Wilson claimed to be a Swiss biologist, and his post was used by Chinese media as proof of the U.S. politicizing the pandemic. But this week, the Swiss embassy in Beijing threw a wrench in Wilson''s story, saying it believes that the man doesn''t exist.
Earlier this month, U.S. House Republicans released a report titled “The Origins of COVID-19,” which concludes that the virus was a Chinese lab leak. It’s a claim Beijing has long denied.
News anchor (July 31)
CCTV
The U.S. avoids talking about its own early COVID cases and the many doubts that swirl over its own biology laboratories. At the same time, it continues to engage in political manipulation, putting pressure on the WHO and shifting its blame to China. Just what is the U.S. up to?
Zhao Lijian (July 31)
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman
In October 2019, the U.S. sent more than 300 people to Wuhan to participate in the Military World Games. Did any of them develop symptoms of COVID-19? Such case information should be made public as soon as possible.
Over the past several days, China state media has widely covered a Facebook post by a user named Wilson Edwards, who claimed to be a Swiss biologist. The user was critical of the U.S. for putting pressure on the WHO and on researchers who supported the WHO’s investigation on the origins of COVID-19. But on Tuesday, the Swiss embassy in China suggested that biologist Wilson Edwards doesn’t exist.
In a tweet, the Swiss Embassy in Beijing said it was looking for biologist Wilson Edwards, who’d been cited in Chinese press and social media for days. “If you exist, we would like to meet you!” it said. According to the embassy, there’s no registry of a Swiss citizen with the name Wilson Edwards, and no academic articles in biology published under this name. “It is more likely that this is a fake news,” the embassy said, asking China’s press and internet users to remove content pertaining to his post.
Chen Li-fu
Taiwan Association of University Professors
China’s leadership is issuing directives that take such a direction. In the pursuit of fulfilling these orders, China’s top party media and state media have lost much of their prestige. They have become so anxious that they’ve transformed from official media representing the party and state, to third-rate outfits no better than content farms.
Reacting to the search for Wilson Edwards, an internet user posted a gif, featuring Tom Hanks screaming for “Wilson” the volleyball in the 2000 survival drama “Cast Away.” One commenter based in China condemned Chinese state media, writing that it had lost its professionalism, its investigative reporting, and its credibility overseas.
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