Prior to the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) were working alongside the Chinese military to create a mutant virus that could be used as a biological weapon.
The revelation was made by The Sunday Times in a report on Saturday (June 10). The paper worked with US State Department investigators and reviewed hundreds of documents and scientific papers to unearth what possibly transpired at the Wuhan lab.
It reported that the Wuhan Institute of Virology began investigating the origins of the SARS virus as early as 2003. Funding for this research was provided by the US government through a New York-based charity.
"Scientists in Wuhan working alongside the Chinese military were combining the world’s most deadly coronaviruses to create a new mutant virus just as the pandemic began."https://t.co/6P2CzACMLP
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) June 11, 2023
The institute conducted risky experiments on coronaviruses obtained from bat caves in southern China. Initially, the findings of these experiments were made public, with the institute justifying the associated risks by stating that the research could contribute to the development of vaccines.
In 2016, researchers discovered a new strain of coronavirus in a mineshaft located in Mojiang in Yunnan province of China. The individuals who had been working in the mineshaft had died from symptoms similar to those of SARS.
Interesyingly, China chose not to report these deaths to the world. According to The Sunday Times, the viruses found in the mineshaft are now considered to be the only known members of the immediate family of Covid-19 that existed prior to the pandemic.
Viruses found in the Mojiang mineshaft were transferred to Wuhan Institute of Virology
They were subsequently transferred to the Wuhan Institute, and the work conducted by its scientists was classified. According to US investigators, the classified program aimed to enhance the infectivity of the mineshaft viruses in humans.
They believe that this led to the creation of Covid-19, which accidentally leaked from the laboratory and spread in Wuhan. One of the investigators told The Sunday Times, “It has become increasingly clear that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was involved in the creation, spread, and concealment of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In November 2019, researchers working on these experiments with viruses were hospitalized with symptoms resembling Covid-19, and some of their family members even died.
Another investigator told the paper, “We were rock-solid confident that this was likely Covid-19 because they were working on advanced coronavirus research in the laboratory. They’re trained biologists in their thirties and forties. Thirty-five-year-old scientists don’t get very sick with influenza.”
Chinese military funded research on viruses to be used as bioweapons
As countries worldwide emerged from lockdowns, US investigators gained access to classified intelligence regarding the situation in China prior to the emergence of Covid-19.
The Sunday Times reported that more than a dozen investigators were granted access to metadata, phone information, and internet data collected by US intelligence services.
It also revealed that the Wuhan Institute’s research on the mine viruses was funded by the Chinese military. Additionally, the Chinese military held positions of authority within the institute.
One investigator speculated that the cover-up of the Mojiang case was due to military secrecy regarding the army’s pursuit of dual-use capabilities in virological biological weapons and vaccines.
The Sunday Times further suggested that the military had a vested interest in developing a vaccine for these viruses, potentially for use as bioweapons.
China prevented independent investigation into Covid-19 origins
The Sunday Times also pointed out how China has prevented foreign experts from investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Alice Hughes, a British bat expert who was a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences overseeing the Wuhan Institute, had been working in the mineshaft.
She revealed that she was prohibited from discussing her research with the media and was under surveillance by Beijing. These restrictions forced her to leave China and relocate to Hong Kong.
Microbiologist Professor Richard Ebright had described the research work undertaken at the Wuhan Institue of Virology as “the most reckless and dangerous research on coronaviruses — or indeed on any viruses — known to have been undertaken at any time in any location.”
Since the announcement of the pandemic, China has been making dubious claims that Covid-19 originated outside China. From blaming the United States to mink farms to India, China has pointed fingers at several agencies for the spread.
In one theory, it claimed that the virus was brought to China in contaminated packaging of frozen food from abroad. In another theory, it blamed the U.S. military biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick. In November 2020, it even went ahead and blamed India for being the origin of the virus.
