China Now Imposing Restrictions on Research About The Origins of Coronavirus

• China has implemented restrictions regarding academic research on the origins of the coronavirus, according to CNN.
• Two prominent universities in the country have posted about the new policy online, although both eventually took the announcements down.

As an increasing number of experts continue to dive deeper into trying to understand the coronavirus, it looks like China itself is trying to control information about the mysterious disease that originated in Wuhan and has become a global pandemic.

Apparently, a government directive has been shared online by two universities in the country and it says China is implementing certain restrictions on publishing academic researches about the origins of the virus. The posts, however, have since been deleted on the internet.

In a CNN report, we read that the policy now requires “all academic papers on Covid-19” to be under “extra vetting” before submission for publication. Meanwhile, studies on the virus’ origin will “receive extra scrutiny,” including approval from “central government officials,” wrote the news source.

Meanwhile, the science and technology department of the Ministry of Education has released a directive, specifying that “academic papers about tracing the origin of the virus must be strictly and tightly managed.”

Shanghai’s Fudan University first published the document on their official website but when contacted by CNN, a staff member who refused to be named simply said it is an” internal document,” not intended to be shared with the public.

Wuhan’s China University of Geoscience also published a similar directive and just like Fudan, they eventually ended up deleting their post online.

It can be remembered that the first recorded case of coronavirus was reported in Wuhan in December 2019. Authorities have since placed a lockdown on the port city’s wet market, saying they traced the origins of the new virus there. Several studies claiming the virus originated from bats or endangered pangolins, which are sold in Wuhan markets as both medicine and delicacy, have since surfaced.

More recently, Chinese officials and the state media have openly made claims that there are no definitive conclusions as to the origins of the virus. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian even went as far as saying that the virus was brought to the country by United States military.

China has already lifted the lockdowns in several areas, declaring its victory against the virus.

As of April 13, COVID-19 has infected over 1.8 million patients across the world and has claimed more than 114,000 lives.