China has imposed restrictions on the publication of academic researches on the origin of the novel coronavirus, CNN reports.
This is according to a central government directive and online notices published by two Chinese universities, which have since been deleted from the web.
According to the now-deleted posts, studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials, CNN reports.
In the deleted new policy by the central government, it said;
Studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra vetting and must be approved by central government officials.
The increased scrutiny appears to be the latest effort by the Chinese government to control the narrative on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
This is also in the bid to silence the public as they question the origin of the virus, that has killed over 100,000 people and infected 1.8 million people since its emergence.
It would be recalled that MDB reported how a whistleblower Chinese doctor, Li Wenliang who issued early warnings about the outbreak of the disease was silenced through government-owned Chinese media and tagged ‘a fake news carrier.’
Unfortunately, the Chinese doctor and 3 other doctors that called the attention of the government have died of the virus.
Also, a Chinese doctor, Dr Ai Fen went missing after sharing her findings with her 4 colleagues including Dr. Li and going on air to talk about her recent discovery of the novel Coronavirus.
A medical expert in Hong Kong who collaborated with mainland researchers to publish a clinical analysis of Covid-19 cases in an international medical journal said his work did not undergo such vetting in February.
Since late January, Chinese researchers have published a series of Covid-19 studies in influential international medical journals.
Early findings about coronavirus cases such as when human-to-human transition first appeared raised questions over the official government account of the outbreak and sparked controversy on Chinese social media.
Currently, the Chinese authorities appear to be tightening their grip on the publication of Covid-19 research.
CNN reported that a Chinese researcher who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation said the move was a worrying development that would likely obstruct important scientific research.
The researcher told CNN;
I think it is a coordinated effort from (the) Chinese government to control (the) narrative, and paint it as if the outbreak did not originate in China.
And I don’t think they will really tolerate any objective study to investigate the origination of this disease.
According to the directive issued by the Ministry of Education’s science and technology department, “academic papers about tracing the origin of the virus must be strictly and tightly managed.”
The directive lays out layers of approval for these papers, starting with the academic committees at universities.
CNN reported that the researches are required to be sent to the Education Ministry’s science and technology department, which then forwards the papers to a task force under the State Council for vetting.
Only after the universities hear back from the task force can the papers be submitted to journals.
Other papers on Covid-19 will be vetted by universities’ academic committees, based on conditions such as the “academic value” of the study, and whether the “timing for publishing” is right.
The directive is based on instructions issued during a March 25 meeting held by the State Council’s task force on the prevention and control of Covid-19, CNN reports.
The document was first posted Friday morning on the website of the Fudan University in Shanghai, one of China’s leading universities.
Similarly, the China University of Geoscience in Wuhan also posted a notice about the extra vetting on Covid-19 papers on its website.
According to CNN, the page has since been deleted, but a cached version of it remains accessible.
