Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a TV interview on Sunday that there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the novel corona virus had been released from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Pompeo spoke to the US broadcaster ABC on “This Week”.
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Pompeo did not contradict unconfirmed theories that the virus is man-made or genetically modified. “Apparently, the best experts think it’s man-made. I have no reason to doubt it now,” said Pompeo.
This statement contradicts a statement by Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA, that there is currently no evidence that the corona virus is man-made. When asked about this, Pompeo said: “I saw what the secret services said. I have no reason to assume that they are wrong.” According to the Reuters news agency, the U.S. Department of State was initially unable to resolve the contradicting statements.
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Intelligence agencies see cover-up of China
The 15-page report by the so-called Five Eyes, a secret service alliance that united the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, had documented the cover-up by Chinese authorities, according to the Australian newspaper “Daily Telegraph”. (Read more here.)
The report also points to risky research in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the new corona virus first appeared in December. According to the newspaper, the document also mentions the differences between the secret services in relation to the suspicion that the virus can really be caused by the virus Institute of Virology in Wuhan.
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It is particularly complained that China had denied until January 20 that the virus was transmitted from person to person. There have been indications of this since the beginning of December, the paper says.
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Pompeo used the ABC show for further criticism of China. “China has a long history of infecting the world and running low-standard laboratories,” said Pompeo. He had previously asked China to permanently close its wildlife markets. Such a market in Wuhan is also considered a possible place for the first infection of a person with Sars-CoV-2.
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