China ‘Shocked’ by WHO Plan for COVID Origins Study
Voice of America
BEIJING - A senior Chinese health official said Thursday he was shocked by the World Health Organization’s plan for the second phase of a COVID-19 origins study.
National Health Commission Vice Minister Zeng Yixin dismissed the lab leak theory as a rumor running counter to common sense. The head of the WHO acknowledged last week that it was premature to rule out a potential link between the pandemic and a leak of the coronavirus from a Chinese lab. Zeng said that the lab in the city of Wuhan has no virus that can directly infect humans.
Demonstrators gather for the Stand Up For Science rally near the Lincoln Memorial, March 7, 2025, in Washington. A protestor wearing a fish costume holds a sign as demonstrators gather for the Stand Up For Science rally near the Lincoln Memorial, March 7, 2025, in Washington.
FILE - A photo illustration of bitcoin is seen at consensus, the flagship event of Coindesk and the data platform for the global crypto economy, at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong on Feb. 19, 2025.
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, March 6, 2025.
Callum Ganz, 17, center, gives a pre-show pep talk to castmates in 'Crazy for You' on opening night as the Theatre Palisades Youth group returns to the stage after losing their theater in the Palisades fire, in Los Angeles, Feb. 28, 2025. A Theatre Palisades stands next to the theater destroyed by the Palisades Fire, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif., Jan. 25, 2025.
This March 3, 2025, image courtesy of Intuitive Machines, LLC shows the company's IM-2 mission Nova-C class lunar lander, Athena, in circular orbit around the moon.
FILE - Cars drive along a highway photographed through a glass window during a dust storm amid heavy pollution in Beijing, March 10, 2023.
FILE - Open AI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman speaks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sept. 23, 2024. A U.S. judge on Tuesday denied Elon Musk's request to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit business.
Trent, left, and Victoria Warmerdam, winners of the award for best live action short film for "I'm Not a Robot," attend the Governors Ball after the Oscars on March 2, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Staff at the Mission Control outside Austin, Texas celebrating as lunar lander Blue Ghost touches down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP) Private lunar lander Blue Ghost after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Trent, left, and Victoria Warmerdam, winners of the award for best live action short film for "I'm Not a Robot," attend the Governors Ball after the Oscars on March 2, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Workers carry an Oscar statue as Hollywood Boulevard continues to be transformed into the red carpet arrival area for the 97th Academy Awards, in Los Angeles, California, Feb. 28, 2025.
Staff at the Mission Control outside Austin, Texas celebrating as lunar lander Blue Ghost touches down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP) Private lunar lander Blue Ghost after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
FILE- Washington Attorney General Nick Brown walks down the steps of a federal court in Seattle after a hearing over President Donald Trump's order against gender-affirming care for youth, Feb. 28, 2025. FILE -Washington Attorney General Nick Brown listens to a question during a news conference after a hearing in federal court in Seattle, Feb. 28, 2025, over President Donald Trump's order against gender-affirming care for youth. FILE - Supporters listen as Washington Attorney General Nick Brown responds to questions at a news conference after a hearing in a federal court in Seattle over President Donald Trump's order against gender-affirming care for youth, Feb. 28, 2025.