Chinese netizens slam US over ending coronavirus research grant

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Health officials carry the body of a coronavirus victim on a stretcher to container morgues in New York City on April 6. Photo: AFP

Chinese netizens have slammed the US government after 77 Nobel laureates denounced the Trump administration for ending a research grant to a US non-profit organization researching the origin of the novel coronavirus. 

It is unfortunate for the US, as science is supposed to be a tool for debunking conspiracy theories, but now, serious scientific research projects have become victims of the political maneuvering of some US politicians, commented some Chinese netizens. 

Seventy-seven American Nobel laureates in the fields of science recently wrote a joint letter to the US National Institutes for Health (NIH) expressing their deep concerns over the move, saying it "sets a dangerous precedent by interfering in the conduct of science" and "deprives the nation and the world of highly regarded science that could help control one of the greatest health crises in modern history and those that may arise in the future."

The world once looked up to the US' advanced scientific research, but now the US government's attitude of downplaying science shocks the world and makes people wonder whether the US still deserves its top position in scientific research, Chinese netizens said.

The letter said that the New York-based research group EcoHealth Alliance studies the transmission of viruses from animals to human beings, but its federal grant was being terminated because "NIH does not believe that the current project outcomes align with the program goals and agency priorities." 

But according to the letter by the 77 American Nobel laureates, the funds were suspended after some claimed the grant had gone to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Central China's Hubei Province. 

Some Chinese researchers reached by the Global Times said pulling the research grant is a US domestic issue, but it is indeed irritating as it is an obvious example of putting political manipulation above science. 

Some worried that the contempt for science shown by the US government would influence future China-US scientific cooperation. "China-US scientific cooperation needs to be adopted within the framework of governmental collaboration. Such sudden terminations of grants must be avoided," an anonymous Chinese research fellow at Peking University told the Global Times. 

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, some US politicians have ignored facts and science, and continuously fabricated rumors about the virus, claiming it was made in Wuhan and that Chinese hackers were attempting to steal a US vaccine. Any scientist who stands up to tell the truth about the novel coronavirus with evidence becomes a thorn in the side of US politicians.  

Anthony Fauci from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was once asked to keep quiet after he questioned the US data on the epidemic. Rick Bright was ousted from his post as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority after refusing to push the drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the novel coronavirus, media reported. 

US politicians have displayed an irresponsible manner since the outbreak began, with the Trump administration trying to blame China and turn it into a scapegoat for its own failure in preventing and controling the virus domestically, while other US politicians continuously made comments to stain China, Chinese experts told the Global Times.