Editor’s note for Thursday, May 27, 2021

My thoughts today:

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhào Lìjiān 赵立坚 responded (in English, Chinese) to U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement yesterday that the U.S. Intelligence Community had not ruled out a laboratory accident in China as the source of COVID-19:

On the China lab leak hypothesis, the joint WHO-China study team report clearly states that “a laboratory origin of the pandemic was considered to be extremely unlikely.” This is an authoritative and official conclusion based on science.

Zhao went on:

What secrets are hidden in the suspicion-shrouded Fort Detrick and the over 200 U.S. bio-labs all over the world? In July 2019, there were reports on the unexplained outbreaks of respiratory disease in northern Virginia and on the subsequent EVALI outbreaks in Wisconsin. What’s hidden there?

Meanwhile, the first day of the closed-door trial of Chinese-born Australian writer Yáng Héngjūn 杨恒均 on vague spying charges began today. Australian consular observers were denied access and no information has yet been released on what happened in the court.

Do you like our society and culture reporting? Try The China Vibe, our new weekly newsletter by Jiayun Feng.

Upcoming event on June 1: The U.S. Congress and economic relations with China.

Our word of the day is suspicion-shrouded — literally, “layer upon layer of clouds of suspicion” (疑云重重 yíyún chóngchóng).

—Jeremy Goldkorn, Editor-in-Chief