5月31日，“耿直哥”“厉洁”等中国资深网民向世界卫生组织发出公开信，要求世卫组织彻查美国德特里克堡生物实验室。
在过去的一年里，新冠肺炎这场肆虐全球的可怕疫情，不仅令上亿人染病，更夺走了数百万条生命。因此，如何预防下一场大疫情的到来，是目前正在召开的第74届世界卫生大会的重点议题之一。
身为中国老百姓的我们，也非常关注这一问题。这不仅仅是因为中国是最先发现新冠肺炎疫情，并最先向全世界发出预警的国家，我们中国人民，也是最先感受到这场疫情的可怕，经历了生命逝去的痛苦的。
我们认为，为了预防下一场疫情的到来，那些从事研究危险的病毒乃至生化武器的实验室，应该被世界卫生大会重点关注。这其中，美国军方的德特里克堡生物实验室最令我们担忧。这里存放着全世界最致命也最具传染性的病毒，比如埃博拉、天花、还有SARS病毒，MERS病毒以及如今的新冠病毒。
然而，德特里克堡实验室却有着令人担忧的安全记录。比如，在此次新冠疫情爆发前的2019年秋季，大量欧美媒体的报道就显示该实验室因为存在严重的安全隐患，尤其是有病毒泄露的风险，被暂时关闭。从当时《纽约时报》这家美国媒体的报道来看，这一隐患还恰恰出在涉及埃博拉、天花等危险病毒的研究上。
可美国疾控中心却以“国家安全”为由，拒绝透露此事的真相。美国媒体后续也并没有在追尾德特里克堡的问题，反而是在新冠肺炎疫情爆发后，不断将疫情栽赃给中国的武汉病毒所。
让我们更感到奇怪的是，德特里克堡存放的埃博拉和新冠病毒，目前虽然源头不明，但网络上一直存在着不少认为这两种病毒来自美军这一生化武器实验室的说法。都说澄清真相最好的方式就是公开，但美国却从没有流露出愿意公开实验室以供检查的意愿。而中国则已经接受了世界卫生组织的国际专家团的溯源调查。
美方这些遮遮掩掩和转移矛盾的行为，以及德特里克堡令人担忧的安全记录，都令我们这些中国老百姓非常担忧。
生命是最宝贵的。眼下，在人们还在被疫情夺去生命之时，抗击疫情是全世界应该关注的重点。但搞清病毒源头，消除潜在的疫情隐患，才能避免下一场疫情的袭来，才能保护更多人的人权不被侵犯。这需要人类同心同德。
因此，我们决定发起此次签名联署活动，呼吁世界卫生大会要求美国开放德特里克堡实验室，给包括中国科学家在内的全球科学家进行调查。
此致
世界卫生组织
耿直哥、厉洁等中国网民
2021年5月31日
Chinese people’s open letter to the World Health Organization
Respected World Health Organization:
In the past year, the terrible COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world. It made thousands of millions of people infected with the deadly virus, and claimed the lives of millions of people. Therefore, addressing ways to prevent the next pandemic is one of the key agendas of the ongoing 74th World Health Assembly.
We, as Chinese people, also care profoundly about this issue. This is not only because China was the first country that detected the pandemic and warned the world of the coming plague, but also because we Chinese people were the first to experience the dreadfulness of the pandemic and the misery of losing lives.
We believe that in order to prevent the next pandemic, labs that research dangerous viruses and even bio-weapons should be given particular attention at the WHA. Among them, the US Army’s Fort Detrick lab worries us the most. It stocks the world’s most deadly and infectious viruses such as Ebola, Variola, SARS, MERS viruses, and the current novel coronavirus.
The Fort Detrick lab has worrying safety records. For instance, in the fall of 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, various Western media reported that the lab was abruptly shut down following serious safety violations, in particular relating to the leak of viruses. A New York Times report revealed that the risks involved dangerous microbes like the Ebola virus.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refused to disclose the truth behind the shutdown due to “national security” excuses. The US media did not follow up what happened at Fort Detrick, but instead has attributed the pandemic to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
To our dismay, although the origins of the Ebola virus and novel coronavirus remain unclear, on the internet speculations that the two viruses came from this US army bioweapon lab are running high. Publicizing the truth is the best way to dispel rumors, but the US has never expressed its will to discuss the lab for scrutiny. Meanwhile, China has received the virus origin probe led by WHO experts.
The US cover-up behavior and its attempt to divert attention, as well as the worrying safety record in the Fort Detrick lab, all concern we Chinese people.
Life is the most precious. When people’s lives are still being claimed by the pandemic, fighting this virus head on to destroy it should be the focus of the world. Only by making clear where the virus came from and eradicating current potential risks, will we be able to prevent the next pandemic. This will protect the human rights of more people from being eroded. This needs the common will of humanity.
Therefore, we have decided to launch this joint signature campaign and call on the WHA to demand that the US open up its Fort Detrick lab so that global scientists, including those from China, can investigate.
Kind regards
