Chinese embassy rebukes German tabloid's hyping of conspiracy theories over coronavirus

BERLIN - The Chinese Embassy in Germany on Saturday accused German tabloid BILD of hyping up conspiracy theories over the origins of the novel coronavirus, saying its reports are "tasteless and shameless".

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy said the so-called "study" cited by BILD is not a logical and science-based report at all. Shortly after being published, the "study" was widely questioned and sharply criticized by the scientific circle as well as the media and the public in Germany.

The statement cited the remarks of Peter Ben Embarek, head of the World Health Organization expert team investigating the origins of the coronavirus, that the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic is "extremely unlikely" to have come from a laboratory.

Although the laboratory incident theory has long been publicly rejected by almost all leading scientists and epidemiologists in the world, the German media outlet is still obsessed with spreading rumors and conspiracies, and that is tasteless and shameless, the embassy said.

China always holds the view that tracing the virus's origin is a scientific question that should be answered through international scientific research and cooperation, it added.

The embassy also called on the tabloid to abandon ignorance and prejudice, and stop trying to fool its audience with fake news.