'Lab-leak' theory used to divert attention, says U.S. scholar

　　A virologist tests wastewater in Paris, France, to detect the presence of the COVID-19 virus, July 22, 2020. /CFP

　　The U.S. lab-leak theory is a distraction from the country's history of far worse leaks, Mario Cavolo, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, one of China's top independent think tanks, said in his article titled "West still barking up the conspiracy tree."

　　"Why would the Joe Biden administration help revive the unfounded accusations, especially when no evidence has emerged?" he asks in the article published in China Daily.

　　Stressing the importance of facts-based evidence, Cavolo in his article criticizes the political narratives and fake narratives.

　　Taking the Iraq War and Vietnam War (1955-1975) as examples, Cavolo points out that fake narratives "have caused endless deaths and destruction across the world."

　　The groundless claims are often used by the U.S. to create an "enemy," Cavolo says, which detracts people from the real, serious problems in the U.S.

　　"Such propaganda does a beautiful job of distracting from a history of far worse leaks from U.S. labs," he writes.

　　Based on his Google searches for "U.S. virus laboratory leaks," Cavolo says the country has a "deep conspiracy to suppress the facts while diverting global attention to the Wuhan lab-leak theory."

　　His search results showed an "endless list" of articles referring to Wuhan, lab leaks and China, instead of the long and dangerous history of U.S. laboratory incidents, including the shutting down of Fort Detrick in Maryland.

　　According to Cavolo, the Wikipedia page for biosecurity lab leaks offers an extensive list of lab leaks and other incidents in many countries, including no less than 11 lab breaches in the U.S.