A Chinese virologist working at the Hong Kong School of Public Health fled the city sneaking past the tight security implemented around the campus. The scientist left her loved ones behind with the risk of being thrown in jail or being labeled as one of the "disappeared."
Coronavirus concealment
Dr Li-Meng Yan took the massive risk of opening up about her knowledge that the Chinese government withheld information relating to the coronavirus before it announced it to the world.
In an exclusive interview, Yan stated her supervisors, who were some of the top experts in their respective fields, disregarded her research before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic she believed was capable of saving lives, as reported by Fox News.
With the campus' status as one of the World Health Organization's (WHO) reference laboratories, Yan believed they had an obligation to publicly reveal the information they had discovered as the coronavirus started to spread in early 2020.
The scientist has now hid herself in fears of China's retaliation against her whistleblowing and is claiming the country is attempting to de-credit her reputation and accuses government officials of planning and conducting cyberattacks in an attempt to keep her quiet.
The experts fear for her life and worry she would not be able to come back home to her family or friends but says that the risk was worth it if she can reveal the truth about the Chinese government's alleged cover-up.
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In an interview at an undisclosed location, Yan told reporters her reason for coming to the United States was to send a message and reveal the truth of the coronavirus. The expert said if she attempted to make her reveal while still residing in China, she would disappear or be killed.
According to The New York Post, Yan was asked by her supervisors to research an unusual form of SARS-like infections popping out of mainland China.
Withheld coronavirus information
A colleague from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) visited Yan in China on December 31 and warned her that the virus was capable of transmitting from person to person. She later notified her immediate supervisor of the findings who she claims simply nodded to the information.
The WHO released a statement on January 9 stating Chinese officials notified them the human-to-human transmission was not possible and readily said that the virus was not capable of transmitting between humans.
Yan revealed she knew the corruption that had existed between an organization like the WHO and the Communist Party of China but decided that she did not want the misleading information to spread across the world.
The scientist said her boss told her to keep quiet about her research when she approached him in the middle of January who warned that information could risk their lives and could have them disappear.
Chinese officials have ordered for an internal investigation looking into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic which was first reported last year in the city of Wuhan. However, Beijing has denied access to foreign investigators attempting to enter the country to support the investigation.
