A Columbia University professor who thanked Dr. Anthony Fauci for dismissing the likelihood that COVID-19 was leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has strong connections to China, including Communist Party members.
Who is the Colombian Profesor Who Thanked Fauci?
In a recently published article in FOX News, last year, Walter Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University epidemiology professor known as a "virus hunter," praised Dr. Anthony Fauci for publicly rejecting claims that the virus originated and spread from the Wuhan facility.
Lipkin wrote to Fauci on May 5, 2020, just one day after Fauci cast doubt on the lab leak theory that they appreciate their efforts in steering and messaging. Lipkin's communication to Fauci seems to include a Chinese government official among the "we."
Meanwhile, Lipkin sent an email from Chen Zhu, China's former Minister of Health and current vice-chairperson of the National People's Congress's Standing Committee, as part of the message. That governmental organization is chaired by Li Zhanshu, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party and a major adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a report published in Yahoo Finance.
Ties Between Lipkin and Zhu
Lipkin and Zhu have known each other since the early 2000s as the two worked together on the SARS outbreak. Lipkin was acting as an intermediary for the World Health Organization and the Chinese government at the time.
In addition to his official connections, Zhu is the head of the Chinese Red Cross Society, which professes to be independent of the government. The Chinese government, on the other hand, funds and directs the Red Cross in China, as per Newstral.
Lipkin returned to China in late January 2020 to investigate the coronavirus pandemic. Just two weeks after reentering China, Lipkin debunked the lab leak hypothesis.
Lipkin said they looked at the idea that the virus might have originated in a biocontainment facility or could be a biologically defined weapon, as some have proposed. They, however, discovered no proof of this.
Chinese Consulate of New York Presented a Medal to Lipkin
In early January of this year, Lipkin was presented with a medal at the Chinese Consulate of New York. China's Central Government, Central Military Commission, and State Council awarded the accolade.
Despite reports that the Chinese government was involved in a cover-up, Lipkin commended China's early reaction and openness to the coronavirus pandemic. When reporters approached Lipkin for a remark, he did not react.
Media and Other Skeptics Now Push for Further Investigations
The media and other skeptics have reversed their positions and now believe that the lab leak hypothesis merits further study. According to reports, China had complete control over an on-site World Health Organization inspection, including who the researchers talked with in the lab.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., raised measured concerns about the Wuhan Institute of Virology at the start of the pandemic, which sparked outrage from Democrats and several media outlets, who dismissed them as "fringe conspiracy theories."
It can also be remembered that former President Trump questioned if the virus escaped from the lab, leading left-wing media and political leaders to dismiss the lab breach as a hoax.
