Thread by @BillyBostickson

1/x
Some French insights into Wuhan Institute of Virology
via @BidoliNicola
important due to fact they helped build it & trained them
Turns out China did not return favour & refused to allow any French scientists to inspect apart from Rene Courcol, who is
"keeping his mouth shut"

2/x
A report from Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads as follows:
"The Chinese are trying to develop a research program on bacteriological weapons like the others,"
But Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominic Villepin insisted on going ahead with the plan
corvelva.it/fr/approfondim…

3/x no French researcher out of the 50 planned had been able to set foot in the new P4 laboratory!
The only one who entered was the infectious disease specialist, René Courcol, but he is the one who did not want to make statements.
"My lips are sealed"

4/ x
French ambassador to Beijing in 2016 gave Medals to the director of WIV, Yuan Zhiming &Shi Zhengli
Neither Chinese govt nor 2 scientists have transmitted to Paris minimum of useful information to fight against pandemic.
Total failure of cooperation!
english.whiov.cas.cn/ne/201712/t201…

5/ x
Ceremony took place on June 16, 2016, the day of lab handover
The honours recognised efforts (subsequently aborted) of Yuan Zhiming & Shi Zhengli in promoting Sino-French cooperation in the field of prevention & control of emerging infectious diseases
en.hubei.gov.cn/news/newslist/…

5/ x
Ceremony took place on June 16, 2016, the day of lab handover
The honours recognised efforts (subsequently aborted) of Yuan Zhiming & Shi Zhengli in promoting Sino-French cooperation in the field of prevention & control of emerging infectious diseases

6/ x René Courcol
linkedin.com/in/ren%C3%A9-c…
visited WIV on November 3 - 9 for 2019 Virology Training Course on Biosafety Laboratory Management & Technology.
So annoying that he is "keeping his lips sealed"
If any foreigner knew of an LAI it would be him
whiov.ac.cn/xwdt_105286/zh…

7/ x Bernard Cazeneuve Visit
WIV P4 has same design as Inserm laboratory in Lyon, considered to be 1 of the best in the world
"Bernard Cazeneuve visite le fameux laboratoire P4 de Wuhan aux côtés de Yuan Zhiming (directeur, au centre) et inaugure le lab le 23 février 2017"

8/x Prof. Gong Peng said meeting enhanced mutual understanding & proposed constructive opinions, which will effectively promote cooperation between the 2 sides to achieve substantive progress & results in the future.
Yet, so far, we have no information on said progress & results!

9/ x Sino-French Cooperation Video 1
(Lots of cooperation by French side but only money from Chinese in return for French bio-security tech)
1. "La Chine a placé les questions environnementales au cœur de son projet de développement"
23/02/17 - 02m16s
gouvernement.fr/partage/8940-b…

9/ x Sino-French Cooperation Video 1
(Lots of cooperation by French side but only money from Chinese in return for French bio-security tech)
1. "La Chine a placé les questions environnementales au cœur de son projet de développement"
23/02/17 - 02m16s
gouvernement.fr/partage/8940-b…

9/ x Sino-French Video 1 (Wuhan P4 Lab)
(Lots of cooperation by French side but only 💰💰 from Chinese in return for French bio-security tech)
1. "La Chine a placé les questions environnementales au cœur de son projet de développement"
23/02/17 - 02m16s
gouvernement.fr/partage/8940-b…

10/ x Sino-French 🇨🇳🇫🇷 Video 2 (Wuhan P4 Lab)
"Les investissements chinois 💰💰 en France continuent de croître. 💹 Ils sont naturellement les bienvenus 😝"

Well illustrated in this image
☣️🦠🧬
🐁🦇🧫
🥼🏷️
🤧🤢🥵 gouvernement.fr/partage/8932-c…

11/ x A Good French Investigate Report:
L’histoire secrète du laboratoire P4 de Wuhan
"Object of all suspicions & fantasies, P4 lab in Wuhan, which we were able to visit in February 2019, is result of a long & chaotic cooperation between France & China."
challenges.fr/entreprise/san…

12/ x The French Investigationreveals:
1. In 2004, 4 months before signing of intergovernmental agreement, French DGSE informed that China secretly plans to build 5 other P4 labs in the future
(3 civilian & 2 military)
Big Shock!
Mais le fric 💰 parle 🤑 au diable 👿 le reste

13/ x French Investigation reveals:
2.
China asks several French companies to build other P4 Labs.
This information completely contradicts Chinese statements that the Wuhan P4 lab is the only project in progress.
Matignon authorised export of 4 P3 mobile labs to China in 2004

14/ x
3. French Investigation reveals safety issues even before its opening:
"Inauguration of WIV P4 Lab was delayed from 2016 to 2017
due to use of bleach in decontamination showers by WIV staff, making it necessary to repair the stainless steel materials affected by corrosion"

15/x Time to Brush Up on your French

4. The French Investigation reveals that the proposed Sino-French "cooperation" failed to emerge, in fact, only the microbiologist René Courcol is allowed in!

"Cooperation in the field of infectious diseases is now at a standstill"

16/x P4 Suits
In 2016, Cibdu criticized the shipment of 40+ P4-type suits to China.
"Order was much higher than the real needs of Wuhan P4"
They conclude:
"China has long been suspected of having another P4 lab in north of the country, but we lack proof"
legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do…

17/ x Lack Proof?
2016 plan to build 5 to 7 BSL-4 labs across China by 2025 (based on cloned French Tech) did not lack proof, even in 2016!
Perhaps the DGSE were too busy seducing Chinese interns at the embassy in Beijing to report back to Quai d'Orsay?
bulletin.cas.cn/zgkxyyk/ch/rea…

18/ x China's P4 Plan
5–7 BSL-4 laboratories has been scheduled:
1 Harbin, Heilongjiang
2 Kunming, Yunnan
(will focus on non-human (Thank God) primate infection experiments)
3 NBL, Wuhan
4 One in Northern China
5 Three others in S, E, and NW China
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

19/x Chinese P4 Lab Challenges
Point 3.2:
"Inadequate biosafety management systems
This scenario puts laboratory biosafety at risk since the implementation efficiency and timely operations are relatively compromised"
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

20/x Chinese P4 Lab Challenges 💰
Insufficient resources for efficient lab operation
Maintenance cost generally neglected
Some BSLs lack operational funds for routine/vital processes
Some BSL-3 labs run on minimal operational costs or in some cases none at all
🦇🐇🐀🐒🐁🐈 = 🤑💰

21/ x Deficiency of professional capacity
Most laboratories lack specialised biosafety managers & engineers
In such facilities, some skilled staff are part-time researchers
This makes it difficult to identify & mitigate potential safety hazards in facility & equipment operation

22/ x Au Revoir!

Je suis vraiment crevé, j'ai eu une longue journée et j'ai un autre "thread" à faire demain....

à suivre (to be continued)

unroll @threadreaderapp

unroll @threadreaderapp