On the second day of #WHA, the US and other countries called for a more in-depth investigation of the origin of #COVID19, after the earlier mission of @WHO experts proved inconclusive. france24.com/en/live-news/2…
"We underscore the importance of a robust comprehensive and expert-led inquiry into the origins of Covid-19," US representative Jeremy Konyndyk told the World Health Assembly (WHA).
Australia, Japan and Portugal were among other countries to call for more progress on the investigation, while the British representative urged for any probe to be "timely, expert-driven and grounded in robust science".
But a long-delayed report by the team of international experts sent to Wuhan and their Chinese counterparts drew no firm conclusions on the origins of the pandemic.
The report said the virus jumping from bats to humans via an intermediate animal was the most probable scenario, while it said a theory involving the virus leaking from a laboratory was "extremely unlikely".
After the report was released, however, WHO chief @DrTedros insisted all theories remained on the table. The investigation and report have also faced criticism for lacking transparency and access, and for not evaluating the lab-leak theory more deeply.
US Health Secretary @SecBecerra backed the call for new terms of reference. "Phase two of the Covid origins study must be launched with terms of reference that are transparent, science-based, and give international experts the independence to fully assess ...
... the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak," he told the assembly.

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More from @WilliamYang120

26 May
As more grassroots level police officers are tested positive for #COVID19 in #Taiwan, the CECC announced that more than half of the police officers will be the prioritized groups for vaccination. More than 80% of the firefighters are in the same group. udn.com/news/story/120…
Additionally, #Taiwan local news outlet United Daily reported that COVAX told them that there are 410,000 more AZ #COVID19 vaccines that could be expected to arrive in Taiwan by the end of June. udn.com/news/story/120…
Meanwhile, #Taiwan is also hoping that its own #COVID19 vaccines can be rolled out as soon as the end of July. But since it is still between stage 2 and stage 3 trial, the executive yuan said it will require the government's approval in order to be used in the case of emergency.
Read 5 tweets
26 May
Due to the ongoing local #COVID19 outbreak, #Taiwan has dropped from 5 to 15 in @business's #COVID19 resilience ranking. Singapore also gave No.1 to New Zealand. bloomberg.com/graphics/covid…
"Lauded for its handling of the pathogen, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for all seven of the biggest declines this month in the measure of the best and worst places to be in the pandemic."
"#Taiwan and Japan dropped out of the top 10 amid sluggish inoculation drives and resurgent cases, while some of the world’s fiercest outbreaks held down places in Southeast and South Asia."
Read 5 tweets
26 May
From @BBCWorld: A camera system that uses AI and facial recognition technologies intended to reveal a person's state of emotion has allegedly been tested on #Uyghurs. bbc.com/news/technolog…
"A software engineer claimed to have installed such systems in police stations in the province. A human rights advocate who was shown the evidence described it as shocking."
"The Chinese government use Uyghurs as test subjects for various experiments just like rats are used in laboratories," he said.
Read 11 tweets
26 May
The new political party "Piráti a Starostové" in the Czech Republic released its policy whitepaper last week, promising if they came into power after the House election in October, they would deepen trade and diplomatic interaction with #Taiwan, ...cna.com.tw/news/firstnews…
... and make democracy and human rights the basis of their foreign policy. They hope to support Czech businesses and cities to initiate cooperation with #Taiwan. The new party is currently leading in the poll.
In the whitepaper, the new political party emphasized that #China is an authoritarian country that surveils its own people and they impose the "One Country, Two Systems" model on #HongKong and #Taiwan against people's wills.
Read 4 tweets
25 May
Meanwhile, experts from the @WHO-led group who went to #China's Wuhan for the initial investigation of #COVID19 origin earlier this year said a follow-up trip could be helpful to gather additional research on the origins of the disease, ...usnews.com/news/world/art…
... but should be separate from any audit of information provided by Beijing.
Discussions about the outbreak gained renewed attention this week as U.S. intelligence agencies examine reports that researchers at a Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan were seriously ill in 2019 a month before the first cases of COVID-19 were reported.
Read 6 tweets
25 May
On Monday, #Taiwan's envoy to Japan Frank Hsieh hosted the United States' top diplomat in Japan at his official residence for a dinner along with other Japanese. focustaiwan.tw/politics/20210…
"We exchanged views on issues relating to regional peace and prosperity. This was a first, a new beginning that carried important implications for our tripartite cooperation," wrote Hsieh.
"Always good to see @Taiwan_in_Japan's Frank Hsieh. We had another productive conversation about our shared regional priorities," said the tweet, which came with a photo that shows him exchanging a souvenir picture with Hsieh.
Read 6 tweets

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