A non-peer-reviewed study that claims the coronavirus is an artificial pathogen is linked to a foundation connected to fugitive Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, the South Morning China Post reported on Wednesday.
The theory of a natural origin of the coronavirus “lacks substantial support,” but “the alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is… strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals,” according to the study, which was published on the Zenodo open-access research repository.
Appearing on the title page of the paper is the Rule of Law Foundation. Bannon is chairman of the Rule of Law Society, one of the foundation’s charities.
Guo, a real estate tycoon who fled China in 2014, has supported overthrowing the Chinese Communist Party and has made numerous unverified allegations about party leaders. Bannon has appeared with Guo in numerous videos attacking the party since leaving the White House three years ago.
Bannon was arrested last month in Connecticut on Guo’s yacht on charges that he defrauded donors in a private fundraising campaign.
The study’s first author is Yan Limeng, a former University of Hong Kong postdoctoral researcher who has alleged that HKU silenced her when she claimed to have learned early in the pandemic that the coronavirus could be transmitted between people.
HKU has denied the allegations.
Three other scientists were listed as co-authors on the paper, but their credentials were not included in the study.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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