Germany Confirms China’s Attempts to Influence COVID-19 Report

Germany has confirmed efforts by Chinese diplomats to persuade German government officials to promote a positive portrayal of China’s coronavirus crisis management. The “Welt” newspaper reported that Germany’s Foreign Office has been aware of these efforts since March.

Criticism of German Government’s Appeasement Toward China

Margarethe Bause, human rights spokesperson for the Green Party faction, who raised questions about Beijing’s attempts to influence German government colleagues, says the Interior Ministry’s response once again reveals Berlin’s silence and appeasement toward the Chinese government.

In an interview with “Welt” newspaper, she emphasized that this silence continues despite the European Union’s foreign policy coordinator considering China among countries that have supported a disinformation campaign and conspiracy theories regarding the coronavirus crisis.

Bause criticizes the German government, saying it has been unwilling to take a clear and explicit stance against China’s attempts to influence government employees.

On April 25, the European Union accused Russia and China of continuing to spread “false information” about the coronavirus crisis and added that these two countries continue to “deliberately disseminate false and misleading information” and deceive global public opinion regarding the coronavirus.

European Union Report Modified Under Chinese Pressure

“Politico” reported a day later, citing three anonymous sources, that the draft European Union report had a more critical and explicit tone but was “modified under pressure from China” and softened. The New York Times also published a similar account of Chinese pressure to delete and rewrite sections of the report.

The “Welt” newspaper reported on Sunday that Germany’s Foreign Office has been aware since March of contact between Chinese diplomats and some government officials, and informed other ministries of this matter.

The newspaper states that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s most important intelligence agency, also confirmed that Chinese authorities have intensified their efforts to promote the government’s propaganda policies in connection with the coronavirus crisis. According to the report, Germany’s Foreign Office has not responded to repeated questions about this matter and has refrained from confirming or denying it.

The first cases of the new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, the center of Hubei Province in China, were officially confirmed in the final days of last year.

There is substantial evidence showing that China’s leaders knew about COVID-19 long before its outbreak and remained silent about it.

The detention of a doctor from Wuhan Central Hospital and several of his friends who reported the coronavirus outbreak before its official confirmation, and forcing them to retract their statements from the very beginning, fueled distrust of Beijing’s official propaganda regarding the coronavirus crisis.

Source: DW