自7月17日起，中国网民展开联署公开信行动，呼吁世卫组织彻底调查美国德特里克堡生物实验室。截至7月21日晚，已有超过500万中国网民联署了这封公开信。
An open letter calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate the US' Fort Detrick lab over COVID-19 origins has been circulating among Chinese netizens since July 17. It has gained over 5 million signatures from Chinese netizens as of Wednesday evening.
外交部发言人赵立坚21日在回应有关问题时指出，节节攀升的数字代表着中国人民的心声，表明了他们对美方一些人借溯源问题搞政治操弄的愤怒。美国本应及早调查德特里克堡，但一直没有这样做。
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated, at a daily press briefing on July 21, that the increasing endorsement reflects the Chinese people's aspiration and their anger in the political manipulation by some in the US. A probe into Fort Detrick is long overdue, but the US has not done it yet.
赵立坚表示，德特里克堡之谜至今无解，美国一直以“国家安全”为由，拒绝公布关于关闭德堡的原因。2019年7月，美国疾控中心给德堡基地发终止函，要求其终止大部分操作。美国媒体也曾披露，德堡至今仍存放着大量严重威胁人类安全的病毒。
Zhao said that the mystery of Fort Detrick remains unexplained and shrouded by suspicions. The US refused to release critical information regarding the base's closure by citing "national security reasons". In July 2019, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a "cease and desist order" to halt most research at Fort Detrick. According to US media reports, Fort Detrick stores a large number of viruses that severely threaten people's safety.
今年6月初，一批关心病毒溯源问题的中国网民曾在世界卫生大会期间发布一封公开信，向世卫组织表达了希望将美国德特里克堡生物实验室纳入第二阶段溯源调查的诉求。 A group of Chinese netizens concerned about virus traceability issued an open letter to the WHO during the World Health Assembly (WHA) in early June of this year, expressing their desire to include the Fort Detrick in the second phase of studies on the origin-tracing of the novel coronavirus.
这批中国网民之所以会有这样的诉求，是因为美国方面不断地歪曲事实，将新冠病毒说成来自中国武汉病毒实验室，可美国的德特里克堡却在新冠疫情首次爆发前的2019年秋季，出现过一次严重的病毒泄露事故，美国政府却以涉及国家安全为由拒绝透露内情。
The reason why Chinese netizens have such a demand is that the US continues to distort the facts, saying that the coronavirus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. However, before the first outbreak of the COVID-19, there was a serious virus leak in Fort Detrick in the fall of 2019 and the US government refused to disclose the information by citing national security reasons.
此外，由于西方媒体对当时那封公开信集体“选择性失明”，并仍在污蔑武汉病毒所，在世卫组织总干事谭德塞于7月16日表示不能草率排除实验室的可能性后，这些中国网民便决定再次发出一封公开信，要求调查德特里克堡实验室。
In addition, because the Western media chose to be "selectively blinded" to the open letter at the time and were still slandering the Wuhan Institute of Virology. After Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO said on July 16 that the possibility of the laboratory cannot be rushed out, Chinese netizens decided to issue an open letter again requesting an investigation of Fort Detrick.
美国当前正在遭受新冠疫情的反弹。然而在此背景下，一些美国政客仍然试图将病毒溯源“政治化”，致力于“甩锅”和抹黑。
The US is currently suffering from a rebound of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some American politicians are still trying to "politicize" the source of the virus and are committed to "shifting the blame" and discrediting others.
上述联署公开信写道，中国出于对溯源研究工作的支持，不仅允许来自西方国家的病毒学者到武汉进行研究，还开放了武汉病毒所给他们乃至美国媒体参观考察，可美国方面至今没有同等地开放美国德特里克堡的实验室，给独立于美国地缘政治影响的中国等国调查，甚至还在刻意忽视和歪曲中国民间要求调查德特里克堡实验室的呼声，一边将这些诉求说成是“阴谋论”，一边在不断用漏洞百出的谣言，污蔑中国的武汉病毒所。
The above-mentioned joint open letter states that China has not only allowed virologists from Western countries to conduct research in Wuhan due to its support for traceability research but also opened the Wuhan Institute of Virology to them and even the American media for visits and investigations. But the US still has not opened up the Fort Detrick laboratory to China and other countries that are independent of the geopolitical influence of the US for investigations, and even deliberately ignored and distorted the Chinese people's call for investigating Fort Detrick. The US calls those appeals "conspiracy theories" while continuing to use rumors to slander the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
在世卫组织7月16日举行的成员国通报会上，许多国家纷纷强调，病毒溯源是一项科学任务，不能被政治化。世卫组织发布的中国-世卫组织联合研究报告应该得到维护。截至20日，致函国家数量已达到55个。
At the WHO Member State Briefing held on July 16, many countries emphasized that virus traceability is a scientific task and cannot be politicized. The joint WHO-China study report of origins of Covid-19 released by the WHO should be upheld. The number of countries that have endorsed the letter has reached 55 as of July 20.
赵立坚指出，调查德堡是包括中国人民在内的各国人民的呼声，是美方在病毒溯源问题上必须回答的问题。面对本国超60万因疫情逝去的生命，美方应展现透明，切实采取措施彻底调查本国疫情源头，彻底调查美国抗疫不力的原因并追究责任者，彻底调查德堡及200多个美国海外生物实验基地种种疑云，给世界人民和国际社会一个交代。
Investigating Fort Detrick is an appeal of people all over the world, including the Chinese people. It is a question that the US must answer. Facing the 630,000 American lives lost to COVID-19, the US should be transparent, take concrete measures to thoroughly investigate the origins of the virus at home, thoroughly investigate the reason of its botched response and who should be held accountable, thoroughly investigate the mysteries over Fort Detrick and its over 200 overseas bio-labs, and explain the truth to people across the world and the international community, said Zhao.
Editor's note: This article is originally published on thepaper.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
