14 DAY TRIAL // On Saturday, a web-based petition for an investigation into the US Biological Laboratory in Fort Detrick, Maryland, suffered two cyberattacks allegedly carried out by US hackers, according to China Daily. The good news is that the servers had withstood the attack and caused very little damage, although further attacks could come.
In an online statement, Global Times, the newspaper that launched the petition, expressed its strong condemnation of the cyberattack and noted that Chinese users have a right to create a petition. The publication reported that more people, including those from other nations, will join the petition, and knowledge of the campaign will continue to spread.
By Sunday, nearly 11.4 million people had signed a petition calling upon the World Health Organization in connection to the safety concerns regarding their research into dangerous microbes such as the Ebola virus. The aim is to conduct an in-depth examination of the Fort Detrick Laboratory closed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP).
The petition's overwhelming support indicates the Chinese people's willingness to know the truth
Chinese Foreign Ministry Speaker Zhao Lijian said that by signing the petition to investigate, the Chinese people have sent a clear message. “We will be fully prepared and try to withstand the attacks to protect the petition and the right of expression of Chinese internet users,” it mentioned. He said at a press conference on Wednesday that its growing support reflects the Chinese people's ambitions and their displeasure with the US political manipulation.
He mentioned cases such as an outbreak of respiratory illness of unknown cause that sickened more than 60 retirees in Northern Virginia during the month the facility Fort Detrick was closed. Maryland, where Fort Detrick is based, had a threefold increase in the number of persons who developed vapor-related respiratory diseases later in 2019.