(Minghui.org) As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the globe, resulting in more than 342,000 deaths as of May 23, 2020, an increasing number of people and governments are demanding accountability of and compensation from the Chinese government for its failure to report the initial outbreak in Wuhan in a timely manner. In response, the Chinese communist regime has been going all out to shift the blame, including spreading false narratives, that the virus originated in the U.S.

The mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, a town of 36,000, recently became the newest subject of the Chinese media frenzy.

In the report, “N.J. mayor makes unfounded claim that he had coronavirus in November” by NJ.com on April 30, 2020, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said that he tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies and that he probably had contracted coronavirus four months earlier in November when he suffered fever, chills, and other flu-like symptoms.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controlled media seized on this report and publicized it on TV, newspapers, and cellphones as “evidence” that COVID-19 had started in the United States. Chinese media also reported that random tests in Massachusetts found that one-third of people have COVID-19 antibodies, implying the coronavirus had infected Americans earlier, but were treated as flu, etc.

Screenshots of the NJ.com article and Chinese article on Xinhua.net

The Chinese media's report of Melham specified that Melham had “admitted” that he contracted coronavirus last November. But there was no clear medical evidence to support the claim. The NJ.com report stated that Melham called a doctor in November and was told that he likely had the flu. There was no detailed diagnosis or other medical records. But the Chinese state-run media took it as evidence, and claimed that the virus had started in the U.S., calling on the world to demand compensation from the U.S.

It is widely believed that the Chinese regime silenced whistle-blowing doctors, censored news about the outbreak, destroyed samples of the virus in laboratories, and refused to hand over samples to international scientists at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now distorting facts and trying to shift the blame. But the world is not deceived this time.

Inside China, there is an increasing public demand for accountability of the government's cover-up as well. Yang Min, a woman from Wuhan, went to the Wuhan city government building and demanded punishment for those who had concealed the danger of the virus. The next day, she was locked inside her own residential area, and had lost contact with the outside world. Her story had drawn international attention.

Under international and domestic pressure, the CCP seized on the news of Mayor Melham in order to deflect the attention of the Chinese people. However, this incident precisely reflects its depraved and true nature.