Chinese Popular Blogger's 'Bat Eating Video' Sparks Public Backlash: "I Was Ignorant Back Then"

Chinese blogger holding a bat open / Photo by Wang Mengyuan, captured from Weibo video

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] As the so-called 'Wuhan pneumonia' caused by the novel coronavirus spreads in China, a famous Chinese blogger is facing criticism from Chinese netizens for a video he posted in the past showing the consumption of bats.

Health experts are focusing on the possibility that the novel coronavirus was transmitted to humans through wild animals such as bats.

Recently, on Chinese social networking services (SNS) like Weibo, a video of a young blogger named Wang Mengyuan (汪夢云) eating bat cuisine, which he posted in June 2016, has been circulating. Wang Mengyuan is a popular Chinese blogger who creates content based on his experiences during overseas travels.

The video depicts Wang Mengyuan eating bats at a restaurant in Palau, an island country in the Pacific Ocean. In the video, Wang Mengyuan smiles while spreading the bat's wings and tasting bat soup, saying, "The meat is tough but delicious."

However, the video has drawn criticism from some Chinese netizens, as the culture of eating wild animals is being pointed out as one of the causes of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

As the controversy spread, Wang Mengyuan posted an apology on his Weibo, stating, "At the time (when I filmed the video) in 2016, I was ignorant about viruses."

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, which is identified as the origin of Wuhan pneumonia, is a place where illegal sales of edible wild animals take place.

Earlier on the 22nd, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Gao Fu, director of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced in a research report that "the novel coronavirus appears to have originated from bats sold at a seafood market in Wuhan."