"This Is a Smear Campaign": Wuhan Strikes Back with $75 Trillion Civil Lawsuit

"Manipulation and Politicization of COVID-19 Origins"
Missouri Filed Lawsuit Against China Five Years Ago

The Chinese side has filed a civil lawsuit demanding substantial damages from the state of Missouri in the United States over COVID-19.

On December 18, Yonhap News, citing the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, reported that last week Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway was notified of a civil lawsuit filed with the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court in Hubei Province, China. The lawsuit seeks 356.437 billion yuan (approximately 74.6 trillion won) in damages.

Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

This lawsuit was filed on April 30 by three parties: the Wuhan municipal government, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the parent organization of the institute. The defendants are the state of Missouri, represented by Governor Mike Kehoe; current Senator Eric Schmitt, who previously served as Missouri Attorney General; and Andrew Bailey, current Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The plaintiffs claim that the defendants politicized COVID-19 and attempted to stigmatize China by exploiting the pandemic. They also allege that the defendants manipulated the investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and falsely accused China of concealing information and hoarding personal protective equipment such as masks. In addition to damages, the plaintiffs are demanding a public apology through media outlets such as The New York Times, People’s Daily, and YouTube.

This lawsuit is a counteraction to a lawsuit filed five years ago by Missouri and others in a U.S. court. At that time, Senator Schmitt, then Missouri Attorney General, filed a lawsuit against China. The defendants included China, the Chinese Communist Party, government ministries, the Hubei provincial government, and the Wuhan municipal government, who are now plaintiffs in the current case. That lawsuit claimed that China’s concealment led to COVID-19 spreading into a global pandemic, resulting in trillions of dollars in economic damages. In March of this year, a U.S. federal court held the defendants liable for concealing information and stockpiling protective equipment during the outbreak, ordering them to pay Missouri more than 24 billion dollars (approximately 35.5 trillion won).

At the time of the ruling, Bailey, then Missouri Attorney General and now FBI Deputy Director, described it as a “monumental victory,” stating, “We will seize Chinese-owned assets, including farmland in Missouri, to recover every last cent.”

Attorney General Hanaway commented on social media that the Chinese lawsuit was a “delaying tactic,” reaffirming her determination to collect the 24 billion dollars awarded by the U.S. court. She further stated that the lawsuit “lacks any factual basis or legal merit,” and asserted, “Whatever false ruling the Chinese court may issue, we will easily defeat it and prevent enforcement against Missouri residents.”