Why the laboratory theory of the origin of COVID-19 hits a nerve

The hearing marked the start of what is known as the US Department of Justice's China initiative to uncover such espionage cases. In the meantime, however, the initiative itself is under pressure, because the results are not particularly convincing: According to an analysis by the non-profit organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), 48 percent of the cases examined were ultimately neither about industrial espionage, trade theft, nor and espionage-related offenses.

Only a handful of cases actually ended up in court. A growing number of leading US universities are therefore calling for internal investigations into research cooperation with China, clear rules and training for researchers.