Conspiracy Theory/Urban Legend
Chinese Government’s Role in the Spread of Coronavirus
Michael Xiao
San Ramon, California
2020

Informant Data:
Michael is an Asian-American male born in Santa Rosa, CA on April 6, 2000. Both of his parents are immigrants from China, but Michael has been raised in the United States, which has often been a rival to China in great power politics. Michael is fervently pro-US and anti-Communist Party of China and considers himself well-read on global politics. He’s currently a sophomore at Georgetown University.

Contextual Data:
As coronavirus has spread to the United States, President Donald Trump has sought to improve his chance at reelection and secure shelter from political animosity by deflecting blame for the epidemic on the Communist Party of China. In doing so, the president has promoted a theory questioning whether or not the current strain of coronavirus originated from a Wuhan lab that had been studying similar forms of the virus in the months and years prior. This conspiracy theory/urban legend serves a practical, political purpose of aiding reelection and a nationalist purpose for unifying a country in pandemic against a common, tangible enemy.

Item: [Paraphrased version of Michael’s description of the conspiracy theory]
Although I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories, I recently heard of a myth regarding the Chinese Community Party’s role in the spread of coronavirus (note from the collector: I think the more proper term is a conspiracy theory or urban legend, rather than a myth). Apparently a Wuhan lab had been studying coronavirus before the epidemic and it may be possible that the lab had an accident or something that released the virus into the public. Again, I don’t believe the theory, especially without proof, but it’s interesting to think about, especially because the coronavirus may not have been spread at a wet market.

Kevin Xiao, 19
5517 London Way
San Ramon, CA 94582
Dartmouth College
Russ 13
Spring 2020