2020年5月6
国务卿迈克尔·蓬佩奥（Michael R. Pompeo）华盛顿哥伦比亚特区（Washington, D.C.）新闻简报室
[摘译]
国务卿蓬佩奥：诸位早上好。自中国武汉中心医院急诊科主任艾芬在网上披露一名患者感染类似严重急性呼吸道综合征（SARS）病毒的消息至今已有128天。当时她的同事李文亮医生在网上将这个消息转发给其他医务人员。
第二天，12月31日，武汉当地的卫生官员表示，他们正在治疗数十名感染不明病毒导致肺炎的病人。几天后，中国官员以“在互联网上发布不实言论”为由传唤李医生和其他7名医生。
当时中国已经看到自身面临着一场紧急公共卫生危机。他们已经心知肚明。中国原来可以防止全世界数十万人死亡的现象。中国原来能够避免全世界陷入全球经济萎缩的状态。他们当时有这个机会。
但是，中国隐瞒了武汉发生的疫情。1月3日，中国国家卫生健康委员会下令销毁病毒样本。中国让发出警告的勇敢的中国公民“消失”。中国动用宣传喉舌诋毁那些很客气地仅仅要求做到透明的人们。
于是我们到了今天的地步，120多天以后。现在中国仍然拒绝分享我们为保障人民安全所需要的信息，例如病毒分离物、临床样本和有关2019年12月众多COVID-19冠状病毒疾病患者的详细情况,更不用说 “零号病人”了。
我们要求告知真相和透明的问题不涉及政治，不是什么霸道，也谈不上指责，而是关系到目前挽救美国人生命的需要。这是今天面临的一个持续性的威胁。不妨问问纽约市（New York City）的医疗专业人员。我想他们会同意这一点。
我们需要各国及时分享可靠的数据——现在，以及下一次遭遇类似灾难的时候。我们需要可靠的伙伴。
由于中国做出的选择，各国正开始认识到与中国共产党进行商业交易的风险，同时采取行动保护本国人民。仅举几个例子，近几个星期，尼日利亚、哈萨克斯坦和法国就一连串的谎言和不良行为向中国共产党的大使提出交涉。
西班牙已经退回中国制造的不合格的检测剂。该国、捷克共和国和其他国家也收到了伪劣的个人防护设备。澳大利亚和瑞典已要求对疫情进行独立调查。我的朋友多米尼克·拉布（Dominic Raab）曾表示，英国无法与北京回归“一切照常”的状态。甚至欧盟（EU）负责外交事务的首席官员也承认，布鲁塞尔（Brussels）对北京 “有些天真”。
我对这种新出现的现实主义感到振奋。 全世界各自由国家正开始认识到，中国并不共享我们珍惜的这些民主价值，或他们的经济利益。这一点对整个世界十分重要。
与共产主义政权不存在真正的“双赢”，除非能够得到特朗普总统（President Trump）强调的并在贸易协议第一阶段做到的对等的公平条件。现在各国都有机会进一步要求做符合本国人民利益的事。
今天，我呼吁所有的国家，包括欧洲国家，支持台湾作为观察员出席世界卫生大会（World Health Assembly）以及联合国（United Nations）的其他有关会议。我还要求世界卫生组织（World Health Organization）总干事谭德塞（Tedros）邀请台湾作为观察员出席这个月举行的世界卫生大会，因为他有权这样做，而且他的各位前任已经多次这样做了。
谈到人们正为世界各地共襄善举的问题。今天美国已承诺为全球卫生和援助难民追加1.3亿美元，使我们为120多个国家抗击COVID-19提供的援款总额达到9亿多美元。国会（Congress）的拨款总额已达24亿美元。
这一组新的援款为印度-太平洋（Indo-Pacific）各国追加了4,000多万美元资金，重点是印度、孟加拉国和印度尼西亚等国。我们还为非洲提供2,000多万美元的全球卫生援助，投入的重点是南非和南苏丹。
我们已经为国际原子能机构（IAEA）拨款1,100万美元，支持83个成员国的工作……
问：关于中国，当你说有大量证据显示病毒是来自武汉的实验室，这是什么意思？我问这个问题是因为陆军上将马克·米莱（Mark Milley）昨天说，我们不知道病毒是不是来自武汉的实验室。另外一点，当冠状病毒病1月份和2月初势头扩大了的时候，中国官员是否一再向美国官员保证它已经得到控制并且会自行解决，或许由于天气变暖？你觉得他们误导你们了吗？本政府是在考虑对中国采取惩罚措施吗？谢谢。
国务卿蓬佩奥：那么我将按顺序回答。我看到了米莱上将的表述。这与我认为的本政府所有人所说的完全一致，包括特朗普总统。情报机构仍在研究这个病毒确切是从哪里起源。可以让这个非常快地得到解决的方式是：中国共产党可以按照他们对世界卫生组织承诺的义务去做，透明，公开，简单地像全世界的国家那样做，确保这种大流行疫情不会失控，其实，重要的是，不要操控。我提到天数。这是一个持续的挑战。我们仍然没有我们需要的样本。我们仍然没有接触的机会。我们大家，世界，没有样本。不仅仅是当时他们没有能够正确行事；他们继续不透明，他们继续不让接触到这个重要信息，而这是我们的研究人员，我们的流行病学家所需要的。
重要的是，这有可能再次发生。这——这些都是风险。这就是为什么——这就是为什么当我听到人们说，哦，美国在威逼中国人——我们向他们要求的只是我们对每个国家所要求的，对。要透明。要是一个可靠的伙伴。正是他们所说的——中国人说他们想合作。好极了。合作是要讲行动，是要讲开放，是要讲分享这个信息。
所以，零号病人在哪里的详细情况，这是从哪里开始的，只有中国共产党才知道。他们是能够帮助解锁的人。如果他们需要技术帮助，我们很高兴向他们提供这种帮助。我们确实需要——世界需要得到这些问题的答案，不仅是为了当前，也是为了我们能确保降低像这样的情况再发生的风险，它造成千千万万人丧生，给整个世界带来巨大经济损失。
具体而言，我认为我们已经——本政府已经列出了我们所见情况的时间表。相当清楚，一开始中国共产党误导了世界。也就是说，他们知道更多的情况但没有分享，根据《国际卫生条例》（International Health Regulations）他们有义务分享，世界卫生的义务——世界卫生组织的规则责成他们遵守。他们没有那样做。世界卫生组织也未能那样做。不仅是世界卫生组织没有执行，而且它仍有待要求展开调查。谭德塞博士需要像美国和澳大利亚和其他国家一样，对我们仍然没有办法得到我们需要的答案给予关注。
这些是正在继续的重要问题，真正问题，我们需要使它们得到解决……。
问：国务卿，非常感谢。你在一开始提到了艾芬医生。
国务卿蓬佩奥：是的。
问：我想推近到你说的有关她的具体几点。她在一次访谈中公开谈到，但后来不见了，你提到的很多事实，只有一点除外。你说当时国家卫生健康委员会三号命令销毁样本，我认为这是新情况。这是基于你掌握的证据吗，还是基于公开报道？把中国拉远一点，美国和欧盟，欧盟尚未响应你对中国进行调查的呼吁。最初，你知道，美国没有参加欧盟的疫苗捐赠方大会。美国和欧盟在有关中国和COVID-19冠状病毒疫情的问题上意见一致吗？
国务卿蓬佩奥：让我看看我能为你提供什么，能够支持我所做的陈述，看看我们是否能为你提供资料。我将确保有关团队这么做。其次，关于欧盟举行的捐赠方会议。中国当时在场。因此，做了这些的一方，是的——这始于中国武汉——当时在场，而且我们对于没有要求他们做到透明的呼吁感到遗憾。我认为这始终是应有的。他们——结果是，据我所知，中国共产党也没有拿着一毛钱到场。
我谈到了我们已经提供的所有援助，我们将继续提供。如果你看看全世界的应对情况，是谁在切实主导应对这场全球流行的疫情的努力，差距不近。是美利坚合众国，而且将继续如此。
我们将继续同整个欧盟的我们的伙伴合作，不仅仅是法国、英国和德国，他们有时被同“欧盟”混为一谈。我们正在同整个欧洲的各国合作。我们认为他们正在逐渐看到，正如美国极其清晰地看到一样，这是如何发生的，如何可能是不同的情况，而且重要的是，现在就需要改变的事情，以制止正在发生的危机——我在开始讲话时所谈到的事情——以及让我们减轻像这样的情况再次发生的风险而需要改变的事情。我认为整个欧洲的人们都在看到这是怎么发生的，而且他们在我们向前推进时将不会容忍一切照旧。……
国务卿蓬佩奥：芭芭拉，那些陈述中的每一项[有关病毒的起源]都是完全一致的。其中每一项。把它们一起摆出来，没有分离。我们所有人都在寻找正确答案，我们所有人都试图搞清楚。在不同的地方有不同程度的确定性的评估；这是高度适宜的。人们注视着数据组并得到不同程度的确信。我们每个人都注视于此并了解事实。事实是这来自武汉。我们每个人都注视于此并问道，谁能提供有关零号病人来自哪里的精确答案，这到底来自哪里？我们都知道谁能打开这些钥匙。那些领导人中的每一位，不论是福奇（Fauci）博士，还是米莱上将，还是我本人，还是总统，我们都知道如何得到这一答案。这是应当成为焦点的地方。这是我们的焦点所在。
问：你提出正式要求了吗？你让CDC提出对武汉实验室的数据获取的正式要求了吗？
国务卿蓬佩奥：是的，有过很多——有过——这是一个很好的问题。已经有过很多正式要求，而且我们将继续提出获取这一信息的正式要求。
问：你得到北京的正式回应了吗？
国务卿蓬佩奥：你应当问问崔大使，他今早发表了一篇很好的署名文章，而我迫不及待地想在中国日报新闻（China Daily News）上开每日专栏……
国务卿蓬佩奥：着重于这里最重要的一点。这里最重要的一点是美国人民仍有风险。美国人民仍有风险是因为我们不知道——就你提出的问题，我们不确定它是始于实验室还是始于其他什么地方。有一条捷径能找到这个问题的答案：透明度、开放，以及当国家的确想参与解决一场全球流行的疫情时，当他们的确想参与那些保障人类安全并让经济恢复的事情时，他们所做的那些事情。
我们将继续就此努力，我们将继续得到更多的确定性，而且我希望——我希望我们得到一个答案。零号病人是从哪里来的，这确切而言始于哪里？我希望我们还能得到有关它来自哪里的更多的证据，而且当我们得到时，当然也会清楚地说明。谢谢各位。

05/06/2020 01:24 PM EDT
Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of StateWashington, D.C.Press Briefing Room
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning, everyone.  It’s been 128 days since Chinese doctor Ai Fen – the director of the Wuhan Central Hospital’s emergency unit – shared information on the internet about a patient with a SARS-like virus.  Her colleague, Dr. Li Wenliang, shared Dr. Ai’s report online with medical colleagues.
The next day, December 31st, regional health officials in Wuhan indicated they were treating dozens of patients with an unknown viral pneumonia.  And within days, Chinese officials detained Dr. Li and seven others for “spreading false statements on the internet.”
China saw then that it had an emerging public health crisis on its hands.  They knew.  China could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.  China could have spared the world a descent into global economic malaise.  They had a choice.
But instead, instead China covered up the outbreak in Wuhan.  Its National Health Commission ordered virus samples destroyed on January 3rd.  China “disappeared” brave Chinese citizens who raised alarms.  It deployed its propaganda organs to denounce those who politely called for simple transparency.
And that brings us to today, 120 days on.  China is still refusing to share the information we need to keep people safe, such as viral isolates, clinical specimens, and details about the many COVID-19 patients in December 2019, not to mention “patient zero.”
Our truth-telling and calls for transparency aren’t about politics.  It’s not about bullying.  It’s not about blame.  It’s about the ongoing need to save American lives.  This is an ongoing threat today.  Ask medical professionals in New York City.  I think they’ll agree with that.
We need countries to share reliable data in a timely way – now, and the next time that a calamity like this hits.  We need reliable partners.
As a result of China’s choices, countries are starting to understand the risk of doing business with the Chinese Communist Party and taking action to protect their people.  A few examples.  In recent weeks, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, and France have demarched the Chinese Communist Party ambassadors for a whole host of lies and misdeeds.
Spain has returned defective test kits made in China.  That country, the Czech Republic, other nations have received shoddy PPE, as well.  The Australians and the Swedes have called for an independent review into the outbreak.  And my friend Dominic Raab has said that the United Kingdom can’t go back to, quote, “business as usual,” end of quote, with Beijing.  Even the EU’s foreign affairs chief admitted that Brussels has been, quote, “a little naive,” end of quote, about China.
I’m heartened by this newfound realism.  The free nations of the world are starting to understand that China doesn’t share those democratic values that we hold dear, or their economic interests, and that this matters to the entire world.
There’s no true “win-win” with a communist regime, unless you get to the fair terms that President Trump has talked about and the reciprocity that President Trump did in the phase one trade deal.  Now countries have a chance to further insist on what’s right for their people.
Today I want to call upon all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly and in other relevant United Nations venues.  I also call upon WHO Director-General Tedros to invite Taiwan to observe this month’s WHA, as he has the power to do, and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions.
Turning to the subject of those who are trying to do good around the world.  Today, the United States is committing an additional $130 million in global health and refugee assistance, bringing our total devoted to fighting COVID-19 to more than $900 million in more than 120 countries.  Congress has provided $2.4 billion in total.
This new tranche of funding provides more than more than $40 million in additional funds for countries in the Indo-Pacific, prioritizing places like India and Bangladesh and Indonesia.
We’ll also provide more than $20 million in global health assistance to Africa, with major investments in South Africa as well as in South Sudan.
We have allocated $11 million in contributions to the IAEA to support 83 member states in their fight.
I’m also happy today to announce $225 million in additional emergency aid to the people of Yemen, separate from the COVID-19 assistance that I just mentioned.
This assistance will provide the UN World Food Program’s emergency food operation in southern Yemen, as well as a reduced operation in northern Yemen, which the WFP was forced to scale down earlier this month because of ongoing interference of the Iran-backed Houthis.
Whether it’s our work in countering diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, and now COVID-19, the State Department is very focused on saving lives.  And by implementing the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy, President Trump’s administration has gone further than any in history in making sure that tax dollars do not subsidize the global abortion industry.  We’ll continue to do that.
A couple of quick items, and then I’ll take a handful of questions.  First, I mentioned Hong Kong last week.  Right now we are delaying our report to Congress that will assess Hong Kong’s autonomy, to allow us to account for any additional actions that Beijing may be contemplating in the run-up to the National People’s Congress that would further undermine the people of Hong Kong’s autonomy as promised by China when they entered the agreement with the people of Hong Kong.
Also, I’m excited to report that negotiations on the U.S.-UK Free Trade Agreement are now underway, something President Trump has sought for a long time.
A few matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Last week, the United States sanctioned an individual and his company who were doing business with the IRG Qods Force for years, generating revenue and resources for their terror campaign.  Anyone conducting business with Iranian entities should exercise extreme caution to ensure that they are not working with the IRGC.
And I’d like to take this moment to commend our German friends for banning Hizballah and taking strong action against suspected Hizballah supporters.  I hope that all other EU member states will follow.
Our gratitude also goes out to Switzerland, the United States protecting power in Iran for now four decades, for its efforts to extend Michael White’s medical furlough seeking – and seeking humanitarian furloughs for Siamak Namazi and Morad Tahbaz and bringing home all U.S. citizens wrongfully detained.  We welcome their assistance and we appreciate all that they’ve done.
We are not the only nation whose citizens are subject to the Iranian regime’s brutality.  I was appalled to see reports last week of Iranian guards on the border of Afghanistan’s Herat province abused, tortured, drowned Afghan migrants who dared to cross the border simply in search of food and work.  We encourage the Afghan authorities to undertake a full investigation and to seek to hold those perpetrators accountable.
Let me close on an upbeat note by mentioning two human rights victories.  First, the United States was pleased to see the transitional government in Sudan take the first steps to ban female genital mutilation and cutting.  It’s a big step, a bright step closer to a future in which all women and girls worldwide won’t have to suffer this barbaric practice.  It would be great to see nations like Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, and Djibouti, where FGM is widely practiced, follow Sudan’s lead.
Second, it’s only fitting that on the same weekend as International Press Freedom Day the family of Daniel Pearl successfully challenged a lower court ruling that overturned the conviction of four individuals responsible for Danny’s kidnapping and murder.  We welcome the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to ensure that justice is done in this case, including by filing their own appeal.
Finally, while on the topic of Southcentral Asia, I want to give a shout-out to one of my colleagues, Alice Wells, as she prepares to depart the State Department.  She’s done remarkable work.  I’ve worked closely with her.  She is an exemplary diplomat who for more than now three decades has served the American people.  I want to wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
Happy to take a couple of questions.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay.  Nike.
QUESTION:  Good morning.  Thank you.  Good morning, Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning.
QUESTION:  How are you?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  I’m good.  Hope you are well.
QUESTION:  On behalf of the press corps, we are very sorry for your recent loss.  Our deepest condolence to you and your family.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Oh, thank you.  That’s very kind.  Thank you.
QUESTION:  On China, what do you mean when you say there is enormous amount of evidence that the virus is from the Wuhan lab?  The reason I ask is because Army General Mark Milley said yesterday that we don’t know if the virus emerged from the Wuhan lab.  Separately, when the COVID-19 was gaining momentum in January and early February, did Chinese officials reassure American officials that it was under control and would be resolved on its own, maybe because of the warming weather?  Do you feel they misled you?  Is the administration pondering punitive measures on China?  Thank you.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  So I’ll take the questions in sequence.  So I saw General Milley’s statements.  Entirely consistent with what I think everyone in the administration has said, including President Trump.  The Intelligence Community is still figuring out precisely where this virus began.  Here’s how this could get solved really quickly:  The Chinese Community Party could do what they’re committed to do under their obligations to the World Health Organization, to be transparent, to be open, to do the simple things that nations all around the world do to make sure that pandemics like this don’t get out of control, and in fact, importantly, stay out of control.  I mentioned the number of days.  This is an ongoing challenge.  We still don’t have the samples that we need.  We still don’t have the access.  We collectively, the world, don’t have the samples.  It’s not even just that in the moment they couldn’t do the right thing; they continue to be opaque and they continue to deny access for this important information that our researchers, our epidemiologists need.
And importantly, this could happen again.  This – these are the kinds of risks.  This is why – this is why when I see people say, well, America is bullying the Chinese – we’re demanding of them only what we demand of every nation, right.  Be transparent.  Be open.  Be a reliable partner.  The very things they say – the Chinese say they want to cooperate.  Great.  Cooperation is about action.  It’s about opening up.  It’s about sharing this information.
So the details of where patient zero, where this began, are things that are knowledge that’s in the possession of only the Chinese Communist Party.  They’re the ones that can help unlock that.  If they need technical assistance, we’re happy to provide that assistance to them.  We do need – the world needs answers to these questions for not only the current moment but so that we can make sure that we reduce the risk that something like this could ever happen again with thousands and thousands of lives lost and enormous economic cost to the entire world.
As for the details, I think we’ve – the administration has laid out a timeline of what we’ve seen.  It is pretty clear that at the front end of this the Chinese Communist Party misled the world.  That is, they knew more and they didn’t share that, and they had an obligation to do so under the International Health Regulations that they are required to adhere to under World Health obligation– World Health Organization’s rules set.  They didn’t do that.  The World Health Organization also failed to do that.  And it’s not only that they didn’t enforce, but the World Health Organization needs to still demand that there be an investigation.  Dr. Tedros needs to be just as concerned as the United States and Australia and other countries are that we still don’t have access to the answers we need.
These are important issues that are ongoing, real issues, and we need to get them resolved.
MS ORTAGUS:  Michel.
QUESTION:  Thank you.  Mr. Secretary —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning.  Yes, sir.
QUESTION:  — sorry for your loss, first.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you very much.
QUESTION:  On Israel, Israeli media has said that you are traveling to Israel next week.  Can you confirm that?  And on the other hand, Israeli defense officials said that Iranian forces are pulling out of Syria and closing military bases there.  Can you confirm these reports?  And since you mentioned Sudan, did you approve the nomination of Noureddine Sati as Sudan ambassador to Washington, and when are you planning to send a U.S. ambassador to Khartoum?  Thank you.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  So the last question is we’re working to get each of those things done with respect to Sudan.  We think what they’ve done is remarkable.  We want to support that, and so whether it’s their ambassadors being credentialed here and accepted here and us being prepared to send an ambassador there, we’re working our way through that.  We’re going to get it done just as quickly as we can.
I don’t have any travel to confirm, but I think in the upcoming hours and days you will see an announcement.  We’re hoping to get back out and be on the ground to do the things that the State Department needs to do that we physically need to be located in those places for.  We’re hoping we can get that started up before too long.  It’ll start off smaller, but we’re hoping to get back at it, just like we’re hoping that we can get the economy back open not only here in the United States but all across the world as well.
I don’t have anything that I can add to with respect of what the Israeli defense – I think it was an Israeli defense official that said that.  But we have been very clear to the Assad regime all along, and to the Russians in Syria:  The Iranians need to leave.  They need to leave not only the southwest corner that has a direct and real impact on Israel and risks to the Golan, but more broadly throughout the country.  The very terror regime that we talk about in the Islamic Republic of Iran has got a campaign that supports what Assad has done that has brutalized and destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands, caused six or seven million people to have to flee Syria.  The Iranian regime is responsible for that in the same way that the Syrian regime is.  We hope that they’ll rethink that and get back to doing what Iran needs to do, which is to take care of its own people in this very difficult time inside the Islamic Republic of Iran.  We think those resources could be much better used to support the Iranian people.
MS ORTAGUS:  Rich.
QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Rich, how are you?
QUESTION:  Good, how are you?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Way in the back today.
QUESTION:  Yeah, I know.  (Laughter.)
SECRETARY POMPEO:  I know.
QUESTION:  Good thing I have my contacts in today.  (Laughter.)  Would you be able to tell us, or does the U.S. know who may have initiated or bankrolled this operation in Venezuela from over the weekend?  And has the State Department started engaging the Maduro regime about the two Americans who are reportedly in custody there?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  So your first question, there – as I think the Secretary of Defense said, or maybe it was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President too, there was no U.S. Government direct involvement in this operation.  If we had been involved, it would have gone differently.  As for who bankrolled it, we’re not prepared to share any more information about what we know took place.  We’ll unpack that at an appropriate time.  We’ll share that information that makes good sense.  What was your second question, Rich?
QUESTION:  Just the two American citizens there —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah, we’re going to work on this.  It’s a consular matter in the sense of any time there are Americans that are detained someplace, we’ll work to get them back.  We will start the process of trying to figure a way if in fact these are Americans that are there, that we can figure a path forward.  We want to get every American back.  If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, we’ll use every tool that we have available to try and get them back.  It’s our responsibility to do so.
MS ORTAGUS:  Nick.
QUESTION:  Secretary, thank you very much.  You mentioned Dr. Ai Fen right at the top.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yes.
QUESTION:  And I wanted to zoom in on something specifically you said about her.  She’s discussed publicly in an interview that has since disappeared many of the facts you mentioned, except for one.  You said that then National Health Commission ordered samples destroyed on the third; I believe that’s new.  Is that based on evidence that you have or is that based on public reporting?  And to zoom out a little bit on China, the U.S. and the EU, the EU has not joined your call to investigate China.  At the beginning, as you know, the U.S. didn’t participate in the EU vaccine donors conference.  Are the U.S. and the EU on the same page when it comes to China and COVID-19?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Let me see what I can get you that supports the statement that I made, see if we can get you material.  I’ll make sure the team does that.  Second, so the EU held a donors conference.  China was there.  So the party that perpetrated this, right – this began in Wuhan, China – was there, and we regretted there wasn’t a call for transparency from them.  I think that’s always appropriate.  They – it turned out, as I understand it, the Chinese Communist Party didn’t show up with a dime either.
I talked about all of the assistance that we’ve provided, we will continue to provide.  If you look at the response around the world, who it is that’s actually leading the response to this global pandemic, it is not close.  It is the United States of America, and it will continue to be so.
We’ll continue to work with our partners all across the EU, not just the French, the Brits, and the Germans, who sometimes are conflated with “the EU.”  We’re working with countries all across Europe.  We think they are coming to see, just as the United States sees with great clarity, how this came to be, how it could have  been different, and importantly, the things that need to change both now to prevent the ongoing crisis – the things I talked about in my opening remarks – and the things that need to change such that we reduce the risk that something like this ever happens again.  I think the people all across Europe are seeing how this came to be, and they are not going to tolerate business as usual as we move forward.
QUESTION:  Sir, just to – just to follow up, why not show up to that donors conference, then?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  We are going to do everything we can in every form to provide both the resources, technical skills, and the leadership to deliver a response here.  We’ll do that, and we’ll do that with our European partners.  We’ll find the right forms to do that.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay, last question.  Barbara.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Oh, hi, Barbara.
QUESIOTN:  Mr. Secretary, hello.  I just want to go back to Nike’s question, because it’s kind of puzzling.  You had all of these statements.  General Milley, she mentioned about the – he doesn’t know.  Dr. Fauci said there was evidence that strongly indicated the virus evolved in nature, not in a lab —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah, no, that’s all – that’s all consistent.  That’s all —
QUESTION:  There are reports that intelligence-sharing among Five Eyes shows it’s very unlikely it came from a lab.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Barbara, Barbara, we’ve been through it.  Barbara —
QUESTION:  And so on.  So I’m just wondering —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah.
QUESTION:  And also, the IC statement last week doesn’t sort of talk about any evidence.  Are you basing your assertion on information —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Barbara.
QUESTION:  That all of these parties do not have?  And a second question about the —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Barbara, Barbara.  Let me just put this to bed.  Your efforts to try and find, just, to spend your whole life trying to drive a little wedge between senior American officials, it’s just – it’s just —
QUESTION:  No, we’re wondering where this strong evidence you’re talking about – because you’re the only one who’s saying that.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Barbara, every one of those statements is entirely consistent.  Every one of them.  Lay them down together, there’s no separation.  We’re all trying to figure out the right answer, we’re all trying to get to clarity.  There are different levels of certainty assessed at different places; that’s highly appropriate.  People stare at data sets and come to different levels of confidence.  Every one of us stares at this and knows the reality.  The reality is this came from Wuhan.  Every one of us stares at this situation and says, who can provide the answer to precisely where patient zero was from, where this actually came from?  We all know who can unlock the keys to that.  Every one of those leaders, whether it’s Dr. Fauci or General Milley, or myself, or the President, we all know how to get to this answer.  That’s where the focus needs to be.  It’s where our focus is.
QUESTION:  And have you made a formal request?  Have you asked the CDC to make a formal request for data access to the Wuhan lab?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah, there have been many – there have been – that’s a great question.  There have been many formal requests, and we will continue to make formal requests for this information.
QUESTION:  Did you get a formal response from Beijing?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  You should ask Ambassador Cui, who had a great op-ed this morning, and I can’t wait for my daily column in the China Daily News.
MS ORTAGUS:  Okay, thanks.
QUESTION:  (Off-mike.)
MS ORTAGUS:  No, he’s got to go.  (Inaudible.)
SECRETARY POMPEO:  All right, go ahead.  Go ahead.
QUESTION:  One more question?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Go ahead.  Yeah.
QUESTION:  Following up on my colleague’s question, I actually have your statements from last week where you did a lot of interviews with some of – conservative colleagues.  Any time you want to come down and talk to us, by the way, feel free.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Can hardly wait.
QUESTION:  (Laughter.)  But seriously, but you said in multiple interviews on May 1st, April 30th, and other days some version of “We don’t know if the virus came from inside the lab in Wuhan.”  And then on Sunday, you said there’s enormous evidence the virus came from inside the lab.
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Those are both true.
QUESTION:  So did the intelligence change over the weekend?
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Those statements are both true.  They’re entirely consistent.  We – they’re entirely consistent.
QUESTION:  So then —
QUESTION:  Why are you highlighting one and not the other?
MS ORTAGUS:  Wait, wait.  Let’s not – it’s not (inaudible).
SECRETARY POMPEO:  This entire – I’ve now answered this question – I think it’s the 13th time.  Happy to try to answer it again.  I’m not sure what it is that – about the grammar that you can’t get.  We don’t have certainty, and there is significant evidence that this came from the laboratory.  Those statements can both be true.  I’ve made them both.  Administration officials have made them.  They’re all true.
QUESTION:  But then why —
SECRETARY POMPEO:  Focus on the most important piece here.  The most important piece here is that the American people remain at risk.  The American people remain at risk because we do not know – to your point, we don’t have certainty about whether it began in the lab or whether it began someplace else.  There’s an easy way to find out the answer to that: transparency, openness, the kinds of things that nations do when they really want to be part of solving a global pandemic, when they really want to participate in the things that keep human beings safe and get economies going back again.
We’ll continue to work on that, we’ll continue to get more certainty, and I hope – I hope we get an answer.  Where did patient zero begin, where precisely did this start?  I hope we get even more evidence about where it came from, and when we do, we’ll certainly make that clear as well.  So thanks, everybody.
QUESTION:  Is there a reason you (inaudible)?
MS ORTAGUS:  Just to correct the record, the Secretary’s done over 90 interviews in the past month, so – and he just did one with ABC, so – and he briefs here every week.  So just want to correct what Christina said.  Thank you.