W
ithout freedom of speech there is no mod-
ern world, just a barbaric one.” These words
from China’s most famous artist and activ-
ist, Ai Weiwei, have never been more impor-
tant. Ai Weiwei would probably agree that
China’s actions in the coronavirus crisis re-
quire the voice of the scientific community,
and he wouldn’t be surprised that getting folks to say
something has been a challenge.
I didn’t want to be the person to write this editorial. I
felt that it would best come from someone inside China
with a direct connection to the situation. Such a person
could help dispel or reinforce the scraps of informa-
tion coming from the intrepid journalists and the few
courageous eyewitnesses. But over
the past few weeks, I’ve been dis-
couraged by the responses of such
individuals who declined or didn’t
respond to an invitation to write a
forthcoming editorial about China’s
secrecy on coronavirus. Some of
these scientists and experts even
expressed doubt that I’d find such a
gutsy author at any organization in
China to write such a piece.
Maybe I should have asked Ai
Weiwei.
It’s no wonder I had trouble. Al-
though we don’t know if the lack of
information is the result of active
suppression or just fear of punish-
ment, Xu Zhangrun, a professor
of law at Tsinghua University, was
placed under house arrest and cut
off from the internet for publish-
ing an essay earlier this month that
was critical of China’s handling of the public health cri-
sis. His essay called for an independent body to investi-
gate the origin of the coronavirus, which shouldn’t be a
matter of controversy much less imprisonment.
Although China’s actions have been more forthcom-
ing than in the 2002–2003 severe acute respiratory syn-
drome (SARS) epidemic, it is only within the last few
days that experts from the World Health Organization
have been allowed into Wuhan, where the outbreak in
China was first reported. And the courageous Li Wen-
liang, the Chinese physician who first sounded the alarm
in December, was punished by authorities for his online
comments before he then contracted the virus and died.
A public health crisis is not a good time for censorship.
Like all other top journals, we are awash in papers oncoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the virus that
causes it, SARS–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We were
proud to cosign a letter led by the Wellcome Trust setting
out the terms under which the Science family of journals
would document the virus and the disease. Under these
terms, we are strongly encouraging preprints, making all
data and the published paper free immediately, and ex-
pediting review. Last week, we published—only 9 days
after receiving it—the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike
protein, which could be important in therapeutic design.
The contrast between the mobilization of the scientific
community and the political actions of China is striking.
We will never be able to better handle future public
health crises without learning lessons from previous
experiences. And if every experi-
ence is shrouded in secrecy, en-
forced by a repressive government,
then we will never solve this prob-
lem. Yet, the COVID-19 crisis seems
only to add to the legacies of obfus-
cation and repression left by Cher-
nobyl, Fukushima, and SARS. Will
Western governments do better?
We don’t know. The United States
Department of State ignored rec-
ommendations of the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Preven-
tion by bringing home infected in-
dividuals from the coutries where
they contracted the virus. And with
the spread of the virus to Italy and
South Korea, we’ll see if any les-
sons have been learned.
The solution to all of this is un-
clear. The scientists working within
repressive regimes deserve our sup-
port and admiration. And scientific collaboration with
Chinese scientists has been crucial in understanding
the outbreak and the biology of the virus. Preventing a
pandemic is impossible without international collabo-
ration. This week, Harvard University and the Guang-
zhou Institute announced that they will work together
to investigate SARS-CoV-2, which is progress.
The only thing we can do at this point is mobilize the
voices that can speak out to ask for greater transpar-
ency and collaboration. But it will take more than just
an examination of China alone, or even this outbreak
alone, to shape the future. To avoid the tragic costs of
silence, we must keep pushing for more transparency
and truth on all fronts.
–H. Holden ThorpThe costs of secrecy
H. Holden Thorp
Editor-in-Chief,
Science journals.
[email protected];
@hholdenthorp10.1126/science.abb
PHOTO: CAMERON DAVIDSON“
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 28 FEBRUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6481 959EDITORIAL
“...the COVID-
crisis seems only
to add to the...
obfuscation
and repression
left by Chernobyl,
Fukushima,
and SARS.”
Published by AAAS