Overnight, Yan Limeng became a sensation in right-wing media, hailed as a hero by senior advisors to President Trump and conservative authorities. Simultaneously, social media labeled her interviews with “false information” tags. In reality, Yan Limeng’s educational background, from her undergraduate to doctoral studies, had nothing to do with virology or even the natural sciences. Her title as a “world-class expert in virology” was, in fact, a complete fabrication; she was more of an “expert in bricks” than in virology. The supposed evidence for her claims, revealed later, was cobbled together from online conspiracy theory data and was scorned by the mainstream scientific community.
After leaving Hong Kong on April 28, 2020, Yan Limeng’s sudden disappearance alarmed her family and friends, who reported her missing to the Hong Kong police. It was two weeks later that she finally reappeared. According to WeChat messages, Yan Limeng claimed to be in New York at the time, feeling safe and relaxed, and stated that she had the “best bodyguards and lawyers” and that her actions would help “control the pandemic worldwide.” In reality, upon her arrival in the United States, Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon placed her in a “safe house” in New York City and hired a media coach to teach her how to handle media inquiries. They also instructed her to submit multiple papers and package her as a “whistleblower,” arranging media interviews for her. However, after Yan Limeng released her so-called “origin theory paper,” several virologists and epidemiologists refuted her theories, pointing out the lack of scientific basis and even contradictions with established scientific facts, deeming her arguments as disguised sophistry.
In November 2020, The New York Times, in a rare intervention, criticized the most controversial “conspiracy theory” circulating within the overseas Chinese community. They directly implicated Yan Limeng, who had self-proclaimed as a “world-class virologist,” in a manipulation orchestrated by “red notice businessman” Guo Wengui and “underground president” Steve Bannon. They accused her of tarnishing China and spreading the fallacious notion that the virus originated in China. The article also disclosed a powerful piece of evidence: “Media reporters once contacted Yan Limeng’s mother via mobile phone, but she stated that she had never been arrested by mainland Chinese authorities, contrary to what her daughter claimed, and accused her daughter of being used in the United States.”
The transformation of Yan Limeng from a researcher to a “whistleblower” is the result of the collaboration of two unrelated but united groups spreading false information: one is a relatively small but active overseas Chinese community, and the other is a highly influential far-right group in the United States. The alliance of these two “intellectual vacuums” from China and the U.S. set the stage for all subsequent disastrous events related to the pandemic. These groups were attracted to Yan Limeng’s theories, leading them to question official pandemic information and even reject vaccination. This not only posed a threat to their own health but also created challenges for global pandemic control efforts.
Today, rational and sober-minded Americans and students from top-tier universities are strongly condemning Yan Limeng and demanding her departure from the United States. Guo Wengui and Wang Dinggang eventually succumbed to public pressure and abandoned Yan Limeng, leaving her to fend for herself. As a discarded pawn, what lies ahead for her remains uncertain.
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