China denies connections to the bird flu outbreak

BEIJING, China: China has dismissed allegations that it was the source of the Asia-wide bird flu outbreak. A British weekly said it believed the outbreak began in southern China in early 2003 after a poultry vaccination scheme went wrong and that it had since been covered up. Meanwhile, China continued its mass culling of chickens and ducks in Guangxi and Hubei provinces.

The blame has been laid on China again. This time - for starting the bird flu outbreak that has hit several Asian nations. Its Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Zhang Qiyue, said: "There is a certain magazine that has already reported that China is the source of bird flu. We think saying this is completely inaccurate, is without proof and moreover does not respect science. That is to say, it is irresponsible." Said Zhu Li: "I'm not afraid to eat chicken because the newspaper said Beijing has no bird flu," report &to=http://www.ChannelNewsAsia.com' target=_blank>channelnewsasia.com