Editor's note:

As COVID-19 wreaks havoc around the world, there has been much misinformation surrounding public discourse about the origin and transmission of the COVID-19 virus (also called SARS-CoV-2). Lies, rumors and conspiracy theories have been widely circulating on social media and some established media.

The motives behind these actions are varied, some are aimed at slandering political and ideological opponents, others target specific countries, ethnicities and religions. China is often at the receiving end of this "infodemic" of misinformation.

The following are the 16 most common rumors about the COVID-19 epidemic related to China, recently compiled and published by the Chinese embassy in Germany. All of these rumors were debunked one by one based on scientific knowledge and facts, with hope to make public discourse around the topic more informed, honest, and truthful. The original version was published in Chinese and German. China Daily did some minor editing and updated a few figures in translation.

Rumor 9: The Chinese mainland obstructs Taiwan from entering the WHO, which has undermined the health of the people in Taiwan.

Fact: Taiwan, being a part of China, does not have the right to join the WHO, because the WHO member must be a sovereign nation. Despite of this, technical communication and cooperation channel between the island and the WHO is always open.

The WHO is a specialized United Nations body composed of sovereign countries. Only UN members can join the WHO. Taiwan, being a part of China, is not eligible for membership. However, through consultations with the WHO, the central government of China has made proper arrangements for the application of the International Health Regulations in Taiwan. The island has the access to the WHO information system to timely get the information on public health emergencies released by the WHO. There are no technical barriers for Taiwan of China to work with the WHO. From early 2019 to March 2020, 24 experts from Taiwan, in 16 batches, have attended technical conferences held by the WHO, according to the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council.

Nobody cares about the health of Taiwan compatriots more than the central government. Since the outbreak began, China's National Health Commission timely and actively notified the Taiwan region about the epidemic situation. By April 13, the Chinese mainland has informed relevant authorities in Taiwan 127 times. In mid-January, the mainland has arranged a field study in Wuhan for experts from Taiwan to let them learn about the situation.

As of April 23, Taiwan had reported 426 confirmed cases and six deaths of COVID-19, both relatively small numbers. It shows that whether Taiwan joins the WHO is irrelevant to safeguarding the health of the people on the island.

Rumor 10: Taiwan notified the WHO on Dec 31 about human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus, but the warning went unheeded.

Fact: Taiwan did not notify the WHO. It was seeking information from the WHO after Wuhan publicly reported cases of unknown pneumonia.

On Dec 31, after Wuhan announced that the city had detected cases of pneumonia with unknown cause, health authorities in Taiwan contacted the National Health Commission to ask information over the situation, and received a timely written response from the commission. On the same day, health authorities in Taiwan sent a request to the WHO for further information (Details shown below), but mentioned nothing about human-to-human transmission. It is evident that the Chinese mainland first released the information and the Taiwan authority just relayed the information, instead of taking the lead to report the situation to the WHO.

The WHO has clarified on multiple occasions that Taiwan of China has not warned the organization, but simply asked for more information. Before Taiwan's email, the WHO had already received several other inquiry emails. On April 20, the WHO reiterated this point at a news conference.

Taiwan of China confirmed its first COVID-19 infection on Jan 21. Before that, the local authorities did not have any clinical evidence about the epidemic, thus it was impossible for them to conclude if there was human-to-human transmission. Under such circumstances, how could people trust the claim from the Taiwan side that it had warned the virus could be transmitted among humans?

Rumor 11: China is responsible for the outbreak and must compensate the world.

Fact: The virus is a common enemy of the mankind and China is also a victim. There is no legal basis to demand "compensation" from China.

Under the international law, a state can only be accused of bearing "state responsibility" if it has committed an "internationally wrongful act", that is, what the state has done has violated its international obligations. In the fight against COVID-19, China has taken timely and effective measures to fulfill its international obligations.

The WHO announced the outbreak as the Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Jan 30, a month after China first notified the WHO of the epidemic. This sufficiently demonstrates that China has fulfilled its obligations of notifying the world without any delay.

Current international laws and the International Health Regulations provide no basis for holding a state responsible for a pandemic. Some experts on international laws think that if requesting China to be responsible for COVID-19 and make compensations, then who shall be responsible for epidemics like H1N1 influenza, AIDS and Mad Cow Disease?