China says no reason found for US staffer’s sonic condition in mysterious incident

IN THE wake of a suspected sonic attack on US diplomats in Cuba, US personnel in China have reported mysterious conditions linked to sonic injuries.

The State Department said on May 23 that a US government employee in southern China reported abnormal sensations of sound and pressure, recalling similar experiences among American diplomats in Cuba who later fell ill. Picture: Andy Wong

NO EXPLANATION has yet been found for a US government employee’s report of abnormal sensations of sound and pressure, according to a Chinese official, as the incident in southern Guangzhou city recalled the experiences of illness-stricken American diplomats in Cuba.

“China is already conducting a careful investigation, and we have already given the US preliminary feedback,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said during a regular news briefing.

“At this point, we have not yet found any reason or clue leading to the situation described by the US,” Mr Lu said, adding that China adheres to the Vienna Convention on protecting foreign diplomats.

It comes just months after suspected sonic attacks on American diplomats in Cuba who later fell ill.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that when the US informed China of the incident in Guangzhou, “they said all the right things and have demonstrated their willingness to help us identify the vector which led to this medical incident”.

The State Department has dispatched a medical team to Guangzhou, where “subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure” were reported by an American government worker.

The department said on Thursday that it was aware of only one employee who has been affected and that there have been no reports of private US citizens experiencing the phenomena.

Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the American employee had shown clinical findings similar to patients with mild traumatic brain injury, known commonly as a concussion.

The worker, who has been sent to the US for additional testing, experienced “a variety of symptoms” from late 2017 through April, Ms Nauert said.

The Chinese state-owned Global Times newspaper said in an editorial on Thursday that the investigation into the US government employee’s condition should be “objective.”

The newspaper said it was “inappropriate” for the US to connect the incident with what American diplomats underwent in Cuba.

“It is completely unthinkable for there to be medical attacks launched against foreigners, particularly diplomats, in China,” the Global Times said.

“A sonic attack especially requires exceptional imagination,” the commentary said, asking, “What sort of ‘profit’ would make it worthwhile for China to take such a risk?”

A woman tends to a child near a promotional gimmick in the form of a bomb and the US flag outside a US apparel shop in Beijing. Picture: Ng Han Guan

On Wednesday, Mr Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the medical indications of the Guangzhou incident “are very similar and entirely consistent with the medical indications of the Americans working in Havana”.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who met with Mr Pompeo in Washington and then addressed a joint news conference, said China hadn’t found any organisation or individual responsible for “such a sonic influence”.

“We don’t want to see this individual case magnified, complicated or even politicised,” Mr Wang said.

Mr Pompeo commended China’s response and said it had offered to assist the US in investigating.

Last October, the State Department ordered non-essential embassy personnel and the families of all staff to leave Havana after at least 24 Americans experienced a range of mysterious ailments, often after hearing an unusual sound.

While the symptoms and sensations have varied from person to person, some have permanent hearing loss or concussions, while others have struggled with nausea, headaches, concentration and common word recall.