No reason discovered to explain ‘sonic attack’
BEIJING — No explanation has yet been found for a U.S. government employee’s report of abnormal sensations of sound and pressure, China said Thursday, as the incident in southern Guangzhou city recalled the experiences of illnessstricken American diplomats in Cuba.
“China is already conducting a careful investigation, and we have already given the U.S. 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 U.S.,” Lu said, adding that China adheres to the Vienna Convention on protecting foreign diplomats.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that when the U.S. 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 Thursday that it is aware of only one employee who has been affected and that there have been no reports of private U.S. 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 U.S. for additional testing, experienced “a variety of symptoms” from late 2017 through April, Nauert said Wednesday.
The Chinese stateowned Global Times newspaper said in an editorial Thursday that the investigation into the U.S. government employee’s condition should be “objective.” The newspaper said it was “inappropriate” for the U.S. 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.
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.