Gain of function isn't a conspiracy. It's research methodology.
We still don't know for a fact what happened. Lab leak seems incredibly plausible, but we need more data to understand.
If lab leak is what happened, then this is likely a case of best intentions that went horribly awry. Your response is far too extreme and discounts the failure modes that may have been more likely.
Researchers in the US wanted to conduct gain of function research but couldn't due to the legislative environment.
China has a ton of novel coronaviruses in local wildlife reservoirs that do cause disease and can evolve to impact humans. These are worth studying.
An arrangement could have been made to study these viruses with research objectives laid out by Western scientists. That's not bioweapons research. That's basic science.
The Wuhan lab may not have been equipped with the same safety protocols, enabling the virus to escape. Here's something we'd still need to find out.
What we need to look at is the cause of failure and prevent it from happening again. If rules were broken, then a handful of individuals may be responsible for unleashing this. (Overzealous Western researchers and Chinese lab personnel.)
This is geopolitically complicated and all parties involved are trying to save face. China and the US included. Not to mention every government that was slow to act in stopping the spread.
This is maybe human error. Lots of human error. If this is the case, it's historically notable as probably one of the greatest mistakes in human history. It cost millions of lives.
Through the same lens, it's also interesting to see all of the positive changes. RNA vaccines, remote work, supply chain discoveries, etc.
It’s also possible that a PRC agency or individual decided to take advantage of the situation and leak it to try and stick it to the United States as a geopolitical move.
I hope this isn’t true, but until we have additional evidence it would be impossible to rule this out entirely. Also the PRC needs to show that evidence to the world ASAP.
For some reason the media wants to call everyone that looks at the situation xenophobic and racist, which just leads me to believe there is more to the story.