and from beijing is victor gao.former chinese diplomat and is now vice president of the centre for china and globalisation, which is one of the most influential think tanks in china. he's also a regular commentator on the media. so, that's our panel, welcome to you both and to our questions. i'm going to give you a round of applause here. and remember, you, too, can join the conversation. it's #bbcglobalquestions. and now without further ado, let's go to our first question, and it is from new delhi in india. and fire away, please, your question? wildlife markets, neighbourhood wet markets and worldwide industrial farms have been breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases like the covid—19. is this time for us to reboot and rethink consumption habits? all right, victor gao, that's one to you, cos we've heard a lot of criticisms about the wet markets in china. isn't it time for the world to stop this? the traditional wet markets are very much part of the lifestyle of the people in many countries, including china. i would

evicted gao there. —— victor.ro, "a one—man fund raising machine", as prince william described him. his simple goal was to walk a hundred laps of his garden to raise money for nhs charities before his 100th birthday, which was on thursday. well, he's made it many, many times over — the fund stands at more than £30 million. the tributes have been pouring in, as you can imagine. david sillito reports. # happy birthday to you! # happy birthday, captain tom, daddy, grandpa # happy birthday to you #. cheering i never, ever anticipated, ever in my life, anything like this. it really is amazing and i want to say to everyone thank you very much to everyone, wherever you are. captain tom moore. it began as a little challenge in his back garden. 100 laps to try to raise £1,000 for nhs charities. and today, he was being honoured with an raf birthday flypast as the total reached £30 million. this is the culmination of an extraordinary few weeks and also a celebration ofjust how one man's cheerful determination has inspired pe

all right, victor gao, that's one to you because we've had a lot of criticisms about the wet markets't it time for the world to stop this? the traditional wet markets are very much part of the lifestyle of the people in many countries, including china. i would say many items traded in the wet markets are perfectly fine. there are very restricted items including exotic animals which should be completely banned. and i think starting in january this year, the chinese government has tightened the ban on the trade, hunting, buying and selling and consumption of many wildlife. and i think this is absolutely the right thing to do. it should be introduced throughout china and gradually, i hope, such wet markets will be very much reduced. this is very important for public health and whatever that will remain of a wet market, need to improve the hygiene conditions and people who visit these markets should abide by strict rules. good enough for you stephen moore in washington? hi, everyone. yes, i agree with victor, i agree with everything he just said. i think there is a real global health iss

finally, victor gao, let's go back to china and transparency. scenario. so, do you think we will shortly get to know the origin of this coronavirus? i think it's really going to require a lot of extensive scientific work by the scientists and urologists throughout the world —— virology —— virologists around the world. the vaping investigation in the united states is important, we need to do all of the homework by scientists in many countries really get to the real origin of this coronavirus. 0k, victor gao, thank you very much for your time. thank you for having me. next. there's a simple, but crucial number at the heart of understanding the threat posed by the coronavirus. it is guiding governments around the world on the actions needed to save lives, and it gives us clues to the extent that lockdown can be lifted. it's called the reproduction number — or simply the r—value. 0ur science editor, david shukman explains. what is called the r—number is a way of measuring how easily the virus spreads. if the rate is one, that means anyone infected i