They could have just accidentally leaked it from their lab. That would be embarrassing enough, I suspect.
Not like thats ever happened before
OH DEAR GOD!
"But worries surround the Chinese lab, too. The SARS virus has escaped from high-level containment facilities in Beijing multiple times, notes Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. "
Sorry for shouting at yah rightwingcrazy but note the date.