On Friday, President Donald Trump gave a brief and blistering speech against the malfeasance of the Chinese Communist Party, slamming its deception on the coronavirus pandemic and its direct assault on the independence of Hong Kong. He announced the U.S. would pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO) and would prepare sanctions for Chinese officials involved in the crackdown on Hong Kong’s independence.
“The world is now suffering as a result of the malfeasance of the Chinese government,” he declared. “China’s cover-up of the Wuhan virus allowed the disease to spread all over the world, instigating a global pandemic that has cost more than 100,00 American lives and over a million lives worldwide.”
“Chinese officials ignored their reporting obligations to the World Health Organization and pressured the World Health Organization to mislead the world when the virus was first discovered by Chinese authorities,” Trump continued. “Countless lives have been taken and profound economic hardship has been inflicted all around the globe.”
Indeed, Chinese authorities covered up the outbreak early on, going so far as to destroy samples of the coronavirus. When the WHO reported that there had been some human-to-human transmission of the virus, Chinese authorities pressured it to retract that statement. At the time, China was hoarding personal protective equipment (PPE) from across the world, PPE which it later refused to send to countries that needed it unless foreign governments praised Beijing.
The Chinese Communist Party threatened doctors who dared to share information about the coronavirus and did not put Wuhan — where the outbreak originated — under lockdown until 5 million people had already left the city.
The State of Missouri has already filed a lawsuit to hold China accountable, and there is a growing chorus of voices demanding the U.S. sue the Chinese Communist Party in an international court. China has even threatened U.S. senators by name who dared to call Beijing to account for its malfeasance. Americans want to see China held accountable for this malfeasance.
DAMNING: Trump Outlines WHO’s Shameful Complicity With China in Covering Up Coronavirus
The president noted that the WHO “strongly recommended against me doing the early ban from China but I did it anyway, was proven to be 100 percent correct. China has total control over the World Health Organization, despite only paying $40 million per year, compared to what the United States has been paying, which is approximately $450 million a year.”
Two weeks ago, President Trump sent a letter to the WHO condemning its covering for China’s coronavirus lies and warning that if it did not implement reforms, the U.S. would withdraw from the organization. In his remarks on Friday, Trump said the organization had “refused to act.”
“Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” the president announced.
“The world needs answers from China on the virus. We must have transparency. Why is it that China shut off infected people from Wuhan to all other parts of China … but they allowed them to freely travel throughout the world, including Europe and the United States?” Trump asked.
“The death and destruction caused by this is incalculable. We must have answers not only for us but also for the rest of the world,” he declared.
The president slammed Beijing’s decades-long “pattern of misconduct” regarding intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices. “The Chinese government has routinely violated its promises to us and so many other nations,” he argued. He also condemned Beijing’s unlawful acquisition of territory in the Pacific Ocean, “threatening freedom of navigation and international trade.”
Trump turned specifically to Hong Kong, noting that China’s leaders “broke their word to the world on ensuring the autonomy of Hong Kong.”
The president noted China’s imposition of control over Hong Kong’s security, a “plain violation of Beijing’s treaty obligations with the United Kingdom,” 27 years before the treaty was due to expire.
“This is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong, the people of China, and indeed the people of the world,” Trump said.
He announced that the U.S. will champion Hong Kong in a variety of ways, including sanctions against Chinese Communist Party and Hong Kong officials “directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy … smothering Hong Kong’s freedom.”
Trump also declared that his administration will act to build up America’s economic independence, protect its technological advances, and ensure the security of its supply chains.
As PJ Media’s Stephen Green has noted, the U.S. is in a new cold war with China, and Trump’s firm response to China’s malfeasance is quite warranted. Meanwhile, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is trying to distract from his “you ain’t black” comments by condemning Trump for racism — in calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus.”
LIVE: President @realDonaldTrump holds a news conference https://t.co/rHkqoxJLHU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 29, 2020
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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