The Chinese Communist Party has consistently lied about the impact of the coronavirus in that country and is not telling the truth about the number of deaths that have resulted, Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said Wednesday.
Sasse, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that Chinese deception is behind figures that indicate more people have died in the United States of the COVID-19 virus than in China.
A woman wearing protective gear adjusts her glasses in Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
“The claim that the United States has more coronavirus deaths than China is false,” Sasse told the Washington Free Beacon in a statement. “Without commenting on any classified information, this much is painfully obvious: The Chinese Communist Party has lied, is lying, and will continue to lie about coronavirus to protect the regime.” (RELATED: ‘Buy American’ — White House Confirms Executive Order That Will End Medical Supply Chain Reliance On China)
“Beijing’s garbage propaganda shouldn’t be taken seriously by the World Health Organization, by independent journalists, or by the American epidemiologists who are going to beat this terrible virus.”
According to the latest data, 3,322 people have died from the coronavirus on China while 5,137 have perished in the United States. When American death figures supposedly passed those of China last week, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attempted to make a joke about the statistic, tweeting about President Donald Trump, “He did promise ‘America First.’”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been a constant critic of China and has said the Communist Party is cooking the numbers in China. (RELATED: Mike Pompeo Blames Chinese Communist Party For Global ‘Suffering’ Due To COVID-19)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo leaves a press conference at the State Department in Washington DC, on March 17, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Pompeo’s suspicions have seemingly been echoed by the U.S. intelligence community, which has reportedly labelled China’s coronavirus infection and death rates as false.
In a classified report reportedly sent to the White House last week, intelligence officials allege that China has been misrepresenting its COVID-19 data.
Coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx has also said that China has not been truthful in its coronavirus reporting and blamed the communist regime Tuesday for deliberately minimizing the disease when it broke out in the city of Wuhan.