Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham urged his Democratic colleagues Monday to remember the catastrophic damage of the coronavirus and “don’t give China a pass for this pandemic.”
Referring to China’s continued mendacity over COVID-19 fatalities during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” Graham said, “Here’s what we do know: 26 million Americans are out of work because of this virus. Almost 56,000 Americans are dead because of this virus. It came from China.”
“I’m not saying they intentionally did this. A combination of gross negligence plus willful deception by the Chinese government led to this,” Graham allowed. “Here is my plea to my democratic colleagues: please don’t give China a pass for this pandemic. Work with me to compel China to do three things that need to be done.” (RELATED: Mike Pompeo Blames Chinese Communist Party For Global ‘Suffering’ Due To COVID-19)
Graham outlined these three conditions: “Number one, fully cooperate with any investigation regarding how the virus originated … Number two, close all the wet markets that serve exotic wildlife … And three, release all the Hong Kong democracy advocates that have been in jail since the virus started.“
Graham promised that the United States would impose sanctions on China until these conditions are met. “I need Democrats. Democrats have been very silent when it comes to China; please do not give China a pass.”
When asked if his planned legislation will actually lead to financial damages being extracted from China or the companies the Communist Party controls, Graham responded, “We’re going to seize assets of Chinese officials who are responsible for not reporting the pandemic. We’re going to cut China off from U.S. financial institutions, we’re going to shut down Visas [and] travel to the United States for Chinese students. We’re going to close off America to China [and] the Chinese economy and we’re going to make it hard for them to do business in the United States until they fully cooperate.”
“To the Democratic Party, join me and President [Donald] Trump and all Republicans to send a signal to China: business as usual is over until you change your behavior.” (RELATED: Peter Navarro Says China Used ‘The Four Kills’ To Attack America Through The Coronavirus Pandemic)
(Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused China of being responsible for global “suffering” for its mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak. Critics accuse China of covering up evidence and testimony related to the coronavirus after the sickness broke out in the city of Wuhan.
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley recently introduced legislation to allow U.S. citizens to sue China. the Justice for Victims of COVID-19 Act. In a telephone call with the Daily Caller, Hawley’s office explained that “the bill would strip China of its sovereign immunity and create a private right of action against the CCP for reckless actions like silencing whistleblowers and withholding critical information about COVID-19.”