Republican senators have introduced legislation that would rename the Washington, D.C. street where the Chinese embassy is located after one of the country’s most prominent coronavirus whistleblowers.
If the bill is passed, the street would be renamed ‘Li Wenliang Plaza,’ after the Wuhan doctor who was one of the earliest and most prominent medical officials to alert the public to the threat of coronavirus. The Chinese Communist Party silenced Li in December 2019 after he went public about a “mysterious illness” spreading in Wuhan. Li, 33, died of coronavirus on February 7. (RELATED: One Of Trump’s Personal Valets Reportedly Tests Positive For Coronavirus)
“Dr. Li’s professional ethics made him an enemy of the Chinese Communist Party and a hero to the Chinese people,” Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said in a statement. “Chairman Xi can try to claim Dr. Li as the Party’s own martyr, but the Chinese people know that it was Dr. Li’s selfless work and voice that the Party sought to silence.”
Sens. Marco Rubio and Ben Sasse (LEFT: Reuters/Joshua Roberts RIGHT: Reuters/Chris Wattie)
“We can honor that work by renaming the street outside the Chinese Embassy after him,” Sasse added. “The street outside the embassy will draw a glaring contrast between the cruelty and lies of the Chinese Communist Party and the decency and compassion of the Chinese people.”
The bill was introduced by Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas alongside fellow Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Liz Cheney of Wyoming. (RELATED: Democratic Witness In House Coronavirus Hearing Pleaded Guilty In 2019 Sex Abuse Case)
The initiative comes amid surging criticism of the Chinese regime from across the globe. The U.S. intelligence community concluded in mid-March that China had been falsifying its data on coronavirus cases and deaths.
The country’s official data claims roughly 3,500 people died of the virus in Wuhan, but evidence indicates the true number was roughly 40,000. (RELATED: White House Bars Coronavirus Task Force Members From Testifying To Congress In May)
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has gone a step further and introduced legislation that would create a State Department task force to lead an international investigation into China’s handling of the virus, as well as allow U.S. citizens to sue the Chinese government directly for coronavirus damages.