Loeffler: The Chinese Communist Party Must Face Full Consequences for Its Deceit
Takes Action to Hold the CCP Accountable for COVID-19 Deception, Years-Long Effort to Undermine U.S. Economy and Jobs
ATLANTA – U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) has taken strong action to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its widespread misinformation that enabled the coronavirus to become a global pandemic, its human rights violations against the Uyghurs, the people of Hong Kong, Christians and others, along with its years-long campaign to undermine America’s interests.
“The Chinese Community Party—through its deceit and mishandling of the outbreak from the beginning—is directly responsible for the destruction COVID-19 has caused across our country—the lives lost, the businesses and schools forced to close and the millions of Americans left without work,” said Loeffler. “The CCP’s coronavirus disinformation campaign is only the latest in a long line of systemic attacks to undermine the United States. For far too long, the CCP’s aggressive behavior has been left unchecked, allowing them to damage our free enterprise system.
“President Trump has put the Chinese Communist Party on notice and has made clear this behavior will not stand. In the United States Senate, I’m fighting to stop the CCP’s efforts to undermine America’s interests by working on legislation to incentivize manufacturing to return to the United States, authorize sanctions on foreign officials who withhold or distort information about global health emergencies and stop those who seek to steal American intellectual property. My Senate colleagues and I also passed legislation to require Chinese companies to verify they aren’t owned or controlled by the government and to follow transparency regulations in order to trade on U.S. exchanges. I won’t stop fighting until the Chinese Communist Party faces the full consequences of its deceit and unfair practices, including unleashing this deadly virus on the world.”
Loeffler has introduced or cosponsored the following bills to hold the CCP accountable:
• The BEAT CHINA Act to incentivize pharmaceutical and medical device and supply manufacturers to relocate from China to the United States;
• The Enforcing Accountability and Transparency in International Trade Act to ensure China is not bending international trade rules at the expense of American farmers and ranchers;
• The Preventing Essential Medical Device Shortages Act to avert the shortage of essential medical devices during a public health emergency or epidemic;
• The Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act to authorize the president to sanction foreign officials who suppress or distort information about COVID-19 and other public health emergencies of international concern;
• The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act to authorize sanctions against those in China who commit human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR);
• The Protecting Human Rights During Pandemic Act to address the excessive surveillance measures and other human rights violations perpetrated by countries around the world under the guise of COVID-19 response;
• A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Hong Kong national security law proposed by the Government of the People's Republic of China would violate the obligations of that government under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Hong Kong Basic Law and calling upon all free nations of the world to stand with the people of Hong Kong;
• The Protecting America From Spies Act to empower the U.S. State Department to deny visas to individuals who have committed acts of espionage or intellectual property theft against America;
• A bill to direct the U.S. Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO), and for other purposes;
• A bill to prohibit the use of federal funds for purchasing animals from wet markets in China, and for other purposes;
• The Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping Act to thwart Chinese surveillance by prohibiting U.S. federal employees from conducting official business over platforms run by Chinese companies the U.S. Department of State determines are used for such activities;
• The Expanding Medical Partnerships with Israel to Lessen Dependence on China Act to enhance the partnership between the United States and Israel in developing health technologies to combat COVID-19 in order to lessen our dependence on China;
• The Securing America’s Medicine Cabinet Act to strengthen the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain and incentivize manufacturing to return to the U.S; and
• The Multilateral Aid Review Act to review U.S. contributions to multilateral organizations to determine if such contributions—and the behavior of such organizations—advance U.S. interests, after the WHO parroted the CCP’s misinformation on COVID-19; and
• The Civil Justice for Victims of COVID-Act to hold the CCP accountable by allowing Americans to sue China for their role in the spread of COVID-19.
Loeffler has sent the following letters to hold the CCP accountable:
• A letter to the administration asking them to hold China accountable for COVID-19 in the next round of trade negotiations;
• Joint letter to the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations asking that they address China’s suppression of free speech during the pandemic;
• Joint letter to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Treasury expressing concern over the economic impact of COVID-19 in the developing world and how that impact can be exacerbated by China’s debt-trap diplomacy;
• Joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemning China’s recent crackdown on Hong Kong and encouraging the administration to consider welcoming Hong Kong refugees into the country;
• Joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing concern about reports that the CCP is forcefully sterilizing Uyghurs; and
• Joint letter to the CEO of Disney inquiring about the company’s cooperation with CCP authorities in the XUAR during the filming of Mulan.
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