President Donald Trump on Sept. 22 told the United Nations General Assembly that the world “must hold China accountable for their actions” that led to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are once again engaged in a global struggle. We have waged a fierce battle against an invisible enemy, the China virus, which has claimed countless lives in 188 nations,” he said in a pre-recorded speech to the world leaders as the conference convened virtually due to social distancing.
The United States, he added, is now pioneering COVID-19 vaccines that have entered the last stage of clinical trials.
He characterized the Chinese regime as “the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world,” noting that in the early stages, when the virus first emerged in China’s central city of Wuhan, Beijing chose to lock down cities while “allowing flights to leave China, and infect the world.”
“China condemned my travel ban on their country, even as they cancel domestic flights and lock citizens in their homes,” he said. The United States first upgraded its China travel warning on Jan. 21 after the first virus patient with travel history to Wuhan was confirmed. It then closed off its borders to travelers from China on Jan. 30, the same day the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Trump also criticized the UN agency for being complicit in the coverup. “The Chinese government and the World Health Organization, which is virtually controlled by China, falsely declared that there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Later, they falsely said that people without symptoms would not spread the disease.”
On Jan. 14, the WHO, citing Chinese authorities, said there was “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission,” but that “limited human-to-human transmission” was possible, “potentially among families.”
“The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions,” Trump said.
The Chinese regime did not publicly admit the risk of transmission until Jan. 20.
The U.S. administration has become increasingly critical of the Chinese regime for its lack of transparency during the pandemic and its human rights abuses in the regions of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and Inner Mongolia.
On Monday, House Republicans released an audit stating that the Chinese Communist Party and the WHO are “culpable” for the spread of the pandemic. Had they acted sooner, according to the report by Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a global outbreak would likely have been prevented.
“It is crystal clear that had the CCP been transparent, and had the head of the WHO cared more about global health than appeasing the CCP, lives could have been spared and widespread economic devastation could have been mitigated,” said Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the lead Republican on the committee, in a Monday statement.
Several lawmakers have proposed bills targeting Beijing’s role in the pandemic. In July, six Republican senators jointly introduced a bill allowing affected Americans to file lawsuits against the Chinese government in U.S. courts.
“Americans who have been victimized by the lies and deceit of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) … deserve the opportunity to hold China accountable and to demand just compensation,” stated Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), in a July 20 press release about the bill.
From The Epoch Times
