NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has proposed a resolution to call on the Chinese government to take responsibility for the way the COVID-19 outbreak was handled prior to its international spread.
According to a release from the senator’s office, other lawmakers like Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Representatives Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) have also joined the movement to pass the resolution.
“Chinese officials destroyed early COVID-19 test kits, suppressed information and refused international assistance,” Senator Blackburn said. “The Communist Party is so petrified of the truth that they kicked out journalists and fabricated a story of where the virus originated. It’s time the Communist Party admits to the serious missteps that heightened the severity and spread of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
The resolution would call on the Chinese government to do the following:
- Publicly state that no evidence suggests the virus originated anywhere else but China
- Denounce the claim that the US Army placed COVID-19 in Wuhan
- Revoke the country’s expulsion of American journalists
- End all forced labor programs
- End detainment of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities
The release says the resolution condemns China’s censorship of both doctors and journalists during the beginning of the outbreak, as well as the refusal to allow the CDC to assist in response for more than a month.
The release also calls on the World Health Organization Director-General to retract statements that supported the Chinese government’s response to the virus.
“The Chinese Communist Party wasted precious weeks on a cynical coverup instead of containing the China virus at its epicenter,” said Senator Cotton. “Our first priority after protecting Americans must be holding China accountable for unleashing this plague on the world.”
You can read the full proposed resolution below:
S.Res_.553_Text by Murry Lee on Scribd
