Tuesday, April 21, 2020

THE STATE OF MISSOURI SUES RED CHINA FOR 'APPALLING CAMPAIGN OF DECEIT'

Josh Hawley Proposes to Hold Chinese Accountable for Coronavirus Outbreak

1 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
14 Apr 202014
2:25
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) proposed legislation on Tuesday that would open up the Chinese government to litigation in American courts for its failure to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Hawley introduced the Justice for Victims of COVID-19 Act, which would eliminate China’s sovereign immunity and create a private right of action against the Chinese government for gagging whistleblowers and withholding critical information regarding the coronavirus. Hawley’s legislation would also create a Justice for Victims of COVID-19 Task Force at the State Department to lead an international investigation into China’s handling of the pandemic and to obtain compensation from the Chinese.
He said in a statement on Tuesday:
There is overwhelming evidence that the Chinese Communist Party’s lies, deceit, and incompetence caused COVID-19 to transform from a local disease outbreak into a global pandemic. We need an international investigation to learn the full extent of the damage the CCP has inflicted on the world and then we need to empower Americans and other victims around the world to recover damages. The CCP unleashed this pandemic. They must be held accountable to their victims.
The Justice for Victims of COVID-19 Act would:
  • Make the Chinese government liable for civil claims in U.S. courts by establishing a private right of action.
  • Allow courts to freeze the Chinese government so victims can enforce their claims.
Hawley also recently introduced the Li Weliang Global Health Public Health Accountability Act with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) to allow sanctions against foreign officials who suppress information about international public health crises.
Hawley’s legislation follows as other lawmakers have also called to hold China accountable for spreading the coronavirus.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) unveiled the Stop China-Originated Viral Infectious Disease (COVID) Act of 2020, or the Stop COVID Act, which would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to allow the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and let the DOJ file claims against the Chinese Communist Party in the United States.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

 

What China Has Done to Starve U.S. Hospitals of Key Medical Equipment is Unforgivable

China lied and people died. In December, China ordered its scientists to destroy samples that showed they had a pneumonia-like virus on their hands. They strong-armed doctors from trying to spread the word, kept medical staff in the dark, and prevented new cases of what we know was the Wuhan Coronavirus, or COVID-19, from being reported. And now doctors who tried to raise awareness have vanished. Vloggers documenting the situation on the ground have also disappeared. China allowed Chinese New Year to be celebrated which led to scores of people being exposed. In all, some 5 million people had left Wuhan by the time the Chinese government got its act together. It was too late. And now, their incompetence caused this pandemic. 
The world economy has ground to a halt. And while we’re dealing with this nonsense, China has also reportedly tried to corner the market on personal protection equipment which is essential for health care workers around the world. The Trump administration is fully aware of the situation and is mulling legal action. The New York Post quoted one senior lawyer said China’s actions concerning this alleged hoarding is akin to a first-degree murder charge (via NY Post):
Leading US manufacturers of medical safety gear told the White House that China prohibited them from exporting their products from the country as the coronavirus pandemic mounted — even as Beijing was trying to “corner the world market” in personal protective equipment, The Post has learned.
Now, the Trump administration is weighing legal action against China over its alleged actions, a lawyer for President Trump said Sunday.
“In criminal law, compare this to the levels that we have for murder,” said Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to Trump’s re-election campaign.
“People are dying. When you have intentional, cold-blooded, premeditated action like you have with China, this would be considered first-degree murder.”
Ellis said the options under consideration include filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights or working “through the United Nations.”
Executives from 3M and Honeywell told US officials that the Chinese government in January began blocking exports of N95 respirators, booties, gloves and other supplies produced by their factories in China, according to a senior White House official.
China paid the manufacturers their standard wholesale rates, but prohibited the vital items from being sold to anyone else, the official said.
Around the same time that China cracked down on PPE exports, official data posted online shows that it imported 2.46 billion pieces of “epidemic prevention and control materials” between Jan. 24 and Feb. 29, the White House official said.
[…]
Michael Wessell, a founding member of the federal US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, confirmed the situation and said the Chinese maneuvering had left American hospitals “starved of PPE to fight this crisis.”


U.S. companies are finding out they don't own their own factories in China. When they tried to export THEIR medical equipment, the Chinese government stopped them: https://nypost.com/2020/04/05/trump-admin-weighs-legal-action-over-alleged-chinese-hoarding-of-ppe/  @nypost

Trump admin weighs legal action over alleged Chinese hoarding of PPE





This is insane.

U.S. companies with factories in China have tried to export medical supplies to the United States,

Only for the goods to be stopped from being sent by the Chinese government.

We must end our dependency on China!

RT!



China must pay a high price for #Covid_19



Pandemic Problem: America's Supply Chains are Dangerously Brittle



As of today, U.S. deaths from Wuhan coronavirus infection are rapidly approaching 10,000. There are over 336,000 cases, most of which reside in New York City and the tri-state area. President Trump and his Wuhan virus task force have worked hard to increase testing and create better models that are currently being shipped out. Ventilators are now being manufactured as quickly as possible. Distilleries are now making hand sanitizer. My Pillow is now shifting their production to medical masks, making anywhere from 10,000-50,000 masks a day. American business has answered the call. Retired army doctors have also answered the call. But it makes it all the more maddening when we hear stories about how the Chinese are just bo jangling around because they’re either West-averse or insufferably greedy. 

 

Josh Hawley: Counter China’s Plans for Dominance by Ending ‘Forever Wars’

 7 Apr 202020
2:34
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) wrote on Tuesday that the only way America can counter Chinese domination is to end the “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hawley said that the United States has focused more on the response to the coronavirus outbreak than the country’s engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, he charged that America cannot respond to the Chinese Communist Party’s plans for “domination” by remaining involved in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is currently taking a backseat to the #COVID19 crisis, but let’s remember, the only way we are going to be able to focus on #China and counter Beijing’s plans for domination is to end the forever wars,” Hawley wrote. “Can’t have it both ways.”


Our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is currently taking a backseat to the #COVID19 crisis, but let’s remember, the only way we are going to be able to focus on #China and counter Beijing’s plans for domination is to end the forever wars. Can’t have it both ways https://twitter.com/hawleymo/status/1247188890445910018 




The Missouri populist’s commentary follows as he said that the country must remain “laser-focused” on preventing Chinese “domination.” He said that this proposal will involve revamping America’s military posture towards countering an increasingly aggressive China.
Hawley said this week:
China understands that the global pandemic is an inflection point. They are trying to turn this to their advantage. Make no mistake, they are still pursuing their global strategic ambitions. The need for us to laser focus on China’s economic and military ambitions is going to be more urgent once we beat this pandemic, not less.
Hawley’s commentary echoes his foreign policy vision, which he unveiled in November 2019 at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). The senator’s foreign policy vision would replace the bipartisan foreign consensus that he called “progressive universalism” with a foreign policy that would benefit the interests of the American working class.
Hawley said that the “burden of this nation’s long wars had fallen disproportionately” on middle-class families.
He said during his CNAS speech that instead of engaging in further conflict in the Middle East, America should counter a rising and increasingly imperialist China, which threatens the freedom of those in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He added that China has increasingly deployed soft power to pressure American corporations such as Disney and the NBA to “throw overboard free speech at the first sign of Beijing’s commercial pressure.”
Hawley said that “the point of American foreign policy should not be to remake the world, but to keep Americans safe and prosperous.”
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3

 

US Lawmakers Call for Full Investigation Into China’s Pandemic Coverup

BY EVA FU

March 25, 2020 Updated: March 25, 2020
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) are calling for an international probe into how Beijing’s initial handling of the ongoing virus outbreak may have endangered the United States and the rest of the world.
In a resolution introduced in both chambers on March 24, the lawmakers asked Congress to condemn the Chinese regime for its coverup of the outbreak, which “almost certainly” heightened the CCP virus’s rapid global spread, they said.
Congress should also quantify the damage of such acts on the health and economic being of afflicted nations, the resolution stated.
CCP VIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE
The Epoch Times uses “CCP virus” to refer to the pathogen commonly known as novel coronavirus, because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
One of three legislative proposals introduced that day to take aim at the Beijing regime, the resolution also calls on the international community to design a mechanism for the CCP to deliver compensation accordingly.
“It is time for an international investigation into the role their coverup played in the spread of this devastating pandemic,” Hawley said in a joint press release with Stefanik. “The CCP must be held to account for what the world is now suffering.”
Media reports have detailed how Chinese authorities censored critical information when the virus first emerged in the city of Wuhan, located in Hubei province.
On Jan. 1, Hubei health authorities ordered a genomics testing company to stop virus testing, destroy all virus samples, and to keep their findings a secret, according to an expose by Chinese media Caixin.
Police tracked down multiple doctors who voiced concerns about the virus on social media, accusing them of spreading rumors and inciting public fear. Critics of Chinese authorities’ outbreak response were summoned and punished, and several outspoken citizen journalists disappeared after they tried to share firsthand videos from Wuhan.
On Jan. 13, Thailand confirmed the first infection outside of China, a day before the World Health Organization, citing Chinese investigations, announced that there was “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.”
A University of Southampton study, currently in preprint and not yet peer-reviewed, found that China could have stopped up to 95 percent of the virus’s geographical spread had it enacted containment measures earlier.
“There is no doubt that China’s unconscionable decision to orchestrate an elaborate coverup of the wide-ranging and deadly implications of coronavirus led to the death of thousands of people, including hundreds of Americans and climbing,” Stefanik said.
The resolution also took note of how senior Chinese officials have tried to push the conspiracy theory that the virus originated in the United States.
“Since day one, the Chinese Communist Party intentionally lied to the world about the origin of this pandemic,” Hawley said.
On the same day, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) also introduced a bipartisan resolution to condemn the CCP for the outbreak coverup and disinformation.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), meanwhile, introduced a bill called “No Chinese Handouts in National Assistance Act” to prevent any virus-related relief funds from flowing into China.
“Allowing American taxpayers’ money to go to companies owned by the Communist Chinese government is antithetical to our ‘America First’ agenda,” he said in a statement.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Tuesday called the CCP’s handling of the outbreak “one of the worst coverups in human history.”
“This is a systematic whitewash of what the Communist Party has done in China,” he told Fox News. He added that the virus “is now wreaking havoc all across the world, costing not only the lives of people but economic chaos.”
For “the harm, loss, and destruction their arrogance brought upon the rest of the world,” Stefanik said, China will need to pay.
“Simply put—China must, and will, be held accountable,” she said.
Follow Eva on Twitter: @EvaSailEast

Josh Hawley: Legislation ‘Necessary’ to Address Chinese Monopoly of U.S. Drug, Medical Supplies

AFP/Getty Images
24 Feb 20201,067
2:59
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) wrote a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Monday, contending that it is “inexcusable” that America relies on China for its medical supply chain. Hawley called hearings and legislation to determine how to address America’s reliance on Chinese for producing vital medicine.
The Missouri conservative wrote a letter to U.S. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn after reports revealed that the coronavirus has jeopardized the “domestic supply of some 150 prescription drugs, including antibiotics, generics, and branded drugs.”
Hawley said that the time is coming for Congress to have oversight and consider legislation to address the insecurity of America’s medical supply chain.
Hawley wrote to Hahn:
The degree to which some of our own manufacturers rely on China to produce life-saving and life-sustaining medications is inexcusable. It is becoming clear to me that both oversight hearings and additional legislation are necessary to determine the extent of our reliance on Chinese production and protect our medical product supply chain.
Reports have revealed the extent to which China produces and exports the overwhelming majority of pharmaceuticals to the United States. China exports 97 percent of all antibiotics and 80 percent of active ingredients used to make drugs in Americans.
Another report stated that America is losing its ability to make pharmaceuticals because of Chinese dumping of low-price products into the global market.
Rosemary Gibson, the author of China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine, told Breitbart News Tonight host Rebecca Mansour that America should pursue a federal industrial policy to renew domestic manufacturing of medicines and medical products.
Gibson said:
I would have our federal government invest in helping to rebuild our industrial base using advanced manufacturing technology that can produce our medicines much more cheaply, safely, with less environmental footprint, and fully, from soup to nuts from those core raw materials to finished drug in one location all here in the United States.
There will be opponents who say, ‘No, we should let the market do it.’ The market will never do this. They’ll never make this investment. So we have to decide as a country, do we want to have some degree of self-sufficiency in our ability to make medicine? Do we want our military not to be dependent on China for pharmaceuticals to treat chemical and biological agents?
Gibson added, “We’ll be depending on China to help us out when we run out of medicines. The absurdity of it is extraordinary. We have to decide as a country, do we want to have some capacity to make our own medicines, or not?”
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

Josh Hawley Introduces Legislation to Expose Chinese Monopoly of U.S. Drug, Medical Supplies

Samuel Corum/Getty Images
 27 Feb 202084
4:34
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the Medical Supply Chain Security Act on Thursday to combat potential American drug shortages created in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China and to reveal America’s reliance on Chinese manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Sen. Hawley said in a statement that the legislation would provide the country with the information necessary to secure the medical supply chain. He explained:
The coronavirus outbreak in China has highlighted severe and longstanding weaknesses in our medical supply chain. This is more than unfortunate; it’s a danger to public health. Our health officials need to know the extent of our reliance on Chinese production so they can take all necessary action to protect Americans. This legislation will give us the information we need to better secure our supply chain and ensure that Americans have uninterrupted access to life-saving drugs and medical devices.
The spread of the coronavirus throughout China has exposed the deep vulnerabilities in the U.S. medical supply chain as well as the country’s dependence upon China producing pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Axios reported that the coronavirus outbreak has jeopardized the American supply of roughly 150 pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, generics, and brand-name drugs. Some of these drugs do not have alternatives on the market.
China exports 97 percent of all antibiotics and 80 percent of active ingredients used to make drugs in America. America is losing its ability to make pharmaceuticals because of Chinese dumping of low-price products into the global market.
Public health officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently have limited resources for assessing supply chain vulnerabilities. The FDA recently asked Congress for more statutory authority to require that manufacturers notify the agency when they discover circumstances that may lead to shortages in essential medical devices. Giving the FDA more authority would allow the agency to ensure that they can take the necessary steps to mitigate potential shortages of life-saving drugs and medical devices.
Hawley’s legislation would:
  • Require that manufacturers report imminent or forecasted shortages of medical devices to the FDA as they currently do for pharmaceutical drugs.
  • Allow the FDA to expedite the review of essential medical devices that require pre-market approval in the event of expected shortages reported by a manufacturer.
  • Grant the FDA additional authority to request additional information from manufacturers of essential drugs or devices regarding their manufacturing capacity, including sourcing of component parts, sourcing of active pharmaceutical ingredients, use of raw materials, and any other details the FDA might find relevant to assess the security of the American medical supply chain.
Hawley’s legislation follows as the Missouri populist wrote a letter this week to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, asking Hahn what actions he and the agency can take to ensure that American citizens do not face shortages of life-saving drugs and medical drugs.
The Missouri senator said Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak has proved that America needs to “stop relying on China for our critical medical supply chains.”


If the #Coronavirus crisis makes anything clear, it’s that we need to stop relying on #China for our critical medical supply chains. I will introduce legislation this week to jump start that effort. Details to follow https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/world/asia/coronavirus-news.html?referringSource=articleShare 

Coronavirus Live Updates: Markets Reel as Virus Spreads Across the World



Rosemary Gibson, the author of China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine, recently told Breitbart News Tonight host Rebecca Mansour that the United States should pursue an industrial policy to renew domestic manufacturing of medicines and medical products in the homeland.
Gibson said:
I would have our federal government invest in helping to rebuild our industrial base using advanced manufacturing technology that can produce our medicines much more cheaply, safely, with less environmental footprint, and fully, from soup to nuts from those core raw materials to finished drug in one location all here in the United States.
Hawley also said Tuesday that the Donald Trump administration should consider additional travel restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus throughout the United States.
“This is a no-brainer. It’s not just China any longer. With the rise of cases in Europe & Asia, we need to take additional steps to protect Americans,” Hawley tweeted.


This is a no-brainer. It’s not just China any longer. With the rise of cases in Europe & Asia, we need to take additional steps to protect Americans https://twitter.com/kylieatwood/status/1232654412440625152 


Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.


'Appalling campaign of deceit': Missouri sues China over coronavirus


The state of Missouri filed a lawsuit against China and the Chinese Communist Party seeking repayment for damage caused by the coronavirus.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt confirmed the lawsuit to Fox News on Tuesday, citing "the enormous loss of life, human suffering, and economic turmoil" as the basis for the lawsuit. Since the outbreak began, Missouri has had 215 deaths and an economic loss totaling $44 billion.
"In Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real — thousands have been infected, and many have died. Families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors, and those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to put food on their table," Schmitt said.
The lawsuit alleges that China is responsible for "repeated unlawful and unreasonable acts and omissions" that have interfered with "the lives, health, and safety of substantial numbers of Missouri residents, ruining lives and damaging the public order and economy of the State of Missouri."
In the lawsuit, Schmitt outlined accusations that China covered up the outbreak when it began in Wuhan last year and continued to push false or misleading data and research about the virus in a way that fueled the pandemic.
"An appalling campaign of deceit, concealment, misfeasance, and inaction by Chinese authorities unleashed this pandemic. During the critical weeks of the initial outbreak, Chinese authorities deceived the public, suppressed crucial information, arrested whistleblowers, denied human-to-human transmission in the face of mounting evidence, destroyed critical medical research, permitted millions of people to be exposed to the virus, and even hoarded personal protective equipment—thus causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable," the suit states.
Schmitt also highlighted recent reporting that revealed U.S. intelligence officials believe the coronavirus may have been accidentally carried out of a government laboratory in Wuhan and not transmitted after someone contracted the virus from a wet market, as Chinese officials first claimed.
Currently, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act forbids Americans from suing foreign governments. By listing the Chinese Communist Party in addition to the Republic of China, Schmitt hopes to sidestep the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act by suing the party that has full control over the country in addition to suing the government itself.
The state hopes that the lawsuit will force China to "cease engaging in the abnormally dangerous activities, reimburse the cost of the State's abatement efforts, and pay compensatory and other damages."
Several other groups have filed class action lawsuits against China over the coronavirus. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas have also introduced a bill that would allow Americans to sue the nation over the coronavirus.

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