by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
Americans are facing yet another month of either total lockdown or strict social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Over 4 million people have contracted the virus worldwide and nearly 250,000 people have lost their lives in the biggest public health crisis in a century.
How did this deadly pandemic start? Here are the facts: This pandemic started in Wuhan, China, where two separate virology labs were studying the coronavirus. As with all politically inconvenient truths in China, the Chinese Communist Party went to extreme lengths to cover up the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, lying about the origin of the virus and how it’s transmitted, destroying evidence, and silencing the brave whistleblower doctors, scientists, and journalists who tried to warn the world and prevent a global pandemic.
In the past month, we have also discovered that American taxpayer dollars made their way to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to fund their coronavirus research. In other words, our tax dollars ended up funding research into the very disease that has wreaked havoc on the U.S. at the very place where the outbreak may have started, and where American officials had warned about the lack of safety standards.
A few weeks ago, the National Institutes of Health confirmed to me that in fiscal year 2019, $76,301 in American taxpayer dollars went to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for a project that included studying “coronavirus screening and serology of non-human samples, viral pathogenesis, serological testing, host receptor binding, spike (S) protein sequencing, and in vitro and in vivo virus characterization.”
Further, the NIH confirmed that the project “included studying viral diversity in animal parentheses, bats, reservoirs, surveying people that live in high risk communities for evidence of bat coronavirus infection, and conducting laboratory experiments to analyze and predict which newly discovered viruses pose the greatest threats to human health.”
Those American taxpayer dollars went to that Chinese lab despite the State Department raising real concerns about the safety and security protocols at the lab where this research was being conducted.
When I first learned of this deeply troubling grant transfer, I immediately called on the administration to halt American taxpayer dollars from going to these labs and just last week, the administration announced it would take the necessary steps.
But where do we go from here? First, the Chinese government needs to answer for their role in the spread of the coronavirus. How did this happen? When did they know about it? And what could have been done to save lives?
I’m introducing a bill that would impose strict sanctions on the Chinese government officials who cover up outbreaks like the one in Wuhan that led to a global pandemic. They are directly responsible for endangering millions of people, costing the global economy trillions, and the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Outrageously, we now know U.S. intelligence has confirmed that the Chinese Communist Party was secretly stockpiling medical supplies from around the world throughout January, even as they were denying to the world that the virus was dangerous. We must hold the Chinese government accountable for their actions.
Second, the most important long-term national security and foreign policy consequence of this coronavirus pandemic is going to be a fundamental reassessment of the United States’ relationship with China. China is the most significant geopolitical threat to the United States for the next century.
That’s why, in addition to legislation imposing sanctions for medical censorship, I’m introducing several bills to finally begin unwinding the United States from China after years of dependency and countering their propaganda.
First, I’m introducing the SCRIPT “The Stopping Censorship, Restoring Integrity, Protecting Talkies” Act, legislation to combat the Chinese government’s propaganda by prohibiting the Pentagon from letting Hollywood moviemakers film on our ships, jets, and bases if those moviemakers are going to allow Chinese censorship of their movies. For example, in the new Top Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures removed the Taiwanese flag on the back of Maverick’s jacket, which would likely have prevented the film from screening in China’s market. If moviemakers are going to bow to Chinese censorship, they shouldn’t benefit from using American military equipment.
Second, I’m introducing a bill to close Federal Communications Commission loopholes that allow China to wage information warfare in the United States from radio stations operating across the border in Mexico. Every year, the Communist Chinese Party spends billions of dollars purchasing news outlets and spreading propaganda about its totalitarian regime. We are seeing this play out right now as news outlets across the country parrot Chinese talking points about the coronavirus pandemic — a pandemic that could have been prevented. My bill would help put an end to the spread of Chinese Communist Party propaganda via news outlets.
Third, I’m introducing the “Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping Act,” legislation to prohibit U.S. government officials from conducting any business over telecom infrastructure built by companies controlled by China. Companies like Huawei and Tencent operate as multi-billion-dollar espionage agencies for China. We should not give China any additional, easy opportunities to conduct espionage on the United States.
And fourth, our dependence on China for life-saving medications and treatments is deeply problematic, which is why I’m pushing for enhanced partnerships between companies in the United States and Israel to develop innovative medical projects aimed at detecting, treating, and curing coronavirus. Israel is not only our friend and ally, it is also a global leader in medicine. American and Israeli companies can work together to defeat coronavirus, and in the process show the way for reducing our dangerous dependence on China.
The coronavirus pandemic has been a wake-up call on how the Chinese government’s lies and censorship are a national security threat as well as a public health threat. China bears significant responsibility for the magnitude of this pandemic and must be held accountable. China is our greatest geopolitical threat; it’s time we act like it.