Republican Bill seeks sanctions on China over COVID-19 probe
13 May, 2020
A respected US Republican senator on Tuesday (May 12) proposed legislation that would authorise the united states president to impose far-reaching sanctions on China if it does not give a full account of events leading to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, said he was convinced that had it not been for "deception" by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the virus wouldn't normally be in america, where it has now killed a lot more than 80,000 Americans.
Graham said China had refused to permit investigators to review how this outbreak started and added in a statement: "I’m convinced China will never cooperate with a significant investigation unless they are created to do so."
Graham said his "COVID-19 Accountability Act" would require the president to generate a qualification to Congress within 60 days that China had "provided a complete and complete accounting to any COVID-19 investigation led by america, its allies or UN affiliate like the World Health Organization (WHO)".
It would additionally require documentation that China had closed all "wet markets" that have the potential to expose humans to health threats, and released all Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates arrested in post-pandemic crackdowns, he said.
The Bill would authorise the president to impose a range of sanctions, such as for example asset freezes, travel bans and visa revocations together with restrictions on loans to Chinese businesses by US finance institutions and banning Chinese organizations from listing on US stock exchanges.
The legislation was co-sponsored by eight other Republican senators.
China's embassy in Washington did not immediately react to a obtain comment, but Beijing has insisted it's been transparent about the outbreak, which commenced in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Trump and his Republican backers have repeatedly accused Beijing of failing to alert the world to the severity and scope of the virus, which includes sparked a worldwide monetary contraction and threatened his likelihood of re-election in November.
Trump critics, including some former officials, academics and columnists, have said that while China has much to answer for when it comes to its actions early in the outbreak, the US administration is apparently wanting to deflect attention from what they see as a slow US response to the crisis.
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