U.S. state of Missouri sues China's leaders over virus
22 April, 2020
The U.S. state of Missouri on Tuesday sued China's leadership over the COVID-19 coronavirus, seeking damages over what it referred to as deliberate deception and insufficient action to avoid the pandemic.
The first-of-a-kind state lawsuit comes amid calls in Congress to punish China and a campaign by President Donald Trump to give attention to Beijing's role, amid criticism of his own handling of the crisis.
Missouri, led by Trump's Republican Party, filed a lawsuit in a federal court seeking an unspecified amount in damages and an injunction on continuing actions by China that are purported to include hoarding of protective equipment.
"The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers and did little to avoid the spread of the condition," Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said.
"They need to be held in charge of their actions," he said.
The lawsuit's likelihood of success are far from certain as US law, beneath the principle of sovereign immunity, generally forbids court action against foreign governments.
Missouri addressed the problem by suing the ruling Communist Party, arguing that it's not formally an organ of the Chinese state.
Citing an estimate that Missouri may lose tens of vast amounts of dollars as a result of virus and action to avoid it, the lawsuit accused the Chinese Communist Party to be in "knowing, willful and in reckless disregard of the rights of the state and its own residents."
The lawsuit pointed to Chinese authorities' early suppression of news of the virus when it broke out in Wuhan, including detentions of whistleblowers.
In addition, it noted that China at first said there is no proof human-to-human transmission.
Despite Trump's heavy criticism of China, his administration has been lukewarm about efforts to do this against Beijing, mindful that the Asian power is a significant way to obtain masks and other medical supplies desperately needed by the United States.
Under its conservative leadership, Missouri has imposed fewer COVID-19 restrictions than most U.S. states, including allowing businesses to remain open given that they limit the quantity of folks present and ensure space between them.
Missouri by Tuesday had reported 189 COVID-19 deaths, half of these in St. Louis.
Source: japantoday.com