Sen. Ted Cruz mocked sanctions placed on him and a handful of other Republicans by China following their criticisms of the country’s government.
Chinese officials announced sanctions against Sens. Marco Rubio and Cruz, Rep. Chris Smith, and Sam Brownback, ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the Associated Press reported.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called similar measures taken by the United States against Chinese officials a move that had “seriously damaged China-U.S. relations.” The U.S. sanctions banned several high-ranking Chinese officials from entering the country.
“China will respond further according to the development of the situation,” Hua said.
“Bummer,” Cruz responded. “I was going to take my family to Beijing for summer vacation, right after visiting Tehran.”
Bummer. I was going to take my family to Beijing for summer vacation, right after visiting Tehran. https://t.co/PXE7jZaZt1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 13, 2020
Cruz has been one of the most vocal critics of China in recent years, blaming the country for the coronavirus pandemic and accusing the country of human rights abuses.
“It’s really an unfortunate dynamic how China uses its vast resources to promote censorship, and all of our allies are facing this increased aggressiveness of China,” Cruz said in October, referring to recent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Earlier this year, Cruz said China was engaged in economic warfare with the U.S. and taking advantage of the pandemic.
“The Chinese government has explicitly threatened … cutting off life-saving medicines to America as a tool of economic warfare,” he said.
The senator from Texas has also addressed legislation that would “counter Chinese propaganda.”
“I’m introducing these three bills to thwart China’s attempts to force Americans to self-censor, to spread propaganda, and to silence Chinese doctors, journalists, and activists who try to tell the truth about diseases and pathogens,” Cruz said during a floor speech in May. “These bills are part of a larger endeavor to untangle the United States from China’s web and to hold the Chinese government accountable for hiding the truth about coronavirus from the world and sparking a deadly and devastating pandemic.”
