Sen. Lindsey Graham is calling for a bipartisan slate of lawmakers to help hold China accountable in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Appearing Monday on Fox News, the South Carolina Republican was asked about the official death count that the country has reported. In Wuhan, where the outbreak began, there are 11 million residents, but only 3,869 reported deaths. By contrast, New York City has seen more than 17,500 deaths among just 8.4 million residents.
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“That is Chinese Communist Party B.S.,” Graham said in response to the figures. “Here’s what we do know: 26 million Americans are out of work because of this virus. Almost 56,000 Americans are dead because of this virus. It came from China — I’m not saying they intentionally did this, a combination of gross negligence plus willful deception by the Chinese government led to this.”
“Here’s my plea to my Democratic colleagues: Please don’t give China a pass for this pandemic. Work with me to compel China to do three things that need to be done,” he continued.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said China must first “fully cooperate” with investigations into how the virus originated. He added that the country must also close all of the “wet markets” that sell wildlife, such as bats and monkeys. Thirdly, Graham called for a release of jailed Hong Kong democracy advocates from Chinese prisons.
“We’re going to put sanctions on China until they do those three things,” he said. “And I need Democrats. Democrats have been very solid when it comes to China. Please do not give China a pass.”
When asked what would happen if China doesn’t fall in line with his three goals, Graham said, “We’re going to seize assets of Chinese officials that are responsible for not reporting the pandemic.”
“We’re going to cut China off from U.S. financial institutions. We’re going to shut down visa travel into the United States for Chinese students,” he continued. “We’re going to make it hard for them to do business in the United States until they fully cooperate, close the wet markets, and release the Hong Kong democracy advocates.”
The South Carolina senator said that the only way the push against China “will really have teeth” is if it is done in a bipartisan fashion.
“So, to the Democratic Party, join me and President Trump and all Republicans to send a signal to China: Business as usual is over until you change your behavior,” Graham said.
