In the blink of an eye, people across our nation have become engulfed in a health crisis multiplied by economic chaos from the effects of the coronavirus.
Through closer examination, however, the blink of an eye was actually a period of intentional blindness by a foreign government. Thanks to China’s blatant lies and constant irresponsibility preceding our nation’s outbreak, we have experienced a climbing death toll and ever-increasing job losses across my state. Now more than ever, decisive action is warranted to protect the public and prevent future catastrophes.
Let’s look at how we got here. In late December, the first reported case of the coronavirus in Wuhan was reported. Then, like clockwork, the Chinese government began its elaborate cover-up. The top director at Wuhan Central Hospital was reprimanded for sharing coronavirus information. Chinese labs were ordered to stop testing samples of the virus.
The steps that Beijing took to halt knowledge of its spread has led to never-before-seen devastation around the globe and here at home in America.
Even more frightening was the recent U.S. intelligence report that outlined deliberate efforts by China to delay information and hoard medical supplies needed for the pandemic response. These failures on the part of China are directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people and the complete shutdown and devastation of our strong, booming economy.
This isn’t the first time China has been lax or even delinquent when it comes to the management and prevention of crises at our nation’s expense. Remember the 2008 housing crisis? During this time of financial hardship more than a decade ago, there were nearly 100,000 American homes in 20 states, including North Carolina, that became uninhabitable and worthless due to toxic Chinese drywall. Materials in the wallboards were so toxic that they corroded copper pipes and electrical wiring and caused dangerous respiratory problems.
People could no longer live in their homes, lenders lost millions, and innocent building contractors were put out of business. In China, manufacturers suffered few consequences, if any. The country’s handling of that crisis would later become the blueprint for the coronavirus.
Put simply, in 2008, American houses were lost due to Chinese malpractice. In 2020, it’s American lives.
The scale of today’s coronavirus crisis is far worse than 12 years ago, as death and economic destruction have touched the country as a whole. This time, our response needs to be strong and proportionate to the crisis.
From Chinese drywall to the coronavirus, it is clear that the world cannot trust Chinese standards and processes. That’s why we’ve introduced the Cage the Paper Tiger Act to hold it accountable — with new safeguards to protect our interests and families here at home. It starts with our lawmakers demanding that foreign travel and products brought into our country be safe. We must demand that our trading relationship with China never allow our critical manufactured materials to be made solely offshore. And finally, we must demand that organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization live up to their international missions or risk losing American financial support.
This legislation involves three main components: banning Chinese firms from listing on American stock exchanges, immediate expensing for costs related to moving business activity from China to the United States, and developing counterintelligence awareness training for certain faculty of colleges and universities, while also requiring enhancements to the Student Exchange Visitor Program operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These are necessary steps to put China’s regime on notice and hold it accountable for its past relentless disregard for America.
As with the monumental challenges of our past, our nation’s resilience is bigger than this crisis. We will prevail against our invisible enemy. But we don’t have to keep letting history repeat itself if we realize our invisible enemy is not the only enemy in this fight.
Mark Walker represents North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House and is vice chair of the House Republican Conference.
