Washington [US], November 25 (ANI): US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo once again hit out at Beijing, more specifically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for failing poorly to alert the world about the COVID-19.
The Secretary of State said that it even silenced brave Chinese citizens who tried to disseminate any information about the virus that originated from Wuhan.
“I want to start with a topic that’s on everyone’s mind: the battle against the pandemic from Wuhan. Many people in America, in Kuwait, and around the world are suffering because the Chinese Communist Party failed to properly alert the world that it had a public health disaster on its hands. It silenced brave Chinese citizens,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo added it’s wonderful that the United States and Kuwait have been able to work together on “our preparedness to make sure we are ready to tackle public health challenges alongside each other.”
The Secretary of State, back in September, had hit out at Beijing saying that the Chinese Communist Party knew how virulent the COVID-19 that originated in Wuhan was, adding that Beijing censored and made courageous whistleblowers who tried to sound the alarm disappears.
“The Chinese Communist Party knew how virulent the coronavirus was that originated in Wuhan. They censored and disappeared courageous whistleblowers and journalists who tried to sound the alarm. They allowed people from Wuhan to travel abroad,” Pompeo said
As per the latest updates by Johns Hopkins University, as many as 59,628,581 cases of the COVID-19 have been reported across the world. As many as 1,406,449 patients across the world have died from the virus that originated from Wuhan.
US refuses to lift Chinese ZTE’s threat designation
The United States has denied a petition of Chinese company ZTE for reconsideration of its designation as a national security threat, saying there is no basis of reconsideration.
In a press statement, the US Federal Communication’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau on Tuesday said it has denied a petition for reconsideration of the Bureau’s June 30 order designating ZTE as a company posing a national security threat to the integrity of communications networks or the communications supply chain.
As a result, the FCC’s USD 8.3 billion a year Universal Service Fund cannot be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by ZTE, as well as its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, the statement added.
The FCC said it will vote on December 10 on rules to help carriers remove and replace untrusted equipment from networks.
“With today’s order, we are taking another important step in our ongoing efforts to protect U.S. communications networks from security risks,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
“At the next Open Meeting on December 10, the Commission will vote on rules to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement program to help carriers remove and replace untrusted equipment from their networks, months before the statutory deadline. Now it is more vital than ever that Congress appropriate funds so that our communications networks are protected from vendors that threaten our national security,” he added.
The FCC had announced in June it had formally designated ZTE and China‘s Huawei Technologies Co as a threat, saying they have close ties with the Chinese Communist Party and China‘s military apparatus. (ANI)
