By Guy Page
Every week, Gov. Phil Scott and other governors talk with the White House about the rollout of the vaccination program and other Covid-19 related issues. At his press conference today, he said the role of the Chinese government in the pandemic has yet to come up on those calls.
Vermont Daily asked if anyone on those calls to date has “discussed asking the Chinese government to provide transparency on how the virus developed.”
“Not on these calls,” Scott answered. But he agreed the questions should be asked. “I know it is a concern of many. In the aftermath we need to know what happened, I believe. So that it doesn’t happen again.”
So far, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been little help.
On January 20-21 – two days when the government of the U.S.A. was busy transitioning – a WHO team “investigated” in Wuihan, China, the pandemic’s epicenter. The official report is mum on what caused the pandemic but instead “commended the commitment and capacity demonstrated by national, provincial, and Wuhan authorities and by hundreds of local health care workers and public health specialists working to respond to the 2019-nCOV outbreak.”
The press release mentioned a visit to a research lab but offered no further details. (For Chinese government information and photos on the Wuihan virus research lab, click here.)
Asking governors to hold accountable the People’s Republic of China needn’t be limited to Covid. The country emits 29% of the world’s CO2 [2017 stats], more than double the only other double-digit emitter (U.S., at 14%). Yet the Biden-backed Paris Accords exempt China from taking immediate action to reduce emissions. To add insult to injury, Chinese emissions grew steeply last year enroute while it was the only major world economy to see economic growth, NPR reports. Its leaders are shooting for a 6-9% growth rate this year. The country where the economy-killing global pandemic originated has since thrived economically by burning more coal than ever in its power plants.
Governors also could mention human rights. The PRC government operates a network of 380 prison camps, holding (among others) Muslims, Christians, and followers of Falun Gong, a resurgent form of Chinese buddhism. It also seeks to impose totalitarian rule on thriving, free Hong Kong and Taiwan.