Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has launched an online petition urging the US Congress to probe whether China covered up the COVID-19 outbreak and support Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO.
More than 76,800 people had signed the “Stop Communist China” petition as of last night, three days after it was launched by Haley, who has set a goal of 100,000 signatures.
As COVID-19 continues to devastate the US, more Americans have been calling for China to be held accountable for the spread of the virus.
“China’s communist government needs to be held accountable for their role in lying about the coronavirus pandemic, and the US Congress needs to respond now,” said the former governor of South Carolina, who served as US ambassador to the UN from 2017 to 2018.
“Join us in our fight to stop China from gaining influence in America and around the world. Sign this petition and please share with your friends,” the petition reads.
It calls on Congress to investigate the Chinese government’s role in covering up the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and calls for the manufacturing of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to be brought back to the US to end China’s stranglehold on critically important supplies.
The petition also urges Congress to back Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO.
It urges Congress to make China pay the UN and other international organizations “like the second-largest economy in the world should — no more being treated like a poor ‘developing country.’”
The petition also calls on Congress to require US colleges and universities to disclose all Chinese government funding of professors and researchers.
“We must act and protect American security, health, and prosperity. Retweet and let’s send Congress a message,” Haley said on Twitter on Thursday.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it