Sen. Tillis: “I think China is a hostile nation because they have stolen billions and billions of dollars of intellectual property. I get it reported every day as Chair of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee. And you all know what’s publicly reported about China. Imagine if you knew what we did in classified briefings. They are a hostile nation and are responsible for this virus and they need to be held accountable.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) participated in a Judiciary Committee Hearing mark-up of the Civil Justice for Victims of COVID Act, legislation co-introduced by Senator Tillis that allows Americans to sue China in federal court for its role in causing the coronavirus pandemic. During the mark-up, Senator Tillis pressed his colleagues to support the bill and hold the Chinese government accountable for the global COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation was voted out of committee 13-9.
Watch the video here.
“I think it was characterized that this bill was a hostile bill, but the fact of the matter is China is a hostile nation and it’s unfortunate. When I say China, I’m not talking about the Chinese people, I’m not talking about the millions of Uyghurs who are in prison camps - and actually I hear more recently in the Human Rights Caucus that I co-chair with Senator Coons, they’re actually making personal protective equipment now - China is a hostile nation who gagged the ophthalmologist in Wuhan who was warning other medical professionals that we have something going on through this community and we need to stop it. He ultimately died from that disease. Imagine if he had been China’s Dr. Fauci and they had gotten ahead of it and they recognized that sending people out of the country was a dangerous and bad thing. I also think China is a hostile nation because they have stolen billions and billions of dollars of intellectual property. I get it reported every day as a Chair of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee. And you all know what’s publicly reported about China. Imagine if you knew what we did in classified briefings. They are a hostile nation and are responsible for this virus and they need to be held accountable.”
“With respect to comparing this to the liability protections that are before us, that is a comparison of an apple and an orangutan. There could not be a starker contrast. We are not talking about just big businesses, we are talking about the University of North Carolina college system that already has a class action suit filed against it. We’re talking about public K-12 systems, we’re talking about private colleges, we’re talking about daycare facilities, we’re talking about hospitals, doctor’s practices, and dentist’s practices. We need to catch on to the fact that these folks, if they play by the rules, should be given safe harbor. If they didn’t, they should suffer the consequences.”
“But back to this bill, I think it’s fair, I think it’s balanced. China only recognizes the Chinese government, the Communist Party, only recognizes strength. And I think this is a statement that will go loud and clear to the Communist Party of China and that’s why I co-sponsored the bill and fully support it. By the way, I don’t think there is any mail-in ballot provision on this bill.”
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