Idaho Republicans want U.S. government to sanction China over COVID-19 pandemic
Idaho Republicans want to blame China for the COVID-19 pandemic — the deaths and economic disruption.
The House on Monday approved a joint memorial that would make it the official position of the Idaho Legislature to call for sanctions against China over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The message would be sent to the U.S. president, Idaho’s congressional delegates, U.S. Senate president and U.S. House speaker.
The memorial still needs approval from the Idaho Senate.
Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, who sponsored the legislation, said it was “carefully crafted” among leaders to send a clear message to congressional lawmakers.
“The bottom line is, the Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, and it is my intention here to begin to hold them accountable,” von Ehlinger said.
Early in the pandemic, Chinese authorities downplayed the spread of COVID-19 and punished a 34-year-old doctor who tried to warn others about the emergency of the virus. But the memorial also chastises China over the genocide of Uighur Muslims in western China and “crimes against humanity.”
Von Ehlinger said he discussed other options with the attorney general’s office, such as withholding business from China. Initially he wanted to join the Missouri attorney general’s lawsuit against the country, von Ehlinger said on the floor.
House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, called for a voice vote, which means lawmakers’ votes weren’t recorded.
U.S. lawmakers partly to blame for pandemic, Democrat says
Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, said the outrage seems misplaced. He said U.S. lawmakers are partly to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the memorial feels like “an attempt to absolve ourselves of our own sins.” Other countries have had more success in mitigating the impact of the pandemic, he said.
The U.S. has reported more than half a million deaths due to COVID-19. More than 1,800 have died in Idaho.
“I think we have a responsibility to ourselves to hold ourselves accountable as real leaders,” Mathias said. “Because many of the deaths that have occurred and are occurring in our country were needless. They didn’t need to happen.”
House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, pointed to a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in the U.S. Asian American groups warned of a surge in hate crimes a month after the coronavirus began to spread in the country due to its origins in China.
In San Francisco, an 84-year-old Thai American man died in January after having been assaulted; three other elderly people were shoved to the ground in Oakland’s Chinatown neighborhood. And in New York, a 36-year-old Asian man was in critical condition after having been stabbed. Police charged the suspect of attempted murder as a hate crime.
“This is a contentious issue, and we’re seeing it play out in ways that are hurtful within our community,” Necochea said, adding that state legislators should “take good stock of the rhetoric we’re using” to ensure they don’t inflame misplaced anger.
Von Ehlinger said China needs to be held accountable for its actions.
“It has nothing to do with a race of people or anything along those lines,” von Ehlinger said. “When a country commits atrocities, they need to be held accountable. And that’s exactly what this is.”
