The Chinese government's attempt to get a Wisconsin state senator to declare support for Beijing's coronavirus containment efforts backfired after the lawmaker passed a resolution slamming China's cover-up of the outbreak.
Last month, Wisconsin Senate President Roger Roth introduced a resolution "acknowledging that the Communist Party of China deliberately and intentionally misled the world on the Wuhan Coronavirus," which led to a global pandemic that has claimed more than 119,000 lives.
Wisconsin senator asked to pass resolution supporting China
Roth told The Epoch Times that he wouldn't have passed the resolution had it not been for the Chinese consulate's actions. He said he received two emails from an official claiming to be from the Chinese consulate in Chicago on Feb. 26, asking him to pass a resolution, drafted by them, touting Wisconsin state's support for the Chinese regime's efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak in China.
The resolution drafted by the consulate included propaganda and false statements such as "China has been transparent and quick in sharing key information of the virus with the WHO and the international community, thus creating a window of opportunity for other countries to make timely response."
Email verified by staff members
At first, the senator dismissed the email as a fake considering that it had originated from a Hotmail account. However, when he received a follow-up email two weeks later on March 10, the senator asked his staff to verify the email address. After confirming with government sources, it was established that the email had indeed been sent from the consulate.
"I got really angry, because ... by that point, the United States started to be hit by the coronavirus ... and we're trying to prepare, and we realized that we've been lied to," Roth said. "I was more than angry. I was downright furious." So he responded with a one-word answer: "Nuts."
Roth's resolution slams the Communist Party of China
A few days later, Roth decided to take further action so he told his staff, "We are introducing a resolution on China, and we're going to pass it; it's just not going to be the one China wants."
The senator's resolution states that it would not lend legitimacy to the Chinese regime by passing the resolution proposed by the Chinese consulate, which China's government would in turn use for its domestic propaganda efforts.
Roth's resolution not only details point by point how the Communist Party of China has been "lying to the world" with regards to the outbreak but also calls out the Chinese consulate's attempt to influence him. Moreover, the resolution refers to the Xi Jinping led government as a "terribly oppressive and brutal regime."
