Conservative Leaders Call for Investigation into China’s Handling of Coronavirus

March 17th, 2020 12:50 PM

RESTON, VA -- On Tuesday afternoon, the Media Research Center released an open letter to President Donald Trump on behalf of over 40 leaders in the conservative movement demanding "a more formal investigation to uncover the truth" behind the actions of the Chinese government following the rise of the coronavirus from Wuhan.

The letter blasted the behavior of the communist China government for having engaged in "outright and extreme politicization of this horrible disease is outrageous, unacceptable, and dangerous."

Later, the letter added: "None of this is being reported as it ought to be in American media. Instead, the media are creating panic and blaming your administration. All of this could have been prevented if the Chinese government had merely exercised its responsibility in containing this disease and sharing more information sooner."

The open letter is provided below in full:

March 17, 2020

 

President Donald Trump
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

 

Dear Mr. President,

We represent virtually the entirety of the conservative movement but we believe we speak for hundreds of millions in the country and around the world when we ask you to officially investigate the deadly Coronavirus. The world needs to know the details behind the spread of this deadly virus so everyone understands exactly how this was started. The world deserves to know who was responsible so future pandemics of this nature can be prevented.

As we are sure you are aware, the Chinese government has done everything in its power to blame the United States for the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian placed the responsibility on the United States: “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”

A few days later, Lin Songtian, China's ambassador to South Africa, said: "Although the epidemic first broke out in China, it did not necessarily mean that the virus is originated from China, let alone 'made in China.'"

These statements are astonishing - but predictable... It's impossible for us to know the true origin of this virus in China because China has refused to share information. As Senator Tom Cotton has correctly pointed out, there are several possible scenarios about the origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus. We do know that Chinese secrecy and lies have made the crisis far worse.

China’s outright and extreme politicization of this horrible disease is outrageous, unacceptable, and dangerous. That politicization has already spread panic across the world. The Chinese-led hysteria has roiled markets, and disrupted everyday life for millions of Americans and citizens of other countries around the world.

As your National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien rightly pointed out, “Unfortunately, rather than using best practices, this outbreak in Wuhan was covered up,’ There’s lots of open-source reporting from China, from Chinese nationals, that the doctors involved were either silenced or put in isolation, or that sort of thing, so that the word of this virus could not get out. It probably cost the world community two months.’”

And consider the well-known case of Dr. Li Wenliang, the young Chinese doctor who bravely shared his concerns on December 31, 2019, with a group of colleagues about an unidentified virus with SARS-like symptoms that his patients were exhibiting. As a result of his due diligence, Chinese authorities accused him of spreading “false information” and that he had “gravely disturbed [the] social order.”

None of this is being reported as it ought to be in American media. Instead, the media are creating panic and blaming your administration. All of this could have been prevented if the Chinese government had merely exercised its responsibility in containing this disease and sharing more information sooner.

We therefore respectfully request you consider launching a more formal investigation to uncover the truth. The first step in making sure this never happens again is finding out what happened in the first place.

 

Respectfully,

 

L. Brent Bozell

Founder and President

Media Research Center

 

Co-signers:

Kassy Dillon

Founder and President

Lone Conservative

 

Tricia Erickson

President

Angel Pictures & Publicity, Inc.

 

Paul Gessing

President

Rio Grande Foundation

 

Craig Shirley

Reagan Biographer and Presidential Historian

 

James L. Martin

Founder/Chairman

60 Plus Association

 

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis

President

60 Plus Association

 

Adam Brandon

President

FreedomWorks

 

Charlie Copeland

President

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

 

Rick Manning

President

Americans for Limited Government

 

Eunie Smith

President

Eagle Forum

 

Christie-Lee McNally

President

Raven Strategies

 

Rod D. Martin

Founder & CEO

The Martin Organization, Inc.

 

Christina Murphy Lusk

Campaign for the American Future

 

Guillermo J. Aragon

Chief Financial Officer

Martin Imaging, Inc.

 

Benjamin Nieuwsma

Founder and CEO

Navigo

 

Shawn A. Mitchell

Former National Chaplain

National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA)

 

Gavin Wax

President

New York Young Republican Club

 

C. Preston Noell III

President

Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

 

Terry Schilling

Executive Director

American Principles Project

 

Jon Schweppe

Director of Policy and Government Affairs

American Principles Project

 

Floyd Brown

Publisher

Western Journal

 

Kevin Freeman

Founder

NSIC Institute

 

Lady Brigitte Gabriel

Founder & Chairman

ACT For America

 

Gary Bauer

President

American Values

 

Mark J. Fitzgibbons

President of Corporate Affairs

American Target Advertising, Inc.

 

Richard A, Viguerie

Chairman

ConservativeHQ.com

 

Dr. Ted Baehr

Founder and Chairman

Christian Film & Television Commission

 

Elaine Donnelly

President

Center for Military Readiness

 

Justin Danhof

General Counsel

National Center for Public Policy Research

 

Mat Staver, Esq.

Founder and Chairman

Liberty Counsel

 

Ryan Williams

President

The Claremont Institute

 

Jonathan M. Alexandre, Esq.

Senior Counsel for Governmental Affairs

Liberty Counsel Action

 

David Kupelian

Vice President and Managing Editor

WND.com

 

Amy Kremer

Chairman

Women for America First

 

Ron Robinson

President

Young America’s Foundation

 

Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West (US Army, Retired)

Member, 112th US Congress

Senior Fellow, Media Research Center

 

Jim DeMint

Chairman

Conservative Partnership Institute

Fmr. Senator (R-S.C.)

 

Erick Erickson

Editor

The Resurgent

 

Samuel Rodriguez 

New Season Lead Pastor 

NHCLC President

Author of You Are Next! 

Executive Producer Breakthrough The Movie 

 

William Walton

President

Council for National Policy