Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley told Chinese President Xi Jinping to clarify the origins of COVID-19 as his bill to release information about the origin of the virus comes to President Biden’s desk.
Hawley shared his letter to Xi online Friday in a tweet about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials contacting his office in an attempt to pressure him to withdraw the bill.
“China is so excited about this account on the origins of COVID that communist officials wrote to my office earlier this week demanding that I drop it,” Hawley wrote.
CHINA WRITES FURIOUS LETTER TO HAWLEY ABOUT COVID ORIGINS BILL: ‘POLITICAL MANIPULATION’
Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley told Chinese President Xi Jinping to clarify the origins of COVID-19 as his bill to release information about the origin of the virus comes to President Biden’s desk. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)
“I thought I would notify President Xi of today’s passage,” Hawley continued, noting the unanimous passage of his bill through the House of Representatives on Friday.
In his Friday letter to XiHawley stressed the unanimous passage of the bill through the House and Senate and said he knows the Chinese president is “deeply interested in this bill,” adding that the “Chinese president’s own Communist officials have written to my office stating they demand that we relinquish it, in their usual lecturing, idiotic style.”
“But the bill will soon become law — unless you can convince President Biden to veto it,” Hawley wrote. “The time is up.”
“Open up about your role in spreading COVID to the world,” he added.
Hawley’s bill to release information about the origin of COVID-19 previously passed the Senate by a unanimous vote.
In his Friday letter to Xi, Hawley highlighted the unanimous passage of the bill through the House and Senate and said he knows the Chinese president is “deeply interested in this bill,” adding that the Chinese president’s “own Communist officials are looking to have written to my office demanding that we refrain from, in their usual preaching, idiotic style.” (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
The bill goes to Biden’s desk for his signature.
The Chinese government on Wednesday condemned Senator Josh Hawley’s bill to release information about the origins of COVID-19 as an act of “political manipulation” in a letter sent directly to the lawmaker’s office.
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials sent a three-page letter to Hawley’s office, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, accusing the US of “undermining international solidarity” in fighting the coronavirus. It also echoed Beijing’s argument that the virus could possibly have originated in a lab in North Carolina.
The bill goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature. (Screenshot/Twitter)
“I am reaching out to express our grave concern about the ‘Covid-19 Origin Act of 2023’ (S.619), which falsely claimed that the Covid-19 coronavirus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and China accused of blocking international investigations, refusal to share information and lack of transparency etc. and demanded the Director of National Intelligence to release information related to the origin of COVID-19. China firmly opposes and condemns this strong,” the letter said.
It was written by an official at the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, and addressed to Hawley’s chief of staff.
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The Missouri Republican suggested to Fox News Digital on Thursday that he took China’s angry letter as a sign of encouragement.
“When China is that angry about a proposal, you know you’re on the right track,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “The American people deserve to know the truth about the origins of COVID, and China must be held accountable.”
Houston Keene is a political writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @HoustonKeene
