Washington Examiner: Ted Cruz legislation targets Chinese cover-ups, Hollywood censorship, and CCP propaganda
News|5.21.20
Sen. Ted Cruz will declare China “the most dangerous geopolitical threat” facing the United States during a speech Thursday on the Senate floor as he introduces legislation targeting China, Hollywood, and Chinese Communist Party propaganda.
The Texas Republican’s speech, an advance copy of which was seen by the Washington Examiner, argues that the U.S. needs a “fundamental reassessment” of how it deals with China, especially following the coronavirus pandemic that originated there. Cruz will also introduce three bills on Thursday, the legislative text of which was also reviewed by the Washington Examiner, which focus on “how we unwind from China.”
The Ending Medical Censorship and Cover Ups in China Act would sanction Chinese government officials who engage in medical cover-ups or in political censorship. The Stopping Censorship, Restoring Integrity, and Protecting Talkies Act would cut off any Hollywood studio from federal assistance if it decides to self-censor its films to get them played in China. And the Blocking Evasive Attempts to Manipulate Signals Act would close an apparent loophole in Federal Communications Commission regulations that currently allows China to purchase Mexican radio stations and beam its propaganda into the U.S.
“I’m introducing these three bills to thwart China’s attempts to force Americans to self-censor, to spread propaganda, and to silence Chinese doctors, journalists, and activists who try to tell the truth about diseases and pathogens,” Cruz will say in his speech. “These bills are part of a larger endeavor to untangle the United States from China’s web and to hold the Chinese government accountable for hiding the truth about coronavirus from the world and sparking a deadly and devastating pandemic.”