A federal judge in Missouri has found the Chinese government guilty of covering up the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and hoarding protective equipment.
With a court decision approved by him, China is sentenced to a fine of $24 billion, which Missouri officials pledged to enforce by seizing Chinese assets.
The lawsuit, filed by the Missouri attorney general's office in April 2020, accused the Chinese government of concealing information about the existence and spread of the virus and then withholding supplies of personal protective equipment to the rest of the world.
Chinese officials said Friday they did not accept the judge's ruling, but Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. wrote that " China was deceiving the world about the dangers and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and that it had engaged in monopolistic actions to hoard protective equipment ."
According to the judge in question, these actions hindered the early response to the pandemic in the United States and made it impossible to provide sufficient equipment for medical personnel fighting the virus.
Judge Limbaugh, from the Eastern District Court of Missouri, imposed the sentence against China, the Communist Party that governs the country, local governments in China, as well as a health agency and a laboratory.
Judge Limbaugh said Missouri lawyers testified that China knew the virus was spreading and that it was spreading from person to person, long before it shared this information with the world.
He also said Missouri proved that China took steps to nationalize American factories in China for the production of protective equipment, which limited the supply for export and increased the prices of protective equipment in the West.
The judge noted that COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in Missouri in 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, it is still unclear how and when Missouri officials might act to seize Chinese assets, including land, as they have pledged to do. (A2 Televizion)
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