British Govt Furious Over China’s Virus Lies, ‘Reckoning’ Expected Post-Pandemic

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: China's President, Xi Jinping (L), accompanied by Prince Phi
Carl Court/Getty Images

The British government is reportedly furious over the coronavirus misinformation campaign conducted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), leading to calls for the relationship between the two powers to be re-evaluated after the pandemic subsides.

Members of Boris Johnson’s government have disclosed that “anger goes right to the top” of 10 Downing Street — the Prime Minister’s official residence — over the Chinese Communist Party’s mishandling of the coronavirus crisis. The anger stems in large part from a misinformation campaign launched by the regime accusing a United States military delegation in Wuhan of starting the global pandemic.

“There is a disgusting disinformation campaign going on and it is unacceptable. They [the Chinese regime] know they have got this badly wrong and rather than owning it they are spreading lies,” a Downing Street source told the Daily Mail.

Scientific advisors have informed Mr Johnson that it is likely that China is also lying about the number of coronavirus cases in the country, downplaying the figures “by a factor of 15 to 40 times”.

Though any re-evaluation of the relationship with China has been put off until after the pandemic calms down, a senior official told the newspaper: “It is going to be back to the diplomatic drawing board after this. Rethink is an understatement.”

“There has to be a reckoning when this is over,” said another.

At the heart of the re-evaluation will be the status of Boris Johnson’s decision to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei access to Britain’s 5G infrastructure. The Huawei deal placed a stain on the “special relationship” with the United States, whichs long with Australia has warned that the Chinese would gain back door access into the networks of Britain and her allies.

“We can’t stand by and allow the Chinese state’s desire for secrecy to ruin the world’s economy and then come back like nothing has happened. We’re allowing companies like Huawei not just into our economy, but to be a crucial part of our infrastructure,” said a senior Cabinet member.

“This needs to be reviewed urgently, as does any strategically important infrastructure that relies on Chinese supply chains,” the source added.

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has likened the deal with Huawei to doing business with the Nazis during the Second World War, wrote: “for too long, nations have lamely kow-towed to China in the desperate hope of winning trade deals.”

“Once we get clear of this terrible pandemic, it is imperative that we all rethink that relationship and put it on a much more balanced and honest basis,” Sir Iain urged.

There are growing calls within the British government to pressure the Chinese regime to reform its atrocious record on animal rights, which many believe led to the outbreak of the coronavirus in a Wuhan “wet market”.

“We have always known their wildlife markets are a recipe for a pandemic. China needs to close these down immediately. If they don’t, they will rightly become a pariah state,” a senior Minister said.

Number 10 also believes that the communist regime is using the crisis to profiteer and to gain influence with countries through what it calls “predatory offers of help”, such as the donation of medical equipment — which in some cases have turned out to be defective anyway.

“Beijing is masking the greatest health emergency in a century and the cost of this deceit is global,” said Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has also observed that “China is acting as the charitable godfather, dishing out money, medical equipment and trying to use this crisis to gain global power.”

“When Germany refused to export medical masks to Italy, despite the desperate state they were in, guess who stepped in – the people who caused it – the Chinese,” Mr Farage told Sky News.

“And I wouldn’t want to see the idiots in Brussels replaced by Chinese communism dominating the world even more than it does today,” he cautioned.

Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka

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