Published 05:06 IST, June 1st 2020
Pompeo is 'certain' China will use situation in America to gain more territory
US Sec of State Pompeo said that he is ‘certain’ China would use the riots in America as a ‘tactic’ to take the situation on the ground for their benefit.
- World News
- 3 min read
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that he is ‘certain’ that China would use the riots in America as a ‘tactic’ to take the situation on the ground for their benefit and gain more territory. In a recent interview with an international media outlet, Pompeo also accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of being in the process of invading Taiwan for an “awfully long time”. However, the US diplomat has assured that “for the first time”, the country has US President Donald Trump’s administration that is buckled up to take ‘measured response’ against CCP.
US Sectretay of State said, “The Chinese Communist Party has been on this effort, on this march, for an awfully long time. They’ll certainly use a tactical situation on the ground to their advantage. But each of the problems that you identified there are threats that they have been making for an awfully long time.”
“For the first time, we have an administration that’s prepared to actually respond to say this is unacceptable and to take responses that are measured, appropriate, but reflect the seriousness with which we take the obligation to protect the American people from these Chinese Communist Party efforts,” he added.
Situation in Hong Kong, US are different
While the US is currently rocked with the violent protests across the nations over the tragic death of George Floyd in police custody, Pompeo noted that the situation is being used to fuel disinformation by the Chinese government and “trying to equate” citation in America with that in Hong Kong. Even though the angry demonstrations being dealt with tear gas by the US army, are causing a similar scene to month-long anti-government unrest in the former British colony, US Secretary of State believes that the situation is “completely different”.
The thousands who are on the streets of major cities in the US amid a pandemic, according to Pompeo, are “decent Americans” who are “troubled” with the incident that took place in Minnesota on May 25. He accused China of ‘preventing freedom of expression’.
Pompeo said, “They’re out using disinformation about what’s taking place in American cities and trying to equate that somehow to what’s happening in Hong Kong. These are completely different. We have the rule of law. We have decent Americans all across this country who are troubled by what happened, and they have the opportunity to speak freely about that."
“None of that exists inside of China. The Chinese Communist Party prevents that kind of freedom of expression. And the results, the risk to America as a result of that are real, and we’re going to respond to them,” he added.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in police custody and the video of the incident spread rage across the United States while the country was already battling the fatal coronavirus outbreak. In the viral footage, the police officer, who has now been arrested, could be seen kneeling over Floyd’s neck while he was struggling for breath while being handcuffed. All four police officers involved in 46-year-old’s arrest have been fired and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched a federal civil rights inquiry.
Image Source: AP
Updated 05:06 IST, June 1st 2020