US says China broke its promises in Hong Kong & Taiwan, demands transparency on COVID-19

The United States Department of State official on Wednesday, October 29 levelled a series of accusations against China, including breaking its promises to Hong Kong and Taiwan. State Department spokesperson Mogan Ortagus, while speaking to ANI, called China a strategic competitor of the US, adding that the Trump administration recognises that and also knows that it needs to work with Beijing in some areas, referring to the trade deal. 

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'China broke its promises'

Ortagus said that tensions between China and the US have escalated over several issues, including Hong Kong security law, Washington's support to Taiwan, COVID-19 emergence, and the Indo-Pacific region. Ortagus accused the Chinese Communist Party of breaking its promises in Hong Kong by introducing the controversial national security law and also in Taiwan, where the PLA repeatedly violates the median line. 

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"We know that this COVID-19 virus that we're all dealing with, you know, is something that emanated from China. We continue to call on them and to be transparent to be open to allow scientists and doctors to investigate. That's something that still hasn't happened and something that we are going to continue to call for because we have to fight these global pandemics together," Ortagus reiterated.

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China recently slammed the United States government for interfering in its internal matters and also for selling arms to Taiwan in violation of the one-China policy. China said that the United States is still suffering from the "Cold-War mentality" and criticised Washington for creating regional tensions and benefiting from it. 

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency on October 21 released a statement saying the State Department has approved the sale of 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) Missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.008 billion to Taiwan, which it says will help improve the security of Taiwan and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance in the region.

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