Rick Scott Continues to Sound the Alarm on China – Florida Daily

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., continues to sound the alarm about China. This week, Scott applauded President Donald Trump for his warnings and restrictions on traveling to China.

For weeks, Scott has been asking the Trump administration to keep travel restrictions in place on China, even after the pandemic. Scott pointed to human rights abuses as a major concern.

Im glad the administration is heeding my call to recognize the danger every American faces when traveling to communist China. This is a nation that has no respect for human rights, surveils everyone traveling in the country, and will stop at nothing to silence dissidents. There is more we must do to hold communist China accountable, but the administrations decision to issue a new travel advisory to communist China, given the serious security threat, is an important step to protect Americans, Scott said this week.

The latest restrictions from the U.S. State Department advises against travel to mainland China and Hong Kong, stating that the PRC government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including by carrying out arbitrary and wrongful detentions and through the use of exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries without due process of law. The State Department also noted the PRC government uses arbitrary detention and exit bans.

Scott has been taking aim at the Chinese government during his first two years in the U.S. Senate and has ramped up the rhetoric in recent months, asking the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take the 2022 Olympic games away from that nation.

For nearly a year, Ive been calling on the IOC to put human rights first, stand against the genocide of the Uyghurs and the political oppression of Hong Kongers, and refuse to reward the Communist Party of China with the 2022 Games. This is also about the safety of all athletes and attendees. I am disappointed that the IOC would not commit to moving the 2022 Games out of communist China, but this fight is not over. The IOC has to decide whether the Olympics stands for freedom or stands with communist China and their human rights abuses, Scott said.

Scott is also trying to reduce American economic investments in China for many of the same reasons.

Communist China is flouting U.S. laws, defrauding our citizens and harming American investments. Everything a business does in communist China is shared directly with a government that is jailing its people for their religious beliefs, refuses to respect basic human rights and is building up their industrial and military strength in an effort to dominate the world, Scott noted.

So far, Scott has gained minimum leverage against the Chinese regime but his efforts to keep American dollars away from the worlds most populous nation will continue.

Reach Mike Synan at mike.synan@floridadaily.com.

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Rick Scott Continues to Sound the Alarm on China - Florida Daily