Name: 國務卿向新聞界發表講話。 (Secretary of State remarks to the press.)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T11:01:21.000Z
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SECRETARY POMPEO: Good morning, everyone.

情態副詞

This morning, early, I had the chance to drive through Arlington Cemetery, and as we approach

Memorial Day Weekend, I want to reflect on the sacrifices of our uniformed military who

have given their lives in the cause of freedom.

As Secretary of State and an Army veteran, I spend all my days working to use American

diplomatic power to secure freedom without putting our servicemembers in harm's way.

And I want to recognize and thank the families who have lost loved ones in service to our

country for their sacrifices, too, from Lexington to Leyte Gulf, from Valley Forge to the Ia

Drang Valley, and on all the other fields of battle.

I hope every American will reflect on the exceptional nation for which these warriors

fought and died so that we can live and enjoy the fruits of this great country.

I want to begin today with a few observations on China, because the media's focus on the

current pandemic risks missing the bigger picture of the challenge that's presented

China's been ruled by a brutal, authoritarian regime, a communist regime since 1949.

For several decades, we thought the regime would become more like us through trade, scientific

exchanges, diplomatic outreach, letting them in the WTO as a developing nation.

We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile

The whole world is waking up to that fact.

Pew reported – I think it was this past week – that 66% of Americans have an unfavorable

That is a result of the Chinese Communist Party's choices, which are influenced by

And the nature of that regime is not new.

Second point on the bigger picture: The Chinese Communist Party's response to the COVID-19

outbreak in Wuhan have accelerated our more realistic understanding of communist China.

The Party chose to destroy live virus samples instead of sharing them or asking us to help

The People's Liberation Army has claimed more features in the South China Sea's international

waters, sank a Vietnamese fishing boat, threatened a Malaysian energy prospector, and declared

The United States condemns these unlawful acts.

The Chinese Communist Party chose to threaten Australia with economic retribution for the

simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus.

We stand with Australia and the more than 120 nations now who have taken up the American

call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus, so we can understand what went wrong

The Chinese Communist Party also chose to pressure the World Health Organization's

director-general into excluding Taiwan from this week's World Health Assembly in Geneva.

I understand that Dr. Tedros's unusually close ties to Beijing started long before

this current pandemic, and that's deeply troubling.

President Xi claimed this week that China has acted “with openness, transparency,

It's been 142 days since doctors at Wuhan Central Hospital first started sharing information

And yet, today, as we all sit here this morning, Beijing continues to deny investigators access

to relevant facilities, to withhold live virus samples, to censor discussion of the pandemic

If the Chinese Communist Party wants to demonstrate real openness, real transparency, it could

easily hold press conferences, like this very press conference, and allow reporters to ask

Third: China's contributions to fighting the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost

This plague has cost roughly 90,000 American lives.

More than 36 million Americans have lost their job since March.

Globally, 300,000 lives– could be as much as around $9 trillion, according to our estimates,

the cost imposition on the world by the Chinese Communist Party's failures.

The United States has responded with about $10 billion to benefit the international response

– everything from vaccine research to funding for preparedness efforts and humanitarian

That's compared to a promise of $2 billion from the Chinese.

I look forward to seeing them fulfill that $2 billion commitment.

Private American businesses, too – nonprofits, charities, citizens have provided an additional

$4.3 billion from American donations to assist the world.

There is no country that remotely rivals what the United States has done to help combat

And today, I am pleased to announce another $162 million in foreign assistance, bringing

our total commitments disbursed to more than $1 billion since the outbreak began.

And that's just what the State Department and USAID have done.

In addition to that funding, today the State Department and USAID, and the Inter-American

Foundation are providing more than 200 million in assistance for Venezuelans in need as well.

We will help the world recover from this pandemic.

Turning for a moment to Taiwan: I want to say congratulations to President Tsai on her

The democratic process in Taiwan has matured into a model for the world.

Despite great pressure from the outside, Taiwan has demonstrated the wisdom of giving people

In Hong Kong, our decision on whether or not to certify Hong Kong as having “a high degree

of autonomy” from China is still pending.

We're closely watching what's going on there.

This week pro-democracy legislators were man-handled while trying to stop a procedural irregularity

Leading Hong Kong activists like Martin Lee and Jimmy Lai were hauled into court.

Actions like these make it more difficult to assess that Hong Kong remains highly autonomous

We're also keeping a close eye on human rights, as we always do – pandemic or no

I was pleased that France arrested this weekend Felicien Kabuga, who is alleged to have played

We're monitoring Burundi, as voters there go to the polls today.

I urge all sides to refrain from provocations and allow there to be an election with no

violence, to let every citizen have the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights.

Nicaragua, too – we're concerned about numerous credible reports of hospitals filling

up and bodies being buried under cover of night, pointing to a much more severe situation