At the end of last week, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the Department of State to maintain the Level 4 Do Not Travel Advisory to Communist China beyond the pandemic, given the ongoing human rights abuses and critical threat to the safety of Americans.
Scott’s letter is below.
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
I want to first thank you for working with President Trump to take bold and historic action to stand up against Communist China’s lies and human rights abuses. I applaud President Trump’s decision to hold Communist China accountable for breaking its long-standing agreement with Hong Kong by revoking Hong Kong’s special status. We are finally standing up for human rights by sanctioning Chinese officials, businesses and banks that help Communist China restrict Hong Kong’s autonomy, as well as companies complicit in human rights violations against the Uyghurs.
The administration is taking the right steps, but there is more we must do to continue to hold Communist China accountable, and that includes warning Americans about the dangers of traveling to China. The Chinese Communist Party and their puppets continue to silence and intimidate those standing up for democracy and human rights. We know foreigners and journalists working and traveling in China do so at their own risk. We’ve seen the danger with the arrest of individuals like Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy leader in Hong Kong and founder of Apple Daily, under Communist China’s oppressive new national security law in Hong Kong. We know Communist China has extensive surveillance on everyone traveling in the country, and will stop at nothing to silence dissidents.
The State Department took the important step of restricting travel to Communist China to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. On top of the health threat, we must also recognize the serious security threat that every American faces in Communist China. Therefore, I urge the Department to maintain the Level 4 Do Not Travel Advisory beyond the pandemic, given the ongoing human rights abuses and critical threat to American safety. The Department has designated other enemies, including Iran, as Level 4 for the “arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.” It’s time we do the same for Communist China.
I appreciate your consideration of this important step to protect Americans at home and abroad from the threat of Communist China.
