China could use pathogens against its own people, Ted Yoho warns

Ted Yoho is leery of Beijing.

A Congressman from north-central Florida warns that China could use biological weapons against its own people.

U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, of the 3rd Congressional District, made his case Tuesday in a series of tweets.

“Imagine what this regime—who has imprisoned over a million innocent people because of their ethnicity and religious beliefs—would do with biological weapons capable of attacking ethnic populations with pathogens,” Yoho contended.

“The [People’s Republic of China’s] work on biological threats combined with their refusal to work transparently with international partners should be a red flag for the world,” Yoho added. “The Chinese Communist Party can’t be trusted by the international community, let alone their ethnic minorities who have been oppressed for decades.”

Yoho’s comments were in response to a twelve-day old article in the right-leaning Washington Times.

The claim from the Times’ Bill Gertz is that a senior Trump administration official said “China is known to be engaged in a covert program that includes development of biological weapons capable of attacking ethnic groups with pathogens.”

The article made reference to classified information that may or may not be declassified anytime soon, but which stokes the narrative that China may be looking to exploit biological agents going forward.

Yoho, leaving Congress this year of his own volition, has sounded the China alarm repeatedly, with legislation to match.

The Congressman’s “Enforcing Accountability and Transparency in International Trade Act,” filed in the House last month, intends to redress trade imbalances.

“China is the second-largest economy in the world, and it is projected to grow to $20 trillion by 2024. Yet, China continues to take advantage of international financial institutions, particularly in the WTO where it has identified and hides as a developing nation,” Yoho told Florida Daily.

The bill is backed by Republicans, a minority in the House, and lacks a Senate companion. However, with both Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio warning of a “new Cold War with China,” it would seem legislative appetite may exist in the upper chamber.