U.S. think tank says the Chinese Government should be legally liable for covid deaths and costs.

The think tank in question is The Heritage Foundation which is an extremely well connected and powerful right-wing American organisation. It remains to be seen if their declaration gets any traction in the press. I doubt it will get any in the mainstream. What effect it might have in the corridors of American politics is a different question. My guess is that that is what the folks at The Heritage Foundation are aiming for because they have an eye on the increasing likelihood of a Trump Presidency. The people who have signed this are not lightweights. They are people who have held some of the most senior political appointments there are in the American Intelligence world as well as a former head of the CDC.

These people know exactly how inflammatory what they have said is. They know this will infuriate the Chinese government. And I think they are hoping their view will get traction within any future Trump administration. If it does then this serves as an early indication that there is a powerful constituency already pushing for a very different and much more openly confrontational American policy towards China.

I think it also plays into Trump’s already hostile attitude towards the W.H.O.