Kudos to the Trump administration and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) for persevering in holding Dr. Anthony Fauci's feet to the fire. Fauci allegedly covered up the origins of COVID-19 as 1.1 million Americans died from the virus.

But what about the biggest culprit, China?

For seven weeks or more, starting in the winter of 2019, Chinese officials violated their international commitments and ethical obligation to prevent a domestic epidemic from becoming a global pandemic.

They muzzled and even jailed Chinese doctors and journalists, allowed international flights to carry infected passengers to countries around the globe, and withheld information on the virus's human-to-human transmission and its genomic sequence.

Back in 2020, President Donald Trump insisted the nation that "unleashed this plague on the world" should have to pay. He said nothing should be off the table: taxes, tariffs, or a "global summit on reparations."

During his campaign for reelection, Trump floated forcing China to pay $50 trillion to compensate.

Yet now these plans have disappeared from the national dialogue.

American CEOs are gladhanding with Chinese officials, and American universities are welcoming Chinese students and Chinese grant money.

Even Trump is proceeding gingerly, apparently worried about complicating dealings with Beijing by bringing up........

© Townhall