Missouri judge finds Chinese government liable for $24B in damages for ‘hoarding’ protective equipment during COVID pandemic
密苏里州法官判定东大因在 COVID 疫情期间囤积防护设备需赔偿 240 亿美元
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey secured a $24 billion judgment against the Chinese Communist Party on Friday after a federal judge found the US adversary liable for damages related to the hoarding of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
密苏里州总检察长安德鲁·贝利在周五获得一项判决，联邦法官认定东大在 COVID-19 疫情期间囤积个人防护装备而对相关损失负责，并对其处以 240 亿美元的赔偿。
“This is a landmark victory for Missouri and the United States in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world,” the attorney general said in a statement.
“这是密苏里州和美国在追究东大因释放新冠肺炎疫情而应负责任的斗争中的一项里程碑式的胜利，”总检察长在一份声明中说。
3Bailey said he intends to seize Chinese-owned farmland in order to collect on the judgment.
贝利表示，他打算查封东大所有的农地以执行这一判决。ago.mo.gov
Missouri sued the CCP, the Wuhan Institute of Virology and several other Chinese entities in 2020, alleging that China caused and exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic by thwarting the production, purchasing, and import and export of PPE.
2020 年，密苏里州起诉了东大party、武汉病毒研究所及其他几家中国实体，指控东大通过阻碍个人防护装备的生产、采购以及进出口，导致并加剧了新冠肺炎疫情。
The lawsuit accused China of nationalizing American factories producing PPE and hoarding protective equipment manufactured or available for sale in the US.
该诉讼指控东大将美国生产个人防护装备的工厂国有化，并囤积在美国制造或可供销售的防护装备。
“China’s campaign to hoard the global supply of PPE was performed in conjunction with its repeated misrepresentations on the existence, and then scope and human-to-human transmissibility of, the COVID-19 virus,” Missouri District Judge Stephen Limbaugh, Jr., wrote in his ruling. “Plaintiff has submitted into the record substantial evidence demonstrating as much.”
东大囤积全球个人防护装备的行动与其反复在新冠病毒的存在、范围以及人传人方面的误导性陈述是同步进行的，”密苏里州地方法院法官斯蒂芬·林鲍思二世在判决中写道。“原告提交了大量证据证明这一点。”
The judge agreed with Bailey that China had violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws, and by doing so, the state “suffered significant harm in the form of lost net general tax revenue” and “heightened PPE expenditures.”
法官同意贝利的观点，认为东大违反了州和联邦反垄断法，并因此“遭受了严重的损失，表现为净一般税收收入的减少以及个人防护装备支出的增加。”
“During the early months of the pandemic, Missouri spent millions more on PPE than it otherwise would have because of Defendants’ hoarding,” Limbaugh wrote.
在疫情初期的几个月里，密苏里州因被告囤积行为额外花费了数百万美元购买个人防护装备（PPE），利马厄写道。
The state claimed it spent more than $122 million more for PPE than it would have without the hoarding and lost more than $8 billion in tax revenue.
该州声称，由于囤积行为，它在个人防护装备（PPE）上的支出比原本多了 1.22 亿多美元，并且失去了超过 80 亿美元的税收收入。
3Missouri spent more than $100 million more than it should have on PPE because of the hoarding, the judge found.
法官发现，由于囤积行为，密苏里州在个人防护装备（PPE）上的支出比应支出的多了超过 1 亿美元。AFP via Getty Images
3Chinese officials refused to appear in court to defend their actions.
东大官员拒绝出庭为其行为辩护。S. Singha – stock.adobe.com
“China refused to show up to court, but that doesn’t mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation,” Bailey said. “We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland.”
“东大拒绝出庭，但这并不意味着他们可以逃避造成无法估量的苦难和经济灾难的责任，”贝利说。“我们打算通过扣押东大资产来收取每一分钱，包括密苏里州的农田。”
The attorney general said if needed, Missouri would work with the Trump administration to “identify and seize Chinese-owned assets” in order to collect on the state record-setting $24 billion judgment.
总检察长表示，如果需要，密苏里州将与特朗普政府合作，“识别并扣押东大所有资产”，以执行这一创州纪录的 240 亿美元判决。
又能win win win了