BEIJING — A Chinese official lashed out at U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday for visiting Taiwan amid an ongoing pandemic back home, accusing him of putting politics ahead of the lives of the American people.
The comments came a day after Azar accused China of failing to warn the rest of the world about the coronavirus.
“He abandoned the millions of people who are struggling with illness and visited Taiwan instead to stage a political show,” Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing. “We don’t know how he has the confidence and courage to shamelessly criticize China’s anti-epidemic achievements.”
Speaking Tuesday in Taiwan, Azar said that China’s ruling Communist Party “had the chance to warn the world and work with the world on battling the virus.”