The United States is facing a surge in incidents of fentanyl overdose, almost reaching a national security crisis. In April, evidence presented in the House of Representatives accused Beijing of subsidizing fentanyl exports through tax incentives. Last year, the daughter of Steve Yates, former Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Cheney, died due to fentanyl. He stated that he will spend the rest of his life fighting against the Chinese Communist Party.
“26 years ago, a baby girl was born in the Prince George’s County Jail in Washington, D.C. Thanks to a miracle of adoption, she came to my family. I never imagined that 25 years later, I would be talking about my deceased daughter at the Heritage Foundation,” said Steve Yates on the 9th.
Yates, who once bore the pain of losing his daughter, bravely shared with the audience below the stage that his daughter went through what is known as street life. “Some might say she deserved it, that she was too reckless, but I will tell you she was a superhero.”
He mentioned that his daughter had overcome all the challenges faced by the homeless, even recovered from a heroin addiction. However, fentanyl and other drugs, unlike heroin, forced her lungs to inhale vomit, cutting off oxygen to her brain. Even if she was rushed to the emergency room and her heartbeat could possibly be restored, her brain had already swelled.
“While the death of my daughter due to fentanyl may not matter to everyone, for our leaders, over the past five years, more than 300,000 American families have lost siblings (to fentanyl), parents lost children.”
Fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45. Last year, over 107,000 Americans lost their lives to fentanyl.
The United States accuses Mexican drug cartels of controlling the majority of fentanyl production and cross-border trafficking. Mexico denied last year that fentanyl was produced within its borders, claiming that the fentanyl shipped to the U.S. was imported from China and processed into pills for easier smuggling by drug cartels.
The U.S. House of Representatives’ “China Task Force” released an investigative report in April this year, revealing that 97% of the illegal fentanyl entering the United States originated from China.
Yates stated that China (the CCP) seeks to divide and indiscriminately destroy communities in every state of the U.S. by exporting fentanyl. He believes that China’s (CCP) motive is to hollow out America internally to surpass it and exporting fentanyl is one of the most efficient ways to achieve this.
“Today’s fentanyl will become something else tomorrow.” Yates emphasized that fentanyl must be treated as a weapon of mass destruction. This issue has been discussed in Washington for many years.
He pointed out that some members of Congress have proposed legislation to combat fentanyl, but unless those transporting fentanyl worry about being unable to access the international financial system in the future, the U.S. does not take the current situation seriously enough and does not respect the deceased who lost their lives due to fentanyl use.
Having served as a missionary in southern Taiwan for 2 years and shuttling between Taiwan and the U.S. for over 30 years, Yates is now the Director of the China Policy Project at the conservative Washington think tank, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI). AFPI is referred to as the “shadow White House team” of the Republican Party, with its board chair Linda McMahon being a member of the Trump White House transition team last month.
Yates was interviewed by the Central News Agency yesterday, where he was asked if he would join the Trump transition team. He stated that supporting a comprehensive containment of China’s malicious influence is more important than whether he is within the system or not.
He mentioned the impact of the CCP’s killing of his daughter on him, stating, “I am determined to prioritize fighting and containing the CCP in my remaining life. I believe doing so will help the Taiwanese people, but I will not spend time just cheering up those I know and care about in Taiwan.”
Yates stated that whether in a think tank, media, or government in the future, he will unwaveringly confront the CCP. Everything he does in his remaining life is to commemorate his daughter.
(Source: Central News Agency)