The Chinese biology researcher accused of lying about applications to obtain a visa and gain access to the United States is now in custody and is expected to appear in court via video conference on Monday afternoon, the bureau of the Federal Prosecutor.
Tang Juan, who was staying at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, according to the FBI, and three other investigators are accused of concealing their identities as members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. They have all been accused of visa fraud.
Tang, a researcher at the University of California, Davis, stated in her J-1 visa application that “she had never served in the military, but the open source investigation revealed photographs of her in the uniform of the Civilian Staff of the PLA [People’s Liberation Army], and who had worked as a researcher at the Air Force University of Military Medicine, which is another name for FMMU [Fourth Military Medical University]”said the FBI.
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According to a June 20 interview with FBI agents, Tang “denied having served in the Chinese military, asserting that he did not know the meaning of the insignia on his uniform, and that wearing a military uniform was necessary to attend FMMU because he was a military man school.”
The FBI said it executed a search warrant at Tang’s home and found a treasure trove of evidence of Tang PLA affiliation.
“The FBI evaluates that sometime after Tang’s search and interview on June 20, 2020, Tang went to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, where the FBI evaluates that she has stayed,” the office said.
The FBI’s filing against Tang came as part of a document citing a number of other episodes in which Chinese citizens allegedly lied in their visa applications by hiding their military ties.
The FBI said it interviewed visa holders in more than 25 US cities suspected of lying about their connection to China. The office believes the deception is part of an ongoing government-orchestrated effort to steal research on a variety of subjects from American universities for the economic benefit of China.
“The defendant’s case is not isolated, but appears to be part of a program carried out by the PLA – and specifically, the FMMU or partner institutions – to send false-pretending military scientists to the United States with false covers or statements. false about his true job, “the FBI said, pointing to Chen Song, another suspected spy.
In that case, prosecutors said Chen, a visiting medical researcher from Stanford University, entered the United States on a work and study visa in December 2018, identifying herself as a neurologist who was going to California school to perform brain disease research.
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In his visa application, Chen states that he had served in the Chinese armed forces from September 2000 to June 2011 and listed his current employer as a civilian hospital in China. However, the FBI said the investigative articles Chen submitted with his visa application identified his employers as hospitals controlled by the Chinese military.
An online profile of Chen on a Chinese website identifies her as a neurologist studying myasthenia gravis at a Chinese air force hospital and includes a photo of her in a military uniform.
As the visa fraud charges unfold in court, the United States ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, a move that Beijing denounced as “scandalous.”
The physical closure of the consulate, one of six that China has in the United States, is a bold step in the growing tensions between the two superpowers that have been affected not only by the blame for the coronavirus pandemic but also by disputes. on human rights. trade and climbs made by Beijing in the South China Sea.
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In retaliation for the closure of the Chinese consulate in Texas, China on Friday ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in the western city of Chengdu.
“The move by China is a legitimate and necessary response to the unjustified act by the United States,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to the report.
