Prosecutors allege that Tang Juan, a biology-focused researcher, lied about his connection to the Chinese military to gain entry to the United States and has since avoided arrest by taking refuge in the West Coast diplomatic mission.
According to court filings, Tang was charged on June 26 with one count of visa fraud. Prosecutors said she concealed her connection to the country’s army in her visa application, but investigators “discovered photographs of her in the uniform of the Civilian Panel of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (EPL)” and that she had been employed as an investigator. at the Fourth University of Military Medicine (FMMU).
During an interview with FBI agents on June 20, “Tang denied having served in the Chinese military, asserting that he did not know the meaning of the insignia on his uniform, and that a military uniform was required to attend FMMU because he was a military man. school, “the lawyers wrote in a court filing on July 20.
However, during a search of his residence and electronic media, FBI agents allegedly “found more evidence of Tang PLA affiliation.”
After his interview with the office, Tang allegedly fled to the San Francisco consulate, “where the FBI is evaluating that he has stayed.”
CNN has contacted the US State Department, the Department of Justice and the FBI for further comment. Separately, CNN has also contacted the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the criminal complaint, which names several other Chinese scientists in the United States, prosecutors say they are part of a “program carried out by the PLA, and specifically by FMMU or partner institutions, to send military scientists to the United States. with false pretenses. ” with false covers or false statements about his true job. “
“There is evidence in at least one of these cases of a military scientist copying or stealing information from US institutions under the leadership of military superiors in China,” prosecutors said. “In addition, there is evidence that the government of the People’s Republic of China instructed these individuals to destroy the evidence and coordinate efforts regarding the departure of these individuals from the United States, particularly after the charges brought against Xin Wang in this district on June 7, 2020. ”
Commenting on Wang’s arrest, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called it “blatant political persecution.”
“As far as I know, Wang Xin investigates in the field of cardiovascular diseases. I do not see how that could threaten the interest or national security of the United States,” he said, adding that “many Chinese citizens have recently been interrogated for a long time. by US law enforcement officials upon leaving the US, and the digital devices they were carrying were also examined. “
Houston shutdown
On Wednesday, Beijing promised to retaliate for the closure of Houston, and state media pointed to the possible closure of one of the numerous United States diplomatic missions within China.
While Washington remains vague about what prompted Houston’s decision, it appears to have some connection to the espionage, a day after US prosecutors charged two suspected Chinese hackers with a “global hacker campaign” that they say It was supported by the country’s government and directed at coronavirus treatment and vaccine research.
On Twitter, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the Houston consulate was a “central node of the Communist Party’s vast network of spies.” The US State Department previously accused China of “participating for years in massive illegal espionage and influence operations” and that those “activities have increased markedly in scale and scope in recent years.”
A State Department spokeswoman said the consulate was ordered to close “to protect American intellectual property and the private information of Americans,” but did not immediately provide additional details about what prompted the move.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the order an “unprecedented escalation” and suggested it would retaliate in kind. On Tuesday night, officials in Houston could be seen appearing to burn documents in a courtyard outside the consulate.
Speaking to CNN affiliate KTRK, China’s Consul General in Houston, Cai Wei, said he was surprised by the closing order.
“I never expected (to be) treated like this, and we came out of friendship and mutual understanding between China and the United States,” he said.
Potential retaliation
Relations between China and the United States have plummeted in the past year, amid an ongoing trade war, the coronavirus pandemic, and US criticism of China’s human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Europe gathering leaders to take a harder line with Beijing and meeting with exiled Chinese dissidents, said the move was consistent with the Trump administration’s policy toward China.
“President Trump has said ‘enough’. We are not going to allow this to continue to happen,” Pompeo said. “We are setting clear expectations about how the Chinese Communist Party will behave, and when they do not, we will take steps that protect the American people, our security, our national security and also our economy and employment.”
Pompeo is scheduled to present comments about China on Thursday at the Richard Nixon Museum and Library in California. His speech could herald yet another escalation against China, particularly if Beijing takes action against a U.S. consulate or other interests in the country before his speech.
Analysts expect China to target the American consulate in Wuhan, which has been effectively closed for months due to the coronavirus pandemic. James Green, a principal investigator at Georgetown University and a former American diplomat in China, said “there would be some symmetry in the closure of the American consulate in Wuhan.”
However, Green was skeptical about the alleged intelligence or espionage capabilities of the Houston consulate.
“The true likely driver is (Pompeo’s) speech Thursday at the Nixon Library in China,” he said. “It culminates a month of speeches in China by national security adviser O’Brien, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Barr. Having something big to announce or explain will add more ‘umph’ to the speech.”
Jeff Moon, who served as a U.S. diplomat in China and as the U.S. deputy trade representative for China affairs under U.S. President Donald Trump, agreed that the Houston consulate was an unlikely target to combat property theft. intellectual, adding “if that were the case.” Real reason, the United States would shut down the San Francisco consulate, which covers Silicon Valley. “
Moon said it could be a response to China’s refusal to allow U.S. diplomats to return to China without intrusive evidence and quarantines violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. China currently has strict entry requirements for the coronavirus, but the required tests could expose diplomats’ DNA.
“Chinese consulates in the United States operate without restrictions in the United States, so this is a way to gain influence in the ongoing negotiations and to force reciprocity in China,” he added.
‘Dangerous escalation’
Observers were concerned about the continuing worsening of relations between the two largest economies, warning that a possible diplomatic dispute could escalate rapidly.
Guy Saint-Jacques, the former Canadian ambassador to China, said the move was a “dangerous escalation”.
“Now is the time to hold official dialogues to clear up misunderstandings and pressure them to change their ways,” he added. “The idea of decoupling the two economies is problematic, as it could have long-term geopolitical consequences: When they do a lot of business together, they must work together to prevent problems / irritants from becoming major crises.”
Natasha Kassam, a researcher at the Lowy Institute in Sydney and a former Australian diplomat in China, warned that “Beijing can retaliate by reducing the number of American diplomats overall.”
“Such a measure would limit Washington’s communication channels with Beijing, as well as the ability of outsiders to monitor and report on what is happening within China,” he added. “This decision reflects the missteps made by the United States against journalists in the PRC that ultimately cost several of the American newspapers some of their best journalists in China.”
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