Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
US: Chinese Researcher Being Harbored at Consulate in SF
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
July 24, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — The Chinese consulate in San Francisco is harboring a Chinese researcher who lied about her military background, the Justice Department said Thursday as it announced charges against that scientist and three others accused of concealing their government ties.
The four researchers are accused of lying on applications to work in the United States about their status as members of China’s People’s Liberation Army. All are charged with visa fraud.
The FBI, meanwhile, has interviewed visa holders in more than 25 American cities who are suspected of concealing their ties to the Chinese military. The Justice Department believes that the deception is part of an ongoing, government-sponsored effort to steal research and innovation from American universities for Beijing’s economic gain.
“This is another part of the Chinese Communist Party’s plan to take advantage of our open society and exploit academic institutions,” John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said in a statement.
The allegation comes amid rising tension between the U.S. and China, particularly related to theft of intellectual property — including by Chinese researchers with military and government connections — for Beijing’s benefit. Just this week, the U.S. ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, and the Justice Department charged two Chinese hackers with targeting firms working on vaccines for the coronavirus.
Trump administration officials have escalated their public condemnations of China in the last several weeks, with speeches by FBI Director Chris Wray, Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Agents Found Photographs of Tang in a Uniform of the PLA Civilian Cadre

Three of the four defendants have been arrested. The FBI believes that the fourth, Tang Juan, has been harbored for weeks in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The Justice Department says the scientist, who is listed in some court filings as Juan Tang, lied about her military affiliation in a visa application last October as she made plans to work at the University of California, Davis and again during an FBI interview months later.
Agents found photographs of Tang in a uniform of the PLA civilian cadre and also reviewed articles from China that identified her military affiliation.
The FBI last month interviewed Tang, when she denied having served in the military or knowing the significance of the insignia on the uniform she was photographed wearing, and also found more evidence of her military affiliation when they later searched her home, according to court filings.
“The FBI assesses that, at some point following the search and interview of Tang on June 20, 2020, Tang went to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, where the FBI assesses she has remained,” prosecutors wrote in a July 20 court filing that sought the detention of another Chinese scientist who the Justice Department says lied about her military background to enter the U.S.
The document alleges efforts by multiple Chinese nationals to conceal their ties to the military or government, and says “the Chinese government has instructed PLA members in the United States to obstruct justice by deleting information from their devices.”
In a statement, UC Davis said its medical school was providing law enforcement officials with information they had requested. The university said Tang had been a visiting researcher in the Department of Radiation Oncology whose work was funded by a study-based exchange program affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education and Xijing Hosital.
Tang left the university at the end of June, and her work was based solely in the research laboratory, the school said.
An Associated Press reporter was unable to leave a phone message with the consulate Thursday morning. No attorney for Tang was listed in court filings.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

DON'T MISS

Tim Walz Urges Democrats to Fight Back Harder Against ‘Bully’ Trump

DON'T MISS

US Defense Secretary Warns Indo-Pacific Allies of ‘Imminent’ Threat From China

DON'T MISS

Hamas Responds to the US Ceasefire Proposal for Gaza While Seeking Amendments

DON'T MISS

No. 15 Overall Seed UCLA Eases Past Fresno State Behind a Season-High 22 Hits

DON'T MISS

Judge and Ohtani Light Up the First Inning With Historic Homers in Yankees-Dodgers Rematch

DON'T MISS

Chapman Homers, Harrison Pitches Five Scoreless Innings as Giants Beat Marlins

DON'T MISS

General Is a Good Boy — in English and Spanish

DON'T MISS

Two Renovated Tot Lots Promise Family Fun at Roeding Park

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Hand Out 55 Citations During Motorcycle Safety Crackdown

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

UN May Cut Staff by 20%, Internal Memo Says

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Says Israel Accepts Witkoff’s New Gaza Truce Proposal, Media Report

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Food Trucks in Gaza Raided, Underscoring Aid Distribution Problems

Hamas Responds to the US Ceasefire Proposal for Gaza While Seeking Amendments

2 hours ago

No. 15 Overall Seed UCLA Eases Past Fresno State Behind a Season-High 22 Hits

2 hours ago

Judge and Ohtani Light Up the First Inning With Historic Homers in Yankees-Dodgers Rematch

2 hours ago

Chapman Homers, Harrison Pitches Five Scoreless Innings as Giants Beat Marlins

2 hours ago

General Is a Good Boy — in English and Spanish

4 hours ago

Two Renovated Tot Lots Promise Family Fun at Roeding Park

4 hours ago

Visalia Police Hand Out 55 Citations During Motorcycle Safety Crackdown

4 hours ago

Chronic Stress Linked to Higher Dementia Risk, Experts Warn

4 hours ago

How Gentrification Is Killing the Bus: California’s Rising Rents Are Pushing Out Commuters

5 hours ago

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

19 hours ago

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

CLOVIS — A transgender teen will compete in the California high school track-and-field finals on Saturday, one day after advancing in the co...

52 minutes ago

52 minutes ago

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

2 hours ago

Tim Walz Urges Democrats to Fight Back Harder Against ‘Bully’ Trump

2 hours ago

US Defense Secretary Warns Indo-Pacific Allies of ‘Imminent’ Threat From China

2 hours ago

Hamas Responds to the US Ceasefire Proposal for Gaza While Seeking Amendments

2 hours ago

No. 15 Overall Seed UCLA Eases Past Fresno State Behind a Season-High 22 Hits

2 hours ago

Judge and Ohtani Light Up the First Inning With Historic Homers in Yankees-Dodgers Rematch

2 hours ago

Chapman Homers, Harrison Pitches Five Scoreless Innings as Giants Beat Marlins

General, a lovable 90-pound bilingual pup in Fresno, is fixed, vaccinated, and ready to find his forever home through Mell’s Mutts. (Mell's Mutts)
4 hours ago

General Is a Good Boy — in English and Spanish

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend