U.S. Detains Chinese Researcher Who Sheltered in Consulate

[Elderberry]

Bloomberg By Chris Strohm and Christian Berthelsen 7/24/2020

    Prosecutors say Juan Tang lied about connection to military

    UC Davis Researcher is set to appear in federal court Monday

U.S. officials said a Chinese researcher who had taken shelter at the country’s consulate in San Francisco is now in custody and is scheduled to make a court appearance Monday.

Officials briefing reporters declined to discuss the circumstances of the arrest of Juan Tang, a researcher at the University of California at Davis who was charged with lying about her military service in China on her U.S. visa application.

Days after U.S. agents interviewed Tang last month, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against her in federal court, under seal.

On Thursday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of “political persecution” in the case, but stopped short of saying whether Tang was being sheltered by diplomats. “We urge the U.S. to stop using any excuse to limit, harass and crack down on Chinese scholars and Chinese students in the U.S.,” spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

More: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-24/u-s-says-chinese-researcher-at-san-francisco-consulate-detained

[mystery-ak]

Feds nab Chinese fugitive and 3 others as part of spy ring; Adam Schiff inexplicably cries foul
July 24, 2020 | Frieda Powers

A Chinese researcher hiding out in her country’s consulate in San Francisco has been taken into U.S. custody according to a senior Justice Department official.

The Chinese national and cancer researcher at University of California “was a fugitive from justice until last night,” the official said of Juan Tang, who sought refuge in the consulate after accusations of visa fraud, CNN reported. Three other Chinese citizens were also taken into custody following the U.S. order to close the consulate in Houston for alleged spying and intellectual property theft.

Tang and the others were charged with “visa fraud in connection with a scheme to lie about their status as members of the People’s Republic of China’s military forces, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), while in the United States conducting research,” the Department of Justice announced in a news release on Thursday.

“These members of China’s People Liberation Army applied for research visas while hiding their true affiliation with the PLA,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said. “This is another part of the Chinese Communist Party’s plan to take advantage of our open society and exploit academic institutions. We will continue to conduct this investigation together with the FBI.”

Tang, who had sheltered in the consulate in San Francisco, had “made fraudulent statements” on her October 2019 visa application, according to the DOJ. Asked “Have you ever served in the military,” Tang had responded “No.” She was issued a visa in November of 2019 and entered the United States in the next month.

“As set forth in the Complaint, the FBI found a photograph of Tang in a military uniform and references to Tang’s employment at the Air Force Military Medical University, which has also been known as the Fourth Military Medical University,” the Justice Department release said.

more
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2020/07/24/feds-nab-chinese-fugitive-and-3-others-as-part-of-spy-ring-adam-schiff-inexplicably-cries-foul-951140

[Cyber Liberty]

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