An illicit, Chinese-owned lab fueled conspiracy theories. But officials say it posed no danger

[Valin]

AP

OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

August 9, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jesalyn Harper, the only full-time code enforcement officer for the small, agricultural city of Reedley in California’s Central Valley, was responding to a complaint about vehicles parked in the loading dock of a cold-storage warehouse when she noticed a foul smell and saw a garden hose snaking into the old building.

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But the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there was no sign that the lab was illegally in possession of the materials or had select agents or toxins that could be used as bioweapons.

“CDC has taken no further action in this matter,” the agency said in an email to The Associated Press, referring further questions to county and state officials.

After company representatives stopped communicating with city and county officials, they got a court order to shut down the operation, euthanized the mice and cleaned the biological materials. Officials thought that would be the end of it.

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Nov 29, 2023

US Congressman Jim Costa's top congressional staffer, Daniel Sepulveda, admits the illegal Chinese biolab poses a grave risk to public health and national security. Asked if his boss, thinks the lab endangered public safety. “Yes, he does,” Sepulveda stated into a button cameras:

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[Valin]

Quote

An illicit, Chinese-owned lab fueled conspiracy theories. But officials say it posed no danger

AP

OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

August 9, 2023

 But the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there was no sign that the lab was illegally in possession of the materials or had select agents or toxins that could be used as bioweapons.

“CDC has taken no further action in this matter,” the agency said in an email to The Associated Press, referring further questions to county and state officials.

Oops!

Owner of California biolab that fueled bio-weapons rumors charged with mislabeling, lacking permits

October 20, 2023

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The Chinese owner of an unauthorized central California lab that fueled conspiracy theories about China and biological weapons has been arrested on charges of not obtaining the proper permits to manufacture tests for COVID-19, pregnancy and HIV, and mislabeling some of the kits.

Jia Bei Zhu, 62, was arrested Thursday after an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. He is also charged with making false statements.

The charges deal with federal health regulations, nothing related to online conspiracy theories about China purportedly trying to engineer biological weapons in rural America.

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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there was no sign that the lab was illegally in possession of the materials or had select agents or toxins that could be used as bioweapons.

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Nothing To See Here...Move Along.

[Valin]

Key congressman says CDC, FBI wouldn't investigate illegal California biolab tied to China

The inspector called the FBI, but was unsuccessful at bringing attention to the issue, Gallagher said.

Madeleine Hubbard

November 26, 2023

Updated: November 27, 2023

Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who chairs a House subcommittee on China, said Sunday that the FBI and initially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refused to investigate a secret biolab connected to the Chinese Communist Party in California. 

When asked on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" about how many more of the secret biolabs may exist across the United States, Gallagher responded: "The honest answer is we don’t know."

The interview comes after the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which Gallagher chairs, concluded that a fugitive Chinese national ran an illegal laboratory in Reedley, Calif., for years with about 20 samples of infectious diseases. The operation was only discovered when a building inspector noticed suspicious activity at what was supposed to be an abandoned building.

The inspector called the FBI, but was unsuccessful at bringing attention to the issue, Gallagher said. 

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Bold Me

 

[Valin]

Nov 30, 2023

James O’Keefe confronts Rep. Jim Costa's Staffer about pretense of other Chinese Bio Labs

[Valin]

Time To Play Spot The Moron