Finding Waldo is easy compared to uncovering all the locations where China is operating covertly in the world. With so many “hot spots” ready to erupt into armed conflict and others already experiencing kinetic warfare, China’s misdirected misadventures often receive little attention from overworked military analysts, and far less from the mainstream media… especially Chinese efforts inside our borders.
In a filth-ridden building filled with blood samples, Environmental Protection Agency hazmat contractors collected 800 containers of genetically altered mice and potentially lethal infectious agents. The California biolab, called Universal Meditech, appears connected to the Chinese military. Some of the reputed deadly agents and parasites there included Ebola, HIV, Malaria, Dengue fever, and hepatitis. Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese national using several names and labeled a flight risk by US officials, is now sitting in a US prison after lying to federal agents and selling fraudulent COVID-19 and pregnancy tests. Although Jia received significant payments from China, simply possessing these deadly agents may not be prosecutable under US law.
How is the US responding to this ongoing threat? According to one source in Washington, the Biden Administration determined that the biolab and its deadly contents did not constitute an apparent “activated” threat. Fox News reported that it had not received an official response from the Department of Homeland Security when it inquired recently if its BioWatch Program, National Biosurveillance Integration Center or the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center were activated.
Last November the House Select Committee on China issued a 40-page report on the Reedley, California biolab calling the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) response “inadequate.” The report says CDC failed to actually test the vial to make their determinations and that “Despite the probability that the unlabeled or coded vials contained additional unknown and dangerous pathogens, CDC official refused to take any further investigative steps,” and failed to take any “meaningful actions” when provided classified evidence that Ebola was present. No one appears to be investigating the lab or why everyone from federal to California EPA, to local health agencies did not want to get involved.
Worse yet, the lab was able to move last October although officials knew of the plan ahead of time. When a Fresno official, according to Fox News, reached out to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) for emergency assistance, the state agency said it would not get involved. In an email to other DTSC colleagues, Fox News reports that the senior environmental scientist wrote that he was “Glad it won’t be added to our workload… but not so sure what will happen to it.” One local Reedley, California official said the investigation could take years.
The suspected Chinese biolab in California is only one known case of the Chinese government operating inside US borders. American intelligence officials, who asked to remain anonymous, stated this week that they know the Wuhan lab that produced the COVID-19 virus had military connections and was working on other deadly pathogens. That same analyst also says that US Government tests indicate the virus was manipulated into its deadly form by humans, not nature. Perhaps worse, is that there are indications the Chinese lab was working on a deadly agent that could be spread through aerosol delivery systems onto crops. Some government analysts suggest that the Chinese weather balloons may have been a test case for China to determine a US response. Others in the Biden Administration this week say that there is no need for concern and that it is simply a conspiracy theory. That does not explain the 800 containers collected by the hazmat team in Reedley, a town often referred to locally as America’s “bread basket.”
Last fall Scripps News reporters investigated the case and found the address where the lab had moved. “When we arrived, we found a modern building in stark contrast to the run-down warehouse in Reedley. It was surrounded by security cameras made by a Chinese surveillance technology firm called Hikvision, which is now banned from selling its products in the US for national security reasons,” notes Sasha Ingber.
We know about high-flying balloons and some of the illegal biolabs, what else is China hiding in plain sight inside our borders? Give the country’s open attitude under the Biden Administration, it is easy for China to operate in small American towns. Anna Puglisi, a former U. national counterintelligence officer for East Asia, told Scripps News that China goes way beyond traditional espionage and [activities] are deliberately carried out in more remote parts of this country… China looks beyond the national and they do look to the state and local. It’s easier to operate,” she said. “We’re not used to dealing with issues like this at the state and local level. And so, it really requires a raising of awareness of how China is targeting different parts of our society.” Finding Waldo needs to become “finding Chinese espionage programs” inside the United States before we become the world’s newest “hot spot.”
Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.