US: Researcher being harbored at Chinese consulate in SF
(AP) 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 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. 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. The FBI believes that one of the four defendants, Tang Juan, has been harbored for weeks in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, though that could not immediately be confirmed.