Washington: Texas Congressman Michael McCaul has alleged that China's Consulate General, which the US has ordered to close, is the epicentre of Beijing's espionage in terms of stealing the bio-medical research.
"I can tell you its really the epicentre of China's espionage in terms of stealing our bio-medical research. We had three scientists at M.D. Anderson that were fired due to allegations of espionage," McCaul said.
The Congressman said the Chinese are actively trying to steal the vaccine for COVID-19. "We also have vaccine research going on at the Texas Medical Centre. We know that they are actively trying to steal that vaccine so that they can claim to the world they have saved them from the very virus they are responsible for," said McCaul.
"...Just like in San Francisco case where you have a scientist under the PLA, their military, come in and now take refuge in that consulate is really unprecedented, but this has been going on for a long time. We just now have an administration that is taking them head-on," he added.
Mccaul said, "She is trying to steal medical research. Their highest priority right now is to steal our research on the vaccine on COVID-19 that they are responsible for."
Applauding the FBI, the Congressman said, "This is nothing new and that Chinese have been doing it for decades."
Read more: US asks China to close its Consulate General in Houston in 72 hours
"My point is this is nothing new. They have been doing this for decades but they really ramped up their game. This is the tip of the iceberg. I would argue they have thousands of researchers in this country...conducting espionage even as we speak," he said.
He stressed that US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo did the right thing by closing the Chinese Consulate General in Houston.
"We finally have a justice department that is willing to take them head-on and deal with the threat and Secretary Pompeo did the right thing in closing down the consulate which was being used I think again as sort of spy centre from Texas to Florida. The images of them burning documents, watching them burn documents, destroy evidence at the scene of the crime is outrageous," he said.
The Congressman hit out at Chinese President Xi Jinping saying: "President Xi has no interest in being family of nations. He cares about world domination. They are the biggest threat to our national security."
Relations between the US and China have worsened over a range of issues. "We did not escalate this. They did. They have been escalating it for decades, by stealing billions of dollars of intellectual property from the US and now the vaccine research itself. We have never taken them on for their misbehaviour and now we are," he said.
The US State Department has ordered China to close by Friday its consulate in Houston, Texas, over accusations that it engaged for years in massive illegal spying and influence operations in the US.
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(With inputs from ANI)
