1116 China bribed Harvard Chemistry Head in espionage case; 2 of his staff tried to smuggle biological materials to Wuhan

China bribed Harvard Chemistry Head in espionage case; 2 of his staff
tried to smuggle biological materials to Wuhan

Newsletter published on February 5, 2020

(1) Could Coronavirus have beens planted in China by the US?
(2) China bribed Harvard Chemistry Head in espionage case; 2 of his
staff tried to smuggle biological materials to Wuhan

(1) Could Coronavirus have beens planted in China by the US?

From: Ian Henshall <crisisnewsletter@pro-net.co.uk>

As ever very interesting, but I'm very intrigued by the "smuggled to
China" angle.

The interesting corollary of this story is that the virus was in the
States before it was in China

I wonder if anyone has considered that rather than being smuggled into
China from the US the virus was planted by the US in China? They have
means motive and opportunity.

Comment (Peter M>):

Francis Boyle, in his interview with Great Game India, said, "I don't
rule sabotage out". In China, government media are suggesting that the
US is behind this outbreak. The timing, just before Chinese New Year,
was optimal for spreading the virus.

However, the suspicious behaviour of Chinese Virologists working at the
Canadian lab in Winnipeg, and the Harvard Chemistry Professor's
espionage case (item 2 below), indicate a high-level Chinese government
program to rapidly acquire Bio Weapons.

In the rush, a leak occurred.

One lesson is that BioLabs should not be located near transport hubs.
Nor in big cities.

(2) China bribed Harvard Chemistry Head in espionage case; 2 of his
staff tried to smuggle biological materials to Wuhan

From: Stanley Young <stanjyoung@sbcglobal.net>

Harvard Chemistry Chair & Two Chinese Nationals Arrested For Lying About
China Ties, Smuggling "Biological Material"

by Tyler Durden

Tue, 01/28/2020 - 13:19

Will this Harvard Chemistry Department Head be remembered as the Aldrich
Ames of the modern-day 'Cold War'?

In a shocking revelation made Tuesday afternoon - a revelation that will
almost certainly rattle the US-China relationship at an already fragile
time - a federal court unsealed indictments against Harvard professor
and Chemistry Department Head Charles Lieber, along with two Chinese
nationals. One is a Boston University researcher who was once a
lieutenant in the People’s Liberation Army, according to prosecutors,
and the second was a cancer researcher who tried to smuggle 21 vials of
biological materials in his sock - allegedly. Lieber has been arrested,
though it's not clear if he's still in custody.

Though the official charge was lying to investigators, Lieber's actions
look like an unvarnished attempt at espionage, complete with an
extremely seductive monetary reward.

Lieber was reportedly paid $50,000 a month by Wuhan University of
Technology for participating in its "Thousand Talents" program, and was
given more than $1.5 million to establish a lab and do research at Wuhan
University of Technology, according to federal prosecutors in Boston,
according to WSJ.

According to prosecutors, Lieber deliberately lied to defense department
officials about his "foreign research collaborations."

When Defense Department investigators asked Mr. Lieber in 2018 about his
foreign research collaborations, he told them he had never been asked to
participate in the Thousand Talents Program, the complaint said. But Mr.
Lieber had signed such a talent contract with Wuhan University in 2012,
the complaint said.

NIH also asked Harvard about Mr. Lieber’s affiliation with Wuhan that
same year, the complaint said. After interviewing Mr. Lieber, Harvard
told NIH in January 2019 that Mr. Lieber had no formal affiliation with
Wuhan after 2012 and that he had never participated in the Thousand
Talents Program, even though Mr. Lieber had a formal relationship with
the university through 2017, the complaint said.

In conjunction with the program, Mr. Lieber became a "strategic
scientist" at Wuhan University of Technology, according to the
complaint. For "significant periods" from 2012 to 2017, his contract
called for a $50,000 a month salary on top of $150,000 in living
expenses paid by WUT, it said. He was also awarded more than $1.5
million by WUT and the Chinese government to set up a research lab, it said.

"The charges brought by the U.S. government against Professor Lieber are
extremely serious," a Harvard spokesman said Tuesday. "Harvard is
cooperating with federal authorities, including the National Institutes
of Health, and is initiating its own review of the alleged misconduct.
Professor Lieber has been placed on indefinite administrative leave."

The Trump Administration has made cracking down on Chinese academic and
corporate espionage a priority, and has made several arrests of Chinese
nationals working in critical roles funneling info back to China. But
this is probably the most high-profile case to date, since one of the
suspects is a pioneering American scientist.

Interestingly enough, not long after news of the arrests hit the press,
another report surfaced claiming China had rejected President Trump's
offer of assistance to contain the coronavirus - even as Wuhan is in
desperate need of supplies.

Is that just a coincidence?

1