More On The Chinese Biolab Found In California

Back in April 2023, code enforcement officers for Reedley, California (near Fresno), uncovered a secret biolab run by a shady Chinese company. The company was called Prestige Biotech, and was apparently owned and operated by a man named Wang Zhaolin. 

    In October, in connection with this biolab, federal authorities arrested a Chinese citizen, Jia Bei Zhu (aka Jesse Zhu, aka Qiang He, aka David He) for manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and for making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). From the latter press release:

According to court documents, between December 2020 and March 2023, Zhu and others manufactured, imported, sold, and distributed hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 test kits, in addition to test kits for HIV, pregnancy, clinical urinalysis, and other conditions in the United States and China. They did so through the companies Universal Meditech Incorporated (UMI) and Prestige Biotech Incorporated (PBI), which were based in Fresno and Reedley. UMI and PBI did not obtain the required authorizations to manufacture and distribute the test kits and mislabeled some of the test kits. When questioned by FDA officials, Zhu made false statements about his identity, his ownership and control of UMI and PBI, and the activities of UMI and PBI.

    Last week, we learned that "Zhu, a PRC citizen, was reportedly a key figure in China's 'military-civil fusion organizations' - entities that blur the lines between civilian research and military applications. This strategy, according to the State Department, is part of the CCP's grand vision to transform its People's Liberation Army into a formidable global power by 2049." This article also reported:

While [a Congressional committee's] investigations unearthed Zhu's extensive involvement in several PRC government-controlled companies, his activities in the U.S. under the alias "David He" and the discovery of dangerous materials in the unlicensed lab in Reedley, California, are particularly alarming. Here, officials found over 20 potentially infectious agents, including HIV and Malaria, and genetically engineered mice carrying COVID-19. [Ed: the lab apparently also had samples of Ebola]

    Zhu's confession of operating his companies to "further PRC policy" and meet demands of a PRC premier raises serious concerns about espionage and intellectual property theft. His history of operating companies in Canada, engaging in the massive theft of American cattle-related intellectual property, and fleeing to the U.S. after a $330 million judgment, only adds to the gravity of the situation.

    The committee also highlighted Zhu's inflammatory private messages on WeChat, where he talked about defeating "the American aggressor" and referred to his companies as tools against "American imperialism."

The article also notes that "[t]he committee's findings corroborate an investigation by the Daily Caller from August 2023, which linked Zhu's biolab to Ai De Biopharmaceutical in Qingdao, China. This connection suggests a broader network of PRC-controlled companies engaging in dubious activities on American soil."

    There are a lot of disturbing facts about this case, the main one's neatly summarized by Leslie Eastman at Legal Insurrection. But just as disturbing as the presence of deadly pathogens is the lackluster response from the FBI and CDC. The article mentions, in particular, that the CDC initially refused to take calls from local investigators concerning the lab and refused to test samples when requested by local officials even after the local officials had agreed to pay for the testing. It was only after local officials took the matter to Congressman Jim Costa that the CDC got involved. Even then, the CDC conducted a lackadaisical investigation, relying on a handful of labels written in English to make its determination (although most samples were labeled in Chinese or using codes) and destroyed the samples without testing. Although a CDC source told Newsweek that it disputed the Committee findings that it had ignored calls from the local investigators and claimed it didn't have authority to seize the samples, it is notable that nothing was said (or, at least, reported) refuting that the CDC destroyed the samples without testing and had refused to test the samples.