China yesterday said that “malicious slander” was behind an order by the US government to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, and that its officials have never operated outside ordinary diplomatic norms.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said that the order to close the consulate “violates international law and basic norms governing international relations,” and “seriously undermines China-US relations.”
“This is breaking down the bridge of friendship between the Chinese and American people,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
Photo: AFP
Beijing has said it would take action in response, although Wang gave no details.
In its statement on the closing of the consulate, the US Department of State alleged that Chinese agents have tried to steal data from facilities in Texas, including the Texas A&M medical system statewide and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Wang said there was no basis to that claim.
He also criticized Britain for opening a pathway to citizenship for some residents of Hong Kong.
Wang said that China might stop recognizing the British National Overseas passport that they hold or are eligible to get.
Britain on Wednesday announced a January start date for new rules that would allow holders of the passport to obtain citizenship.
“Since the British side violated its commitment first, China will consider stopping recognition of the British National Overseas passport as a valid travel document,” Wang said.
Meanwhile, the FBI said in court filings that a Chinese researcher accused of visa fraud for hiding her affiliation with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been holed up in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco for a month.
The filings in US District Court in San Francisco said that Tang Juan (唐娟), who worked at the University of California, Davis, falsely claimed on her visa application that she had not served in the PLA.
However, investigators found photographs of her in a PLA uniform and discovered that she had worked as a researcher at China’s Air Force Military Medical University.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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