The Chinese and U.S. Kabuki Corona Dance of Death by Larry C Johnson

Sorry to mix metaphors and cultural traditions. Yes, Kabuki is Japanese in origin but the Kabuki dance now playing out between Beijing and Washington is an apt description of the political posturing each side is performing. Apart from the complaints from both Chinese leaders and U.S. politicians in which each side blames the other for the outbreak and spread of Corona, there is a curious mix of posturing and actions that are sending mixed messages and clouding the simple, horrible truth--the global spread of Corona 19 was a deliberate, conscious act by the Chinese Communist government to weaken the West, especially the United States. But there is another part of the story that has received little attention from the media and most pundits--the US Government, with DOJ leading the charge, is going after some very intriguing Chinese intelligence operatives.

More about that later, let's focus first on the growing body of evidence that the launch of Corona from Wuhan was not the result of eating rotten bats or an accident at the level 4 bio lab in Wuhan. Instead of recruiting fanatics to wear suicide bomb belts, the Chinese Government appears to had chosen to infect its own citizens and send them out to major population centers in the West. It was a conscious plan to infect and weaken the West.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that China chafed under the Western world's support for student protesters in Hong Kong and Donald Trump's aggressive campaign to punish China for unfair trade practices. It is no mere coincidence that the emergence of the virus in Wuhan barely spread into other parts of China. Beijing and Shanghai dwarf New York City in terms of populating size and concentration, yet the Chinese urban behemoths escaped unscathed. Not so New York and other major western countries, such as Italy, the UK and Spain--all have experienced major disruptions and pain as a result of the virus bomb set off in those nations. 

If you have not seen the following two videos they are worth your time and consideration:

There were some fascinating developments in December and January in Boston involving Chinese nationals and a U.S. citizen who got paid a lot of money to help China advance in the field of nano biology.

Let's start with Zaosong Zheng. Here is the DOJ press release:

Zaosong Zheng, 30, a Chinese national, was arrested on Dec. 10, 2019, at Boston’s Logan International Airport and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to smuggle 21 vials of biological research to China. On Jan. 21, 2020, Zheng was indicted on one count of smuggling goods from the United States and one count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements. He has been detained since Dec. 30, 2019.

Biological research? What kind? What would you say if I told you that at least one of the vials contained Corona 19? Would that change your mind? The complaint against Zaosong Zheng contains some tantalizing clues. Take a look at the FBI Agent who swore out the affidavit--Special Agent Karen D Spice. She has worked as a hazardous materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) forensic evidence specialist for the FBI since 2006.

The FBI is not telling the full story. Here's the official party line--the U.S. Government just happened to discover the vials. Lucky coincidence, huh?

On Monday, December 9, 2019, CBP Agriculture Specialists assigned to Boston Logan International Airport identified ZHENG, a researcher who was scheduled to depart Boston bound for Beijing, China on Hainan Airlines (HU) flight 482, as a high risk for possibly exporting undeclared biological material. 

As a result, CBP officers went to the Hainan bag room where they were able to locate two checked bags in ZHENG’s name. The checked bags were physically examined. The examination resulted in the discovery of twenty one (21) vials wrapped in a plastic bag and concealed in a sock. The vials were visually inspected and appeared to contain a brown liquid with both typed and handwritten descriptions and notes. Based upon my experience and training and discussions with agents working on this matter, these vials contained what appeared to be biological materials that were not properly declared or packaged for transportation in a commercial aircraft.

The decision to take a close look at Zheng was not just because a CBP officer had a hunch. It is highly likely that Zheng had been under surveillance, probably including electronic surveillance of his communications. This was not just an accidental discovery.

The same DOJ Press Release also focuses on Yanqinq Ye. According to the DOJ:

Ye is a Lieutenant of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China and member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On her J-1 visa application, Ye falsely identified herself as a “student” and lied about her ongoing military service at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), a top military academy directed by the CCP.

In other words, a military spy for China. And Logan Airport once again is espionage central:

On April 20, 2019, federal officers interviewed Ye at Boston’s Logan International Airport. During the interview, it is alleged that Ye falsely claimed that she had minimal contact with two NUDT professors who were high-ranking PLA officers. However, a search of Ye’s electronic devices demonstrated that at the direction of one NUDT professor, who was a PLA Colonel, Ye had accessed U.S. military websites, researched U.S. military projects and compiled information for the PLA on two U.S. scientists with expertise in robotics and computer science. Furthermore, a review of a WeChat conversation revealed that Ye and the other PLA official from NUDT were collaborating on a research paper about a risk assessment model designed to decipher data for military applications. During the interview, Ye admitted that she held the rank of Lieutenant in the PLA and admitted she was a member of the CCP.

Ask yourself again, "Why did federal officers decide to interview Ye?" Just a spur of the moment hunch? Not likely. I believe this shows there is a pretty substantial counter intelligence operation by the FBI going after Chinese targets.

The star of the DOJ press release is an American citizen, Dr. Charles Lieber of Harvard University. Robert Willman has written a fine piece here at SST and I encourage you to read it if you missed it the first go round. What I find striking about the Lieber case is that his indictment focuses on activities between 2010 and 2015. Nothing recent. But the revelations of the vast amounts of money he was collecting from the Chinese ($600,000 a year) is jaw dropping.

Like it or not we are a war with China. China is not our friend. It is an adversary keen on destroying America's place as the world's economic leader. It is not just a Corona attack. The Chinese Government is invested heavily in helping the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels produce and distribute synthetic narcotics, such as fentanyl, in the United States. China remains the world leader in product counterfeiting, which covers products from the most mundane consumer items to our most sophisticated technologies. The Chinese also have been in the forefront of using straw buyers to purchase luxury automobiles, such as Mercedes and BMW, in the United States and then ship them covertly to China to be sold on lots owned by relatives of Senior Chinese Government officials. 

China is engaged in a massive criminal and intelligence war on our country. I suppose the one silver lining of the Corona virus is that it has awakened many previously somnambulist Americans to this threat. Will we do anything or will we quietly march into the graveyard of history?

Comments

[JoeC100]

The following is a post, originally at Saker, by "Old Microbiologist" who posted on SST a while back on the anthrax attacks (he was deep in the middle of that mess) and I think some other relevant topics. It is clear he has a very deep and relevant US background and his take is "I have zero proof other than my gut feeling that this is a bioweapon", followed up by a description of his very deep, perhaps uniquely relevant background:

https://www.unz.com/article/was-coronavirus-a-biowarfare-attack-against-china/

This covers much possible "bio weapon" ground in depth and seems credible given his background.

I also recently read an apparently solid story (could not find it today) on the Wuhan lab suggesting that there a reasonable possibility that COVID could have been accidentally released there, given the lab's apparently well documented history of problems. This article was at a credible news site and I will continue to look for it.

[jjc]

Lieber's indictment does not state how much money he was paid by Chinese government. The numbers referred to were subject to being pro-rated based on how much time a recipient actually spent in China. Lieber is a very busy and accomplished scientist, prominent at Harvard, whose schedule over the past decade does not seem to reflect huge amounts of time in China. The government probably knows exactly what he earned through his Chinese contacts, but chose to publicize high speculative numbers instead.

He is simply charged with not specifically reporting that his Chinese affiliation was part of the latter's "Thousand Talents Plan". The requirement to specifically report such is a relatively new initiative, sparked by a Congressional investigation:
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2019-11-18%20PSI%20Staff%20Report%20-%20China's%20Talent%20Recruitment%20Plans.pdf

The Congressional Report flirts with, or edges towards, claiming basic scientific research as a national security priority, subject to restrictions. Lieber's alleged criminal offence was considered, a year earlier, something minor and subject to administrative remedy, not being hauled shackled into a courtroom. Lieber is one of America's most prominent scientists. His indictment is filled with innuendo and supposition, but very little substance. The same could be said about the Congressional Report. There is a danger of an overreaction fuelled by China-hawks and ambitious prosecutors.

[JoeC100]

Here is the Asia Times article on Wuhan Lab problems (found it!), suggesting accidental release from this lab may be plausible:

https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/inside-wuhans-secretive-national-biosafety-lab/

[turcopolier]

JJC

Good counter-propaganda.

[turcopolier]

A. Pols

"Not all deaths during the Great Leap were from starvation. Frank Dikötter estimates that at least 2.5 million people were beaten or tortured to death and one million to three million committed suicide.[106][2] He provides some illustrative examples. In Xinyang, where over a million died in 1960, 6–7% (around 67,000) of these were beaten to death by the militias. In Daoxian county, 10% of those who died had been "buried alive, clubbed to death or otherwise killed by party members and their militia." In Shimen county, around 13,500 died in 1960, of these 12% were "beaten or driven to their deaths."[107] In accounts documented by Yang Jisheng,[38][57] people were beaten or killed for rebelling against the government, reporting the real harvest numbers, for sounding alarm, for refusing to hand over what little food they had left, for trying to flee the famine area, for begging food or as little as stealing scraps or angering officials." wiki on Great Leap Forward

[Fred]

JoeC100,

"seems credible given his background." No, just no. So in addition to all his other illustrious achievements, like being a helicopter pilot, chemical warefare expert and resident of the Czech Republic where his retirement check goes so much farther than in the USA, "old microbiologits" wants to pin the China virus on the US by repeating the Chinese propaganda line about it steming from the World Miliary Games in Wuhan; per Oldmircobiologist: "I was a participant in several CISM competitions in Europe for skiing " having much expertise therein. Helicopter pilot, chem warfare expert, DHS consultant, expat retiree living high on the hog in Europe, and now, world class military games skier! Oh, and it's America's fault. He's catching up to 007 on skills. I should put him in touch with 00 bear and they can trade spy stories.

[BillWade]

Smithfield, a company purchased by the Chinese a few years back, is shutting down their largest meat processing plant here.

Notwithstanding the President's touting our agricultural sales to China, I think it's time we cut all trade with them. Of course there's going to be needs to fill, let Americans fill them going forward.

I agree with Fred excepting the expelling of all Chinese citizens, many of them are here legitimately and prefer our way of life. The rest can go for sure.

[Upstater]

Larry, why would Zaosong Zheng employ such amature tradecraft to smuggle out biowarfare pathogens in a sock, in checked baggage? Why would communication be so blatantly insecure? If he was under direction from his senior military officers, wouldn't there be more professionalism present in such an operation?

There is nothing remotely that provides plausible deniability here. Nothing but a smoking gun.

[Fred]

Bill,

Feel free to expound on your extreme vetting plan for non-US citizens.

[h]

Larry - here's a vid by The Epoch Times on what may be the origins of the Wuhan Coronavirus. It's well done and I'm certain you'll know most of the folks who are interviewed.

Tracking Down the Origin of Wuhan Coronavirus - https://www.theepochtimes.com/coronavirusfilm/

Great post. I hope both you and the good Col continue to help shed light on this unfolding tragedy.

[turcopolier]

Upstater

So, your position is that the FBI has lied about finding the microbes so poorly hidden? It is true that some FBI people acted as part of a political conspiracy against Trump, but that does not mean that the field people of the FBI are less than competent. They are excellent investigators.

But, I have news for you. China's spies have never shown much concern with issues of fine "tradecraft" Just as the Israelis are so inept as to telephone Iranian Jews acting for them by commercial telephone thereby causing their arrest, the Chinese have a multitude of government groups and semi-government groups conducting intelligence collection, covert action ops and similar activities with a minimum regard for "tradecraft.

As for Chinese casualties in Wuhan, IMO the level of losses in Wuhan would have been acceptable to the CCP for the purpose of ruining the US and other non-Communist states. You do remember that Beijing and Shanghai were not subjected to "mitigation?" Why do you think that was so?

Should we still trade with Chinese businesses? Yes. We need to sell them agro-business products and they need to buy them.

[turcopolier]

jjc

Benedict Arnold had a great reputation until he was found out.

[DG]

Hi only my second post here but needs to be asked if LJ's kabuki is proved.

So why has the US just increased its order for ppe from China? is any of the following disputed?

'It's not just EU companies. The vast majority of foreign companies in the country have also resumed operations in recent weeks as the domestic epidemic waned. As of April 7, nearly 72 percent of the 8,776 major foreign-funded enterprises had resumed more than 70 percent of their operations in China, up five percentage points from the previous week, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1185497.shtml
...
9:46 pm April 11
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said Sat that SoftBank and China's BYD reached an agreement to set up a mask production line for the production of 300m masks a month, including 100m N95 masks & 200m surgical masks, and start non-profit selling in Japan in May: report

3:18 pm April 11
US FDA issues emergency authorization for 8 mask manufacturers as of Wed, and within two days, the number was updated Fri to a total of 32, all are Chinese suppliers or manufacturers in China, showing the gap in demand for masks in the US has become larger.

7:00 pm April 10
From March 1 to April 4, China exported 10.2 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) worth of epidemic prevention supplies, including 3.86 billion masks, 37.52 million pieces of protective clothing, and 16,000 ventilators: Customs 

6:46 pm April 10
In China, five vaccines are being developed simultaneously. The fast one is adenoviral vector vaccine, which has been delivered to human body test. The fully inactivate vaccines would also be soon delivered but it still needs 1-2 year It observation: top medical expert'
...
Is Global Times lying?

[walrus]

Regarding Zheng, The simplest hypothesis is that he was trying to make money, not bio weapons. He is a urogenital cancer researcher working on DNA and RNA approaches potentially leading, I think, to a monoclonal antibody(MaB) treatment based on certain DNA or RNA markers. Like JJackson, I believe that DNA/RNA was in those vials.

What readers may not know is that access to such materials is commercially highly sensitive because the discovery or development of a MaB would be potentially worth many millions of dollars to Zheng personally as it would be worth hundreds of millions to a pharma company.

Transfers of such research are governed by a Materials Transfer Agreement that would be negotiated between Harvard and the Chinese University which covers ownership of IP and revenue sharing between the universities in the event that a commercial product eventuates. Sometimes three or more universities are parties to such agreements because researchers move from lab to lab. In America the foundation of such dealings is provided by the Bayh - Dole Act. I have dealt with such matters myself.

Zheng was trying to get away without a transfer agreement - stealing IP. This is about money, not weapons.

Furthermore, research funds for Lieber would come from dozens of sources. Why even the Wuhan lab had American funds! It gets quite complicated to account for all of it. I would not be surprised if Lieber was simply confused.

I think like JJackson, that there is a simpler explanation for C19 than a Chinese conspiracy.

I also observed in my March 6 post on SST, that to researchers in the field, the Chinese appeared utterly sincere.

[BillWade]

Well Fred, geez. If they are Green card holders and have been good residents so far, they've been vetted. If they are asylum seekers (religious/political) they are in a process of vetting now, Tourist visas - they expire and these folks usually leave. We can't vet illegals cause, well they're illegals and in hiding in some respect. Those here on student/work visas - just tell them to leave asap and accept the repercussions from the PRC. And, I'm ok with the repercussions. The sooner the CCP falls, the better.

[Jack]

Larry

Thank you for this note!

I hope the US leadership (both political and business) recognize soon enough that the totalitarian CCP is an enemy.

For decades for a variety of reasons but none more than personal wealth benefits our business and political elites have dismantled and shipped to China our industrial base. Will these people be held to account for creating such a disastrous national security situation? We now find out that 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients in our pharmaceutical products are manufactured in China. What about critical parts in our military hardware? Such a gigantic vulnerability to locate our critical needs in an enemy state. Has this kinda stupidity ever occurred in history?

My question is are there folks in our government leadership who will finally take action for this bio-weapon attack on our soil by the CCP? What will our Reality TV POTUS do when it is clear that the CCP is at war with the United States?

[Deap]

turnopolierr: Yes, there was a Dixie Station during the Vietnam war - coming from one I know well who was stationed at Yankee Station. Dixie Station was off the coast of South Vietnam, where as Yankee Station was closer to Haiphong. Obviously named before today's PC.

[turcopolier]

jack

He already knows that. Do you want a shooting war with China.

[turcopolier]

walrus
"to researchers in the field, the Chinese appeared utterly sincere." A joke? Researchers believed them "sincere?" Not a conspiracy, a Chinese covert war against the West and particularly America. This was just one aspect of that war.

[turcopolier]

DG

Trade is necessary, even with one's enemies.

[Fred]

Jack,
What will the Reality Democrats do, other than increase government power like they are doing in all states they holder governorship in? What's the Pelosi - Schumer plan, other than another investigation of Trump?

[Jack]

Sir

What is the right response, if any?

I’m not for a shooting war. But it seems we are at war, if as it appears the CCP attacked us with a bio-weapon.

[The Twisted Genius]

Larry,

I’m in 100% agreement with you that “China is engaged in a massive intelligence war on our country.” They have been doing this for 25 years that I have witnessed. I’ve seen then hack into our installations and defense contractors to steal our technology, including the complete files on the F-35. There was no finesse or fancy tradecraft. It was more like Viking raids on coastal monasteries. In one instance they took so much date so fast that they crashed the installation’s network. To aid their development of advanced artificial intelligence, they damn near cornered the world market in expertise in geometric algebra. In the last few years our DOJ has started issuing indictments over some of these hacks.

I’ve also witnessed Russia’s intelligence war on our country. For the longest time Russian hacking was characterized by finesse, good tradecraft and plausible deniability. Nevertheless, they stole a lot. I’ve also seen them attack our classified networks. In the last decade, they dropped the finesse and plausible deniability, boldly attacking our Pentagon and State Department. I’ve seen their information operations in Georgia and the Baltics. Extending those information operations to the US starting with the 2016 election cycle was just a natural progression. I know we disagree here, but the FBI and the IC have equally substantial CI operations against Russian targets as they do against Chinese targets.

I also disagree with your conviction that covid-19 is a deliberate attack on the US and the West by the Chinese government. Those indictments of Chinese intelligence officers deal with cancer research and IT research. Your assertion that one of those vials being smuggled out of that Boston medical center contained covid-19 would implicate that medical center as the developer of the virus. If that was the case, it is the US that’s the villain in all this. I don’t believe that either. Covid-19 is much more likely to be an example of viral evolution. Genetic research of the virus will eventually provide the answer of its origin just as it’s providing answers to our own origins.

[jim ticehurst]

The Timing ... and Results...are all Coinidence...Too Bad We have gone from the Year of the RAT...To The Year of the BAT...I think that will bring The Land of the Dragon..very Bad Luck..

[turcopolier]

jack

Screw them on the covert action front while continuing to trade with them