This year, it’s become increasingly clear that China holds hostility towards the US and the rest of the western world.
China started off by withholding information about the coronavirus and even lying in some cases, which potentially made the global pandemic even worse.
Now, the situation has really come to a head as the US has been forced to takeover the Chinese consulate in Houston.
As the US Sun reports, the consulate was used as a base for stealing valuable US medical research:
A group of men who appeared to be American officials were seen forcing open a back door of the Chinese consulate in Houston just hours after a US government closure order for the mission took effect.
The men did not respond when asked who they were by reporters.
Earlier, the same group of men was seen padlocking a door on another side of the building.
After the men went inside, two uniformed members of the US State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security arrived to guard the door.
The Chinese embassy in Washington DC and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this activity.
According to a Reuters witness, consulate staff had exited the building shortly after 4pm and left in vehicles before the back door was forced open.
On Friday, China ordered the US to close the consulate.
It comes after the US ordered China to shutdown one of its offices in Houston amid ongoing rows over trade, spying, the coronavirus pandemic, and the South China Sea.
We shouldn’t allow a country to operate inside our borders if they are going to steal from us.
Let alone an authoritarian, communist country that takes advantage of our country in matters of trade.
Here’s the latest on Twitter over the seizure of the consulate:
To make matters worse, the New York Post details how Texas officials say the fire at the consulate began because Chinese officials were burning documents to hide their tracks:
Houston firefighters and police have responded to a fire reportedly started by burning documents at the Consulate General of China.
Houston police told the local NBC affiliate that they began receiving reports that documents were being burned at the location just after 8 p.m.
Video shared by a reporter at the station appears to show several people bustling around multiple burning trash cans in the building’s courtyard.
A small amount of smoke could be seen from the street, but police don’t have the authority to access the building, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The consulate building’s occupants are scheduled to be evicted at 4 p.m. on Friday, though it’s not clear if the fire was linked to the eviction.
No injuries were reported and calls to the consulate were unanswered late Tuesday.
Watch the Bloomberg report on how the consulate was closed due to years of spying:
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