When Congress started poking around about an illegal biolab tied to China in California, you’d think federal health officials would hurry to comply and shut it down. But no, records show that an official at the CDC put the lab on high alert: “There is some congressional oversight heading our way.” Why the warning? The lab wasn’t just any old lab; it was a Pandora’s box of pathogens including COVID-19, Ebola, and HIV/AIDS, among others.
This lab, discovered in Reedley, California, was like something out of a horror movie. Lab equipment everywhere, medical-grade freezers, and mice for experiments – all found by a code enforcement official who thought she was walking into an abandoned warehouse. The owner was Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese citizen cozy with corporations run by China’s communist government. Federal authorities finally caught up with him, but only after this whole mess was blown wide open.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially tried to play it cool, but internal messages reveal a different story. You have to wonder, what were they doing before Congress started asking questions? What’s truly astonishing is the CDC’s refusal to test the samples found in the lab. According to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, these samples could have contained who knows what kind of dangerous pathogens. Yet, the CDC seemed content to take the lab operators at their word. This isn’t just a failure to act; it’s a glaring example of incompetence at best and negligence at worst.
In an era where trust in public institutions is already at a low, this debacle is a stark reminder of how deep the problems run. The fact that an illegal biolab, run by a fugitive and funded by Chinese banks, could operate under the radar in the U.S. is alarming. The CDC’s lackluster response is even more so. It’s high time for a thorough overhaul of how we monitor and manage these types of risks, especially when foreign actors are involved. If we can’t count on our public health officials to protect us from clear and present dangers, then what are they there for?
China’s infiltration of American soil is happening right under our noses, and our government seems either blissfully unaware or, worse, complicit. This isn’t just about one illegal lab; it’s about a broader pattern of negligence or wilful ignorance that puts all of us at risk. The lack of urgency and transparency from agencies like the CDC in dealing with threats linked directly to the Chinese Communist Party is nothing short of a national security breach. How many more labs are out there? How deep does this rabbit hole go? And when will our government start taking the necessary steps to safeguard American citizens instead of playing politics? The clock is ticking, and we can’t afford to wait for another disaster to take action.
