Chinese Germ Warfare Ignored by State Department
Charles R. Smith
Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001
The Bush administration has refused to name China as a major supplier of biological and chemical weapons despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
“The U.S. said that there may be some ‘friendly countries’ with biological weapons programs who would not be named,” noted Michael Waller of the Center for Security Policy.
“The State Department considers Communist China a ‘friendly country,’ effectively providing diplomatic cover to continue to conceal Beijing’s biological weapons program from the world,” said Waller.
The State Department did issue a recent report naming Sudan, North Korea, Iraq and Iran as countries known to be developing dangerous biological weapons.
The refusal to name China as a seller of biological weapons reportedly drew intense criticism inside the Bush administration.
Recent Chinese Germ Warfare Developments
The internal dissent came after intelligence information confirmed that China was operating a major biowarfare development center in Xian. Chinese military labs are reported to be developing genetically altered anthrax, smallpox and Ebola virus weapons.
“There is no indication whatsoever that China has halted or cut back its weapons of mass destruction programs,” stated Al Santoli, national security adviser to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
“Equally troubling, the Chinese government has recently made military training mandatory for all high school and college students, under the combined control of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Defense. These types of national policies should set off alarm bells in neighboring countries and in the West, that despite efforts to integrate China into the world economy, Beijing continues to pursue belligerent military/political goals,” said Santoli.
China Sold Germ Warfare Equipment to Iran
Defense sources are also concerned because China has sold germ warfare equipment to Iran. In January 1997, Madeleine Albright confirmed during a Senate hearing that China had shipped biological warfare equipment to Iran.
The concern is that Iran may have passed germ warfare technology to terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah that have carried out recent suicide attacks in Israel. U.S. intelligence sources refused to confirm or deny that China may be the original source of recent anthrax attacks in the United States.
In 1997, the Clinton administration refused to identify the specific Chinese company that made the germ warfare shipments to Iran. The Clinton administration also refused to impose sanctions required by export laws against China.
Clinton Aided Chinese Germ Warfare
Instead, documentation obtained using the Freedom of Information Act shows that in 1997 Clinton officials approved supercomputer exports to a known Chinese germ warfare lab without an end use inspection.
In December 1997, U.S. Commerce officials sought permission to inspect Xian Jiatong University prior to the export of a high-performance computer made by Digital Corp. American inspectors wanted to verify that the Chinese university would not use the computer for germ warfare research.
However, all efforts to inspect the site were denied by the communist Chinese government. The Clinton administration approved the supercomputer sale despite Beijing’s refusal to allow inspections.
Xian Jiatong University is a known center for Chinese army biological and chemical warfare research. The Xian Jiatong sale is the only reported U.S. supercomputer export associated with Chinese biological and chemical warfare.
Pentagon sources are convinced that the Chinese army is now using the U.S.-made supercomputer to develop chemical cluster “bomblet” munitions to arm missiles and bombers. A bomblet warhead can disperse hundreds of miniature germ-filled grenades over a vast area instead of a single large warhead, which would infect a smaller target zone.
Charlie Trie Helped Chinese Germ Warfare Lab
In addition, convicted Chinagate figure Charlie “Yah Lin” Trie confirmed in a March 2000 congressional hearing that he helped China obtain germ warfare technology from the West.
“If they don’t get it from me, they get it from someone else,” testified Trie. “They gonna get it.”
According to his testimony, Trie received thousands of dollars in commissions from the Chinese by arranging a deal with a Swiss biological equipment manufacturer.
The Trie-led deal allowed China to obtain a 500-liter fermenting machine used to cultivate microorganisms, viruses and biotoxins. The institute in China that received the fermenting machine is based in Xian, near the known Chinese germ warfare lab.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/LINKS
China Chemical and Biological Weapons
China Wants Your DNA—and It’s up To No Good | Opinion
Bio-warfare experts question why Canada was sending lethal viruses to China