A devastating research suggests that Beijing lured eminent nuclear scientists from a key United States nuclear facility in a decades-long conspiracy to advance its own military.
Between 1987 and 2021, at least 162 scientists who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico allegedly returned to China to “assist a variety of domestic research and development initiatives.” Congressional Republicans have now ordered a probe into these claims.
It is the most recent disturbing development that the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to expand its influence in the United States. The Republicans have also urged scrutiny of China’s acquisition of farms near North Dakota military bases.
Formerly located in the United States, the scientists are claimed to have worked on a variety of projects since returning to China, including weapons research.
In a letter to the Biden administration, Florida Representative Michael Waltz shed more insight on the recent discoveries of Strider Technologies.
China’s ruling Communist Party, according to Waltz’s letter dated Wednesday, pursues ostensibly harmless important civilian technologies, illegally acquires them, and exploits the “dual-use” potential of these technologies to bolster its military capabilities.
A study claiming that dozens of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists who worked there between 1987 and 2021 went on to work with the Chinese government has renewed focus on the facility.
Los Alamos is one of the nation’s leading nuclear weapons and research facilities.
The Florida Republican claimed that the Chinese domestic initiatives on which former Los Alamos employees worked included weapons development and research into cutting-edge military technologies.
He emphasized the “vital role” that Los Alamos plays in maintaining the United States’ scientific and clean energy development leadership.
The paper, according to Waltz, demonstrates that Beijing has successfully stolen and exploited our research and development.
“As a result of these malicious talent recruitment schemes, the United States today faces a tangible national security concern,” he stated.
The letter was addressed to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar. It was signed by ten House Republicans on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
Los Alamos asserts that its aim is to “resolve issues to national security via simultaneous excellence.”
Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida, is requesting that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm investigate the claims included in the study.
Waltz identifies the possibility of China’s governing Communist Party (pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping) getting US secrets as a threat to national security.
According to Strider Technologies, ‘at least one’ former lab employee who now works for China has a Q-level clearance from Granholm’s department, granting them access to highly confidential information.
Before the blockbuster report, though, Los Alamos was not without controversy.
In 2015, the Inspector General of the Energy Department found administrative flaws that led to inappropriate data handling and deficiencies in its ‘corrective action’ processes.
And in 2004, the crucial nuclear lab had to halt all of its classified studies after discovering that two of its hard disks were missing crucial data.
This occurred five years prior to the indictment of a Los Alamos scientist called Wen Ho Lee for allegedly stealing nuclear secrets on behalf of China.
Fifty-eight of the 59 counts against him were dismissed when the government failed to discover adequate evidence to support the numerous allegations.
In agreement with prosecutors, Lee pled guilty to one count of mishandling confidential data.
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