A researcher who lied about her affiliation with a Chinese military university entered the Chinese consulate in San Francisco after being interviewed by the FBI on June 20 about alleged visa fraud and has remained there, according to an FBI assessment in court filings dated July 20. Why it matters: Using a diplomatic facility to shelter someone charged with a federal crime could cause serious tension between the U.S. and China, especially as the U.S. is seeking to crack down on Chinese espionage and research theft. "It is highly unusual for a Chinese diplomatic post to associate so closely with a suspect in an intellectual property theft-related case," said Minyao Wang, a New York-based lawyer who has worked on IP theft cases related to China. "Sheltering a defendant in a criminal case by using the diplomatic immunity of a consular building, if true, is really extraordinary."Context: On July 21, the U.S. told China that it must close its Houston consulate within 72 hours. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the move was intended to "protect American intellectual property and American’s private information."Details: According to documents filed on July 20 in the San Francisco division of the U.S. district court for the Northern District of California, Tang Juan came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa and was a researcher at the University of California, Davis. On her visa application, Tang stated that she did not have any affiliation with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese military.But an investigation revealed that she worked at the Air Force Military Medical University (FMMU), a PLA-affiliated university in China, and she is considered to be active military personnel.After obtaining a warrant, the FBI searched her home and found evidence of her affiliation with the PLA.On June 26, Tang was charged with visa fraud.Tang appears to have taken refuge inside the San Francisco consulate. Federal prosecutors wrote that "at some point following the search and interview of Tang on June 20, 2020, Tang went to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, where the FBI assesses she has remained," according to court filings."As the Tang case demonstrates, the Chinese consulate in San Francisco provides a potential safe harbor for a PLA official intent on avoiding prosecution in the United States," prosecutors stated.What they're saying: "We made the Chinese government aware that she is a charged individual, so it unquestionable that they know the defendant is a fugitive from Justice," a Department of Justice official told Axios. The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC and the Chinese consulate in San Francisco did not respond to a request for comment.The State Department declined to comment.The big picture: Federal prosecutors believe this isn't an isolated case. Tang's case is listed among several similar recent ones that appear "to be part of a program conducted by the PLA — and specifically, FMMU or associated institutions—to send military scientists to the United States on false pretenses with false covers or false statements about their true employment," the court filing states.At least one among this group of cases involved a military scientist who had allegedly been directed by military superiors to steal information from a U.S. institution.In other cases, the Chinese government directed military scientists to destroy evidence, and had helped them leave the U.S, according to court filings.Related: The White House issued an executive order on May 29 barring entry to certain Chinese students and researchers from PLA-linked universities, stating that they are at "high risk of being exploited or co-opted by the PRC authorities" to serve as "non-traditional collectors of intellectual property." The bottom line: If the FBI's assessment is correct, the San Francisco consulate's decision to shelter a fugitive affiliated with the Chinese military is highly provocative behavior that goes against basic diplomatic conventions. 根據FBI在7月20日提交給法院的文件中的一項評估，6月20日接受FBI採訪的一名涉嫌與中國軍校有隸屬關係的研究人員進入舊金山中國領事館，該簽證涉及涉嫌簽證欺詐。 為何重要：使用外交手段庇護被指控犯有聯邦罪行的人，可能會引起中美之間的嚴重緊張關係，尤其是在美國尋求打擊中國間諜活動和研究失竊的情況下。 從事與中國有關的知識產權盜竊案件的紐約律師王敏瑤說：“在中國的外交職位上，與涉嫌與知識產權盜竊有關的案件的嫌疑人如此緊密地聯繫是非常不尋常的。” “利用領事館的外交豁免權在刑事案件中庇護被告人，如果的確如此，那真是非同尋常。”背景： 7月21日，美國告訴中國，它必須在72小時內關閉休斯敦領事館。 國務院發言人摩根·奧爾塔格斯（Morgan Ortagus）表示，此舉旨在“保護美國知識產權和美國私人信息”。詳細信息：根據7月20日在美國加利福尼亞北區地方法院舊金山分庭提交的文件，唐娟（Tang Juan）以J-1簽證來到美國，並且是加利福尼亞大學戴維斯分校的研究員。 唐女士在簽證申請中表示，她與中國軍隊人民解放軍沒有任何隸屬關係。但是一項調查顯示，她曾在中國人民解放軍所屬的空軍軍事醫科大學（FMMU）工作，被認為是現役軍人。在獲得逮捕令後，聯邦調查局搜查了她的住所，並發現了她與解放軍有聯繫的證據。6月26日，唐被指控簽證欺詐。唐似乎在舊金山領事館內避難。 聯邦檢察官寫道：“在2020年6月20日對唐進行搜尋和採訪之後的某個時刻，唐去了中國駐舊金山的領事館，聯邦調查局（FBI）評估了她的身份，” 法院文件顯示。檢察官說：“正如唐案所表明的那樣，中國駐舊金山領事館為解放軍官員有意避免在美國提起公訴提供了潛在的安全港。”他們在說什麼： “我們使中國政府意識到她是被指控的個人，因此毫無疑問，他們知道被告是司法人員的逃犯，”司法部官員告訴Axios。 中國駐華盛頓特區大使館和中國駐舊金山領事館均未回應置評請求。國務院拒絕置評。大局：聯邦檢察官認為這不是一個孤立的案件。 Tang的案子被列在最近的幾起類似案子中，這些案子“似乎是解放軍（特別是FMMU或相關機構）實施的一項計劃的一部分，目的是以虛假藉口將軍事科學家送到美國，並附上虛假掩蓋或虛假陳述。真正的就業機會。”在這組案件中，至少有一個涉及軍事科學家，據稱該軍事科學家是由軍事上級指示從美國機構竊取信息的。根據法院文件，在其他情況下，中國政府指示軍事科學家銷毀證據，並幫助他們離開了美國。相關：白宮於5月29日發布了行政命令，禁止某些與中國人民解放軍有聯繫的大學的中國學生和研究人員入境，稱他們“極有可能被中國當局利用或選擇”作為“非傳統的知識產權收藏家。” 最重要的是：如果聯邦調查局的評估是正確的，舊金山領事館決定收容與中國軍方有關聯的逃犯是極具挑釁性的行為，有悖於基本外交慣例。 
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