A Chinese biotech firm, BGI Group, offered to establish six COVID-19 labs in the United States shortly after the virus arrived in the United States last year, according to a new 60 Minutes report.
U.S. intelligence warned that BGI Group, and possibly other Chinese biotech firms, were trying to establish labs to collect American’s health data and DNA, 60 Minutes reported.
BGI Group is the largest biotech company in the world. The Chinese corporation contacted Democrat Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, as well as New York, California, and other states, offering to build COVID-19 testing labs, according to 60 Minutes.
60 Minutes has learned Chinese company BGI Group, the largest biotech firm in the world, offered to build COVID labs in at least six states, and U.S. intelligence officials issued warnings not to share health data with BGI. @jon_wertheim reports, Sunday. https://t.co/uVRJAvPgC9 pic.twitter.com/IIKDilcwd3
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 28, 2021
Upon hearing about BGI Group’s offer to these states, Bill Evanina, the United States’ top counterintelligence officer at the time, issued a warning that stated, “Foreign powers can collect, store and exploit biometric information from COVID tests,” 60 Minutes reported. Evanina believes the Chinese biotech firm that is firmly ingrained with the Chinese Communist Party is trying to collect American’s biodata, 60 Minutes reported.
None of the offered states accepted BGI Group’s proposal, according to 60 minutes.
“This shows the nefarious mindset of the Communist Party of China, to take advantage of a worldwide crisis like COVID,” Evanina told 60 Minutes.
“We put out an advisory to not only every American, but to hospitals, associations, and clinics. Knowing that BGI is a Chinese company, do we understand where that data’s going?” Evanina, who previously worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before stepping down, added.
Evanina is concerned that if China is able to accumulate the biodata of large swaths of the population, it and its biotech firms like BGI Group can dominate health care. “From a long-term existential cost to our nation, do we want to do that? Do we want to have another nation systematically eliminate our health care services?” Evanina asked, according to 60 Minutes. “That’s what’s happening,” (RELATED: What Has To Happen For A Pandemic To Be Declared Over?)
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the United States’ reliance on supply chains for personal protective equipment (PPE) that is heavily concentrated in Malaysia, Thailand and of China, Industry Week reported. The United States’ reliance on this system makes them vulnerable to practices like price gouging. This is why the United States is trying to build up PPE production at home, Industry Week reported.
BREAKING—
According to U.S. intelligence officials, Chinese government is collecting Americans’ DNA.Top counterintelligence officer Bill Evanina has authorized rare public warning:
“Foreign powers can collect, store and exploit biometric information from COVID tests”
— Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ) (@NewDayForNJ) January 29, 2021
“What happens if we realize that all of our future drugs, our future vaccines … are all completely dependent upon a foreign source? If we don’t wake up, we’ll realize one day we’ve just become health care crack addicts and someone like China has become our pusher,” former biochemist and current FBI Supervisory Special Agent Edward You told 60 Minutes.