Justice Department Charges Harvard Chemist With Lying About Chinese Contacts

The Justice Department has charged an American Harvard University professor and two Chinese nationals, in three different cases related to China. The professor, Dr. Charles Lieber, is alleged to have misrepresented his participation in a Chinese government-run research program to representatives from the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health. One of the others charged, Yangqing Ye, is alleged to have "mask[ed]" her status in the People's Liberation Army in applications for a visa that allowed her to research and study at Boston University. The indictment against Ye alleges that she "was tasked with numerous assignments from PLA officers while she was in the United States such as conducting research, assessing U.S. military websites, and sending U.S. documents and information to China." The third person charged, Zaosong Zheng, allegedly attempted to transport 21 vials containing biological material from the U.S. to China. Zheng had been working in a lab studying cancer cells at Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center. The charges can be read here and below.