NewsR Contributor
One of the first things that US intelligence agencies briefed Donald Trump soon after he took over the Presidency in January 2017 was about the Chinese consulate located in Houston.
While Beijing is desperate with the decision of US administration to close the consulate, the building has been under the scanner of intelligence agencies for long. The decision of the Trump administration came after years of FBI intelligence-gathering showing it was a hot spot of Chinese spying in the US.
President Donald Trump has been kept informed about its activities soon after he took office. The officials said that the Houston consulate had long been used by the Chinese government to steal valuable medical research and that it was involved in attempts to infiltrate the oil and natural gas industries.
The consulate is well fortified and hardened to prevent surveillance. It was a high-tech communications hub to coordinate and execute spying operations. The action was driven by the FBI and its intelligence. Current and former federal law enforcement officials applauded the move, saying it was a strong message that was overdue to be delivered to the Chinese government.
On Tuesday night, hours before the news of the consulate’s closure was announced, people in the locality noticed and recorded small fires in bins in the consulate’s internal courtyard. Surprisingly, fire crews were denied access by building occupants.
