Overview

• An illegal Chinese-owned biolab in Reedley, California was discovered to contain thousands of vials of biological substances, including some labeled 'HIV' and a freezer marked 'Ebola'.
• The lab was operated by Jiabei 'Jesse' Zhu, who has been charged with fraud and making false statements, and has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
• Despite the presence of potentially deadly pathogens, the CDC initially refused to investigate the lab and later refused to test the samples or examine the unlabeled vials.
• The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party launched an investigation into the lab, revealing a fraudulent scheme of purchasing counterfeit test kits from China and reselling them in the US as 'Made in the USA'.
• The report by the House panel warns of the profound threat posed by unlicensed and unknown biolabs, and calls for Congress and the Executive Branch to address these vulnerabilities.