XPost: alt.news-media, alt.journalism.newspapers, stl.general   
   XPost: sac.general, oc.general, soc.culture.usa   
   From: except_you_faggots@cnn.com   
      
   Chinese government uses health data to surveil and capture Uyghurs   
      
   The FBI says a genetics testing company with tens of millions of   
   dollars in federal contracts is most likely providing Americans'   
   health data to China.   
      
   The agency told Los Angeles County officials last week it had   
   obtained "very concerning information" about Fulgent Genetics, a   
   California-based firm founded by Chinese-American billionaire Ming   
   Hsieh. Los Angeles County sheriff Alex Villanueva said the FBI   
   warned him and other county officials that Fulgent likely shares the   
   health data it collects with the Chinese government.   
      
   U.S. officials have expressed concerns over state-sponsored   
   harvesting of genetic data. China has collected DNA samples of   
   Uyghurs, a repressed Muslim minority group, for surveillance   
   purposes. The authoritarian regime is also building massive   
   databases of genetic data from across the globe, which would give   
   China an advantage in developing treatments for future pandemics.   
      
   Villanueva called for the county to cancel contracts with Fulgent to   
   test county employees for COVID-19 and to keep track of their   
   vaccination records. He did not say whether the FBI suspects Fulgent   
   of proactively providing the data to China, or whether the company   
   turns it over to comply with Chinese law.   
      
   A Fulgent spokesman said the company operates independently in China   
   and "does not share personal data of any kind with the Chinese   
   government." Another representative for the company said she is   
   unaware of any outreach from the FBI to Fulgent. The FBI did not   
   respond to a request for comment.   
      
   Fulgent has likely collected genetic data on millions of Americans   
   through contracts with hospitals as well as local, state, and   
   federal agencies. The company was awarded a contract in 2016 by a   
   hospital network that operates within the U.S. Army to provide   
   genetic tests for personnel and their family members, according to   
   the company's financial filings. The CDC awarded a $35.8 million   
   contract to Fulgent in March to sequence coronavirus variants.   
   Fulgent provides coronavirus testing for numerous school districts,   
   including New York City and Las Vegas, and has contracts with the   
   Utah Department of Health and the Houston Health Department.   
      
   Villanueva pointed to Fulgent's privacy policy as one cause for   
   concern. According to the policy, Fulgent can transmit medical   
   information collected in the United States to other countries,   
   including those with less stringent data protection laws. China   
   passed a national security law in 2017 requiring companies to grant   
   access to data upon request from the government. The law has stoked   
   international concern that Chinese authorities will misuse the data   
   for espionage or surveillance.   
      
   The U.S. government put two subsidiaries of the Chinese gene   
   harvesting giant BGI on an export blacklist last year because it has   
   partnered with the Chinese military to collect genetic information   
   on Uyghurs. Villanueva said Fulgent has worked with BGI and other   
   Chinese companies linked to the state's surveillance apparatus,   
   including Huawei.   
      
   Republican lawmakers expressed outrage that the federal government   
   has awarded contracts to Fulgent.   
      
   "The Chinese Communist Party has tried to steal the intellectual   
   property and personal health information of Americans for decades.   
   Not a single taxpayer dollar should go to a company that puts   
   Americans' health records at risk," said Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.),   
   a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.   
      
   Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), the ranking member of the House   
   Foreign Affairs Committee, commended Villanueva for drawing   
   attention to the FBI's warning about Fulgent.   
      
   "Companies like Fulgent are required by Chinese law to turn their   
   data over to the CCP and should not have access to Americans'   
   sensitive health data," McCaul told the Washington Free Beacon.   
      
   Founded in 2011, Fulgent has expanded its business in China in   
   recent years while forming ties to a politically connected American   
   think tank considered soft on China, the National Committee on   
   U.S.-China Relations. Fulgent formed a joint venture called FF Gene   
   in 2017 with Chinese companies Xilong Scientific and Fuzhou Jinqiang   
   Investment. Fulgent said the partnership would help the company   
   "solidify our foothold in one of the fastest growing genetic testing   
   markets in the world."   
      
   Fulgent is also a donor to the National Committee on U.S.-China   
   Relations, a corporate-backed nonprofit that facilitates diplomatic   
   relations between Washington and Beijing. Ming Hsieh, Fulgent's   
   founder and CEO, serves on the committee's board of directors   
   alongside executives from Disney, Apple, and other companies vying   
   for access to China's market.   
      
   Hsieh was the guest of honor at the committee's annual gala earlier   
   this month. The chairman of the committee, former Treasury secretary   
   Jack Lew, introduced Hsieh, and Chinese ambassador Qin Gang shared   
      
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