The United States Claims The Closure Of China's Consulate In Houston To Protect Its Citizens From Spying

Ilustrasi (Unsplash/Zhang Kaiyv)

JAKARTA - The United States Government suddenly stopped the operations of the Chinese consulate office in Houston, Texas. Responding to this, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the action was unprecedented. The US government argued that the closure was to protect the personal information of its citizens.

Launching CNN, previously police in Houston received a report that there was a puff of smoke at the Chinese Consulate Office on Montrose Boulevard on Tuesday, July 21 evening. The report was supported by the spread of videos showing people burning documents.

US State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus argued the closure of the Chinese consulate to protect American intellectual property and private information of its citizens. However, they did not specify the cause of the consulate closure. The office has been closed for 72 hours according to Chinese media reports.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meanwhile said he would stand firm on China and meet Chinese dissidents in exile. However, he declined to provide details about the decision.

"We set clear expectations about how the Chinese Communist Party will behave," said Pompeo. "And when they don't, we will take action to protect the American people, protect our security, our national security, and also protect our economy and our jobs," he said.

The Chinese consulate in Houston is one in five in the US. That office does not include the Chinese embassy in Washington DC.

President Donald Trump has also said that he is likely to order the closure of more Chinese consulates in the US.

Any eyes?

Meanwhile the US State Department said that China had been involved for years in spying operations and was the influence of massive illegal activities. "These activities have increased on a large scale over the past few years," wrote.

As is known, the closure of the Chinese consulate office in Houston coincided with the charges against two Chinese citizens for a hacking case supported by the Chinese government related to COVID-19 treatment and vaccine research. The indictment also marks the first time that the US has accused hackers of working on behalf of the Chinese government.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin denied the accusations, saying "thieves were screaming thieves," at a press conference on Wednesday. Wenbin also accused the US of "having been involved in the activities of the largest cyber attack in the world," he said. China is now considering retaliating by closing the US consulate in Wuhan.

In the past year, relations between China and the US have deteriorated after the trade war. The situation is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and US criticism of China's human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.