Category: Government Regulation
Emergency and Quarantine Powers of the U.S. Government
How the CCP Collects DNA Data From Americans
How the CCP Collects DNA From Americans
Pamela A. Popper, President
Wellness Forum Health
On March 20, 2023, Roman Balmakov at Epoch Times reported that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is synonymous with the Chinese military, had developed a large-scale biowarfare program and that the Wuhan lab was just a small part of it. One of the most concerning aspects of this program is that it involves the collection of DNA from Americans. In fact, the CCP now has a larger collection of DNA from Americans than the U.S. does. Much of this DNA comes from a company called BGI, one of the largest makers of prenatal tests in the world. BGI has been sending data from pregnant women in 52 countries to the Chinese military, which, according to Balmakov, is using this DNA to develop a biological weapon that can target and attack DNA strands specific to certain racial and ethnic groups.[1]
This news piece caught my attention because I had posted an article covering BGI’s collection of genetic data from Americans for the CCP in February 2021. It appears that the CCP’s activities in this area have accelerated since then. Below is the piece that I wrote in 2021 which contains more detail about this program and its potentially terrifying consequences.
According to a fact sheet from the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), China has been collecting healthcare data and DNA from Americans for a very long time.[2] One of the means for collecting this data has been through investing in American biotech companies and partnering with hospitals and universities.
In 2010, Chinese genetics company BGI received a $1.5 billion loan from the Chinese government-run China Development Bank for the purpose of expansion. The company entered the U.S. market and started its data gathering when it purchased California sequence-machine maker Complete Genomics for $118 million in 2013. BGI, along with other Chinese companies, has formed partnerships with American hospitals, university research centers, and research institutes.[3]
According to the NCSC fact sheet, the partnerships are welcomed by American institutions because they enable expanded research opportunities, “…while Chinese firms gain access to more genetic data on more diverse sets of people, which they can use for new medical products and services.”[4] According to a 2019 report, at least 15 Chinese firms are licensed to perform genetic tests or sequencing in the U.S.[5]
Bill Evanina, a former top counterintelligence official and veteran of the FBI and CIA, warned in early 2021 that BGI was connected both to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and to its military and that the Chinese could collect, store, and exploit data collected from COVID-19 tests.[6]
What does the Chinese government do with this information? According to FBI Supervisory Special Agent Edward You, the Chinese are building a huge genomic database and are particularly interested in the U.S. population due to its ethnic diversity. The assumption is that the data base will be used to develop artificial intelligence and new personalized medicines.[7] One potential downside is that this could make the U.S. even more dependent on China for drugs and treatments. And some of the ways in which the CCP is already using artificial intelligence is frightening.
According to Sophie Richardson, director of the China program for Human Rights Watch, one of the ways in which the Chinese use artificial intelligence is to monitor the Uyghurs, a minority Muslim population. The Chinese use facial recognition software, surveillance cameras, WF-FI sniffers and other technology to constantly monitor the region in which these people live. The Uyghurs are forbidden to use their language, and to practice their religion. And they are subject to forced collection of DNA which is used both to target other family members and to further develop the CCP’s facial recognition software. Approximately one million Uyghurs have been arrested and jailed in camps in China, in part due to this program.[8]
In July 2020 the U.S. Department of Commerce sanctioned two subsidiaries of BGI for participating in Uyghur repression, and for collecting genetic information from the Uyghurs without consent.[9]
The COVID-19 debacle presented a great opportunity to accelerate data gathering. BGI Group aggressively promoted COVID-19 tests, and by August 2020 had sold 35 million rapid COVID-19 tests to 180 countries and built laboratories in 18 of them.[10]
In March 2020, when Washington State had only a few COVID-19 cases, BGI proposed in a letter to the state that it would build and operate COVID-19 testing labs and provide technical expertise, high throughput sequencers, and even to “make additional donations,” whatever that means. BGI’s proposal to build labs in Washington State, and five other states, was turned down after federal officials warned against the partnerships. But the tests and sequencing equipment are in use in the U.S. According to Evanina, the Chinese fetch the data electronically and give a copy back to the lab that houses the sequencing machines.
Additionally, according to both You and Evanina, China is the world’s leader in cyber hacking. In December 2020 John Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence, called China the number one national security threat to the U.S. due to the CCP’s theft of data and technology.[11] Evanina says that 80% of American adults have had all of their personally identifiable information stolen by the CCP.[12]
Indeed, China has been caught stealing the healthcare data of Americans. In February 2015, Chinese hackers managed to hack the servers for health insurer Anthem and obtained the personal health data of over 78 million people.[13] According to Evanina, a major concern about this is that there are no private companies in China. Chinese laws actually require that companies like BGI must share their data with the government if asked to do so by the CCP. This means that all of the DNA data gathered on Americans by BGI through their COVID and other tests is, by extension, also the property of the Chinese government.[14]
This is very disconcerting. It is likely that any thinking person would feel uncomfortable knowing that personal DNA obtained through a COVID-19 test – or a computer hack – was in the possession of the CCP or any foreign government. And there is nothing that can be done about it. A demand from the U.S. to the CCP return the data without retaining copies is not likely to be made, and if made it is not likely to result in any response from the CCP.
The chance for your DNA to end up in the hands of one of the most dangerous regimes in the world is one more reason to refuse testing for COVID-19 and for anything else that is not absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, doctors’ offices and medical institutions have turned into data-gathering businesses that track your psychological health, your vaccination status, and now your DNA (see previous article on the use of ICD codes for data gathering).
[1] Roman Balmikov. China’s New DNA-Based Bioweapons Target Specific Ethnic Groups, Races/Facts Matter. Epoch TV March 20 2023.
[2] China’s Collection of Genomic and Other Healthcare Data From America: Risks to Privacy and U.S. Economic and National Security. Feb 2021 https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/SafeguardingOurFuture/NCSC_China_Genomics_Fact_Sheet_2021.pdf
[3] Cathy He. China is Collecting Americans’ DNA, Posing Major Security Risks: US Counterintelligence Agency. Epoch Times Feb 3 2021
[4] China’s Collection of Genomic and Other Healthcare Data From America: Risks to Privacy and U.S. Economic and National Security. Feb 2021 https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/SafeguardingOurFuture/NCSC_China_Genomics_Fact_Sheet_2021.pdf
[5] U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. China’s Biotechnology Development: The Role of U.S. and Other Foreign Engagement https://www.uscc.gov/research/chinas-biotechnology-development-role-us-and-other-foreign-engagement
[6] Jon Wertheim. China’s Push to Control Americans’ Health Care Future. 60 Minutes Jan 31 2021 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biodata-dna-china-collection-60-minutes-2021-01-31/
[7] Prepared Statement of Edward H. You, Supervisory Special Agent, Biological Countermeasures Unit, Countermeasures and Operations Section, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2018/10/19/ed_you_testimony_uscc.pdf
[8] Ibid
[9] Ibid
[10] Cathy He. China is Collecting Americans’ DNA, Posing Major Security Risks: US Counterintelligence Agency. Epoch Times Feb 3 2021
[11] Ibid
[12] Jon Wertheim. China’s Push to Control Americans’ Health Care Future. 60 Minutes Jan 31 2021 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biodata-dna-china-collection-60-minutes-2021-01-31/
[13] Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. Member of Sophisticated China-Based Hacking Group Indicted for Series of Computer Intrusions, Including 2015 Data Breach of Health Insurer Anthem Inc. Affecting Over 78 Million People. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/member-sophisticated-china-based-hacking-group-indicted-series-computer-intrusions-including
[14] Jon Wertheim. China’s Push to Control Americans’ Health Care Future. 60 Minutes Jan 31 2021 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biodata-dna-china-collection-60-minutes-2021-01-31/
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