Judge denies bail for UC Davis researcher accused of concealing ties to Chinese military

The flag of the People’s Republic of China flies in the wind above the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco, on July 23, 2020. The U.S. Justice Department announced on July 23, 2020, the indictments of four Chinese researchers it said lied about their ties to the People’s Liberation Army, with one escaping arrest by taking refuge in the country’s San Francisco consulate. (Philip Pacheco / AFP via Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Aug 2, 2020 / 01:55 PM PDT

Updated: Aug 2, 2020 / 01:57 PM PDT

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A federal judge in California has denied a bail request for a university researcher accused of lying about her ties to China’s military and Communist Party to gain access to the United States.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes said 37-year-old Juan Tang would have reason to leave the country if released on bail, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The former Chinese researcher at the University of California Davis has been held without bail since July 23.

The Justice Department says Tang and other Chinese researchers falsely claimed to have no ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army-Air Force or the country’s Communist Party in a visa application last October as she made plans to work at UC Davis and again during an FBI interview months later.

Agents found photographs of Tang in a uniform of the PLA civilian cadre and also reviewed articles from China that identified her military affiliation, authorities said.

The FBI last month interviewed Tang, when she denied having served in the military or knowing the significance of the insignia on the uniform she was photographed wearing, and also found more evidence of her military affiliation when they later searched her home, according to court filings.