Fugitive Chinese researcher arrested, in Sac County Jail

The Chinese researcher who fled her post as a visiting researcher at UC Davis after being questioned by the FBI has emerged from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and is in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail, online jail records show.

Juan Tang, 37, who had been a visiting cancer researcher at UC Davis for several months, left her Davis apartment in June after FBI agents questioned her about evidence that she lied concerning whether she was a member of the Chinese military or Communist Party when she applied for a visa, according to federal court papers.

She is one of four Chinese researchers charged by federal authorities in recent days with lying about their background to gain access to the United States, and the Justice Department issued a statement Thursday saying Tang “is a fugitive from justice currently being harbored at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.”

U.S. authorities have no authority to enter the consulate without permission, and it was not immediately clear Friday whether she had voluntarily surrendered. Jail records show U.S. Marshals arrested her overnight and booking was still in progress Friday morning.

(She is alternately identified as “Tang Juan” or “Juan Tang” in court and jail booking documents).

She faces charges in Sacramento federal court of fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week. The charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Tang is expected to make her initial court appearance by video Friday afternoon.

Her arrest is part of a sweeping U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged efforts by China’s People’s Liberation Army to conduct secret surveillance on U.S. research facilities and take the information back to China to replicate it, officials say.

To date, Chinese researchers in more than 25 U.S. cities have been questioned as part of the investigation.