Skip to main content
We may receive compensation from affiliate partners for some links on this site. Read our full Disclosure here.

Gavin Newsom Provided Tax Credit to Chinese Biolab Discovered in California


A Chinese biolab company working with COVID-19, HIV, and approximately 20 other pathogens was found operating inside an abandoned building in Reedley, California.

BREAKING: Chinese COVID Biolab Found In Fresno, California!

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tested over 800 chemicals and more than 20 infectious agents found at the lab.

According to California Globe, these infectious agents included “Hepatitis B and C, streptococcus pneumonia, chlamydia, rubella, and Herpes 1 and 5.”

Authorities also uncovered hundreds of “genetically engineered” mice at the lab.

From a prior NBC News report:

ADVERTISEMENT

According to court documents, city officials inspected the location at 850 I St. on March 3 for building violations and found various chemicals being stored. On March 16, an inspection by county public health officials allegedly turned up medical devices thought to have been developed on-site, such as Covid and pregnancy tests.

“Certain rooms of the warehouse were found to contain several vessels of liquid and various apparatus,” court documents said. “Fresno County Public Health staff also observed blood, tissue and other bodily fluid samples and serums; and thousands of vials of unlabeled fluids and suspected biological material.”

Hundreds of mice at the warehouse were kept in inhumane conditions, court documents said. The city took possession of the animals in April, euthanizing 773 of them; more than 175 were found dead.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested the substances and detected at least 20 potentially infectious agents, including coronavirus, HIV, hepatitis and herpes, according to a Health and Human Services letter dated June 6.

The multi-agency investigation found the tenant was Prestige BioTech, a company registered in Nevada, whose alleged president is Xiuquin Yao.

MidValley Times reported:

While these investigations were being conducted, Reedley officials and FCDPH repeatedly made attempts to speak to representatives from Prestige. Court documents identify Xiuquin Yao as the alleged president of Prestige. Neither Reedley nor FCDPH was able to obtain from Yao any substantive information regarding Prestige or why infectious agents and mice were being stored at 850 I Street other than to say that the company was developing diagnostic testing kits.

Court documents describe Prestige as the successor to Universal Meditech, Inc., a now-bankrupt medical equipment manufacturer located in Fresno. When Universal filed for bankruptcy, Prestige was its largest creditor. It is not clear if Prestige assumed Universal’s liabilities and took over its operation.

Court documents include copies of an email exchange Prado conducted with David He, who identified himself as a representative of Prestige, beginning May 31 and continuing through June 13. Over the course of numerous emails, Prado repeatedly asks He to provide documentation regarding licensed medical waste disposal, Prestige’s reasons for storing infectious agents and how the company will respond to the biological abatement orders handed down by FCDPH.

“They (Prestige) completely avoided the questions,” Prado said. “This individual (He) was either unaware or was intentionally trying to mislead us.”

In what can best be described as a shell game, He initially discounted the veracity of the reports that Prestige was storing infectious agents at 850 I Street. Over the course of the email exchange, He asked for a list of the agents, which Prado submitted each time He requested it. He continued to press Prado to contact Dimensions, a company He claimed was a licensed medical waste hauler. Prado requested documentation that Dimensions was licensed; He abjured.

ADVERTISEMENT

Where did this biolab get its funding?

That’s the next question many people want answers and accountability.

California Globe reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the illegal biolab a $360,000 tax credit.

Via California Globe:

As recently discovered, Prestige Biotech is registered in the State of Nevada, but unlicensed to conduct business within the State of California. Code enforcement officials from the City of Reedley spoke to Xiuqin Yao, President of Prestige Biotech, as identified via emails and court documents. Ms. Yao informed authorities that the company was the largest creditor of Universal Meditech (UMI), Inc. which filed for bankruptcy. UMI had been relocated from the City of Fresno to the Reedley warehouse following an electrical fire, and when UMI ceased operations. According to NBC News, “Prestige Biotech was a creditor to UMI and identified as its successor, according to court documents.”

A document released on March 24, 2019 by Governor Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development, a California Competes tax credit allocation agreement of $360,000 was cemented with UMI.

In 2019, Mr. Zhaoyan Wang, CEO of UMI, praised the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation’s guidance regarding tax credit opportunities and HR resources.

“The EDC has provided us with guidance and HR resources as well as worked with us in terms of the NEO program, which has helped us save a lot of time and working capital on employee hiring. The EDC has also informed us about other incentives available for business, such as California Compete Tax Credit and referred us to proper departments and personnel for further assistance.” – Zhaoyan Wang

ADVERTISEMENT

California Globe cited a 2019 article from The Business Journal:

A Tulare manufacturer of medical devices has made the move to Fresno, and has created 10 new jobs in the process.

Universal Meditech’s new home is located in the North Pointe Industrial Business Park near North and Orange avenues. The 3-year-old company develops, makes and sells in vitro diagnostic devices including pregnancy, ovulation and menopause tests.

Zhaoyan Wang, Universal Meditech CEO, attributed lower costs, location and access to a diverse pool of capable employees in making the decision to move to Fresno.

“Everyone in Fresno, from the Economic Development Staff and City Planners to the property owner that offered us beautiful space to lease at an affordable price were wonderful,” Wang said in a statement. “The entire process was smooth and we are extremely happy with our decision to move our headquarters to the City of Fresno.”

The company had determined its previous space was too expensive and didn’t suit their growing needs. Candace Liu, Universal Meditech’s chief operating officer, said the company explored other options in California and even out of state. A tag team effort from the City of Fresno Economic Development Department and the Fresno County Economic Development Corp. played a key role in relocating their manufacturing and research and development operations to the company’s 20,000 square-foot Fresno space.

“We are extremely grateful for their commitment to keep growing companies like us in California,” Liu said.

To date Universal Meditech has hired about 10 new employees in Fresno, and have retained a number of their South Valley employees who decided to remain and make the commute north.

Fresno Mayor Lee Brand attributes the successful move of Universal Meditech, among others, to the availability of a well-trained Fresno workforce combined with an influx of available industrial space offered at affordable prices.

“We have everything that businesses need to ensure ongoing success,” Brand said. “If you are looking for the perfect environment to allow your business to grow, Fresno should be at the top of your list.”

Hot Air noted:

No, this was a hidden lab piled with chemicals, boxes, refrigerators with chemicals and 20 deadly viruses, and genetically engineered mice that had been bred to catch and spread human viruses like COVID-19. It was in an ostensibly abandoned warehouse, and when the inspectors showed up the lab equipment had been hastily turned off before whoever was working there disappeared.

ADVERTISEMENT

The power was off, but the freezers were still cold. People disappeared quickly, leaving behind a lot of documents in Chinese and a “President” who is available only by email from China. The president claimed the lab was merely storing defunct equipment, but there were live genetically engineered mice and the viruses stored in freezers.

It’s all very sketchy, to say the least. Not to sound paranoid or anything, but a Chinese biolab hidden in an abandoned warehouse with deadly viruses and genetically engineered mice discovered after a major pandemic that killed millions might lead one to wonder what exactly is going on.

At least if you aren’t obsessed with indicting Donald Trump every 3 days or so.

The latest twist to all this is that the company that originally owned the equipment before it was acquired by the current “owner,” Prestige Biotech, was named Universal Meditech, and Universal Meditech was subsidized by Gavin Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

*Credit – Hot Air*

According to California Globe, Prestige Biotech owner Xiuqin Yao lives in China and can only communicate via email.

Where the story gets sticky is when Officer Harper made numerous attempts to contact the owner of Prestige Biotech, Inc.

The owner, Xiuqin Yao, told Harper in an email that she lives in China and could only communicate by email. “We tried to make telephone communications with her,” Harper said, because while most of the property was components – machines, furniture, freezers, etc. – there were nearly 1,000 live mice which needed daily care. “And then she brought in a consultant, but we were still unable to establish whether Prestige Biolabs or Universal Meditech was the owner of the mice.”

“We’ve been through three different representatives of the company – they quit and a new person arrives, and we start all over.” She said not a single person represented as operating the business. “Several came forward, and then some claimed they were friends of the owner.”

“That is why we ended up moving forward with abatement.” She said it was apparent when they went inside of the warehouse, “they had packed and moved in a hurry – it was haphazard,” according to Officer Harper. And the live mice were in the abandoned warehouse living in inhumane conditions according to the Veterinarian Reedley code enforcement hired to assess them. The mice were eventually euthanized.

“On March 17, 2023, I received an email from a Xiuquin Yao, who indicated that they were the President of Prestige Biotech, Inc.,” Officer Harper said. She got the runaround. “I exchanged emails with Yao from March 19 to March 27, 2023, and inquired as to whether they could provide any licenses or certifications permitting the experiments and breeding of these mice. They never provided any certifications or licenses from any state or federal agency that permitted the activities being conducted on the Property. I informed them that the mice were being kept in inadequate conditions in overcrowded cages and there was a lack of food and water for the mice. No plan was given by Yao regarding a plan to care for the mice, or where the mice would be moved since the building was red tagged following the City’s inspection.”



 

Join the conversation!

Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!

Leave a comment
Thanks for sharing!