Fire at Chinese Consulate in Houston due to classified documents being burned ahead of eviction

[Manifestor_of_Light]

Source: FOX 26 Houston

The call about a fire at the building located in the 3400 block of Montrose came in around 8:20 p.m.

Houston fire and police departments responded to the scene but were not allowed entry into the building.

Because it is a consulate, it falls under Chinese sovereignty allowing them to deny anyone access.

Houston police tell FOX 26 that they were burning classified documents because they are being evicted from the building on Friday at 4 p.m.

When asked why the Chinese Consulate was being evicted, HPD told us to ask the U.S. State Department or President Donald Trump himself.

Read more: https://www.fox26houston.com/news/fire-at-chinese-consulate-in-houston-due-to-classified-documents-being-burned-ahead-of-eviction.amp?__twitter_impression=true

[mr_lebowski]

1. Have to say I'm a little incredulous that Chinese consulate employees would've

proffered that particular information.

[roamer65]

2. Burning documents in a embassy often means they are getting ready for conflict.

[still_one]

8. In this case it is because the U.S. has abruptly closed down the Chinese consulate in Texas, and

told them to evacuate immediately.

We would do the same thing if the roles were reversed

However, I do believe the nazi's in the WH are planning for a conflict with China. thinking it will boost their re-election prospects.

This is NOT how a country deals with disagreements with other countries

I can see this escalating. The racists in this country are already attacking Chinese Americans, and I can see that accelerating

November cannot come soon enough

[catsudon]

22. i'm from taiwan

i hated Chinese communist party since the beginning regardless of Trump likes or dislike china. And I believe he loves china in the beginning because of the money and have no problem bending over backwards to make that trade deal and even applauded them for killing all the 'Muslims' in Xinjiang.


I want both the CCP and Trump gone. More on ccp because Trump have an exit date, CCP does not.

[still_one]

31. Trump does not love the Chinese. He is a racist xenophobe. He is using the same strategy he

used in 2016

As far as the issues involved with Taiwan they are extremely complicated. Just look at the recent elections between KMT and DPP

I also am no fan of Carrie Lam or Xi, but I sure as heck do not want the U.S. to engage militarily with China just to boost trump's poll numbers, and that is what I sense might happen

Most Presidents in their final few months before an election would start a new international conflict, leaving it for the next administration to "deal with"

Trump is not like most presidents. He is a sociopath

[roamer65]

32. With US power weakening, get ready for a CCP invasion in the near future.

Just my gut feeling.

[LogicFirst]

30. January 20, 2021 better get here fast.

Trump will do his best (worst) work from Nov. 3 through Jan. 20. Can you envision the transition team?

[sarisataka]

27. Should we put Pearl Harbor

On red alert?

[BigmanPigman]

3. Didn't Russians burn documents after Obama kicked them out in 2016?

[still_one]

5. and we do the same thing

[BigmanPigman]

6. So it't just standard practice?

[still_one]

9. That part is because in this case the U.S. is telling them to evacuate in 48 hours I believe

What is concerning is if the U.S. or China decide to take military action in the South China Sea

With trump's sinking poll numbers I sure wouldn't be surprised if he wants to create a military conflict, hoping "nationalism" will get him re-elected

We are in a very dangerous situation

[BigmanPigman]

10. I thought he wanted China's help to win the election.

How can he go both ways?

[still_one]

13. That plays more into Russia's hand than China. He has been throwing anti-Chinese rhetoric

for months.

I think this is an election ploy, and I wouldn't put it past him to consider military action in the South China Sea if he thinks it would improve his poll numbers

[TeamPooka]

14. S.O.P.

[catsudon]

24. standard

most embassies have a Burn bag with stuff to destroy in case of emergency

[still_one]

4. The U.S. is a rogue nation. Sending secret police into American cities to arrest and

Last edited Wed Jul 22, 2020, 09:07 AM - Edit history (1)

kidnap American citizens without due process

As for this little diversion, there is no doubt in my mind that the nazi in the WH wants to cause an international incident thinking it will help his re-election prospects.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

16. Hopefully, only temporarily is the U.S. a rouge nation. Should turn bleu in November.

(kidding about the typo)

[chia]

18. +1

[still_one]

25. Agreed. Forgetting China, just look at how our relationships with our allies has deteriorated since

trump came to office

[cstanleytech]

20. Ummm I think you mean "rogue". nt

[still_one]

26. Yes, thank-you. Am editing now

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. China Says U.S. Ordered Abrupt Closure of Houston Consulate

The U.S. government abruptly ordered China to close its consulate in Houston in an “unprecedented escalation,” the Foreign Ministry said, in the latest sign of deteriorating ties between the world’s biggest economies.

China said the move was unilaterally initiated by the U.S. and Beijing would “react with firm countermeasures” if the U.S. doesn’t “revoke this erroneous decision.” It accused the U.S. of harassing diplomatic staff and intimidating Chinese students, confiscating personal electrical devices and detaining them without cause. Chinese diplomatic missions and personnel also recently received bomb and death threats, it added.

“China strongly condemns such an outrageous and unjustified move which will sabotage China-U.S. relations,” the Foreign Ministry said. “We urge the U.S. to immediately withdraw its erroneous decision. Otherwise China will make legitimate and necessary reactions.”

Link to tweet

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-22/u-s-asked-china-to-close-houston-consulate-top-editor-hu-says

Other articles, if you don't want to use the limited access to Bloomberg:
https://www.fxstreet.com/news/chinas-foreign-ministry-us-has-abruptly-informed-to-close-its-consulate-in-houston-202007220739
https://www.wokv.com/news/world/china-says-us-orders/WB3J3KEKXOUO4W3PLDYUFNGK3M/

[still_one]

11. This sure isn't an orderly request, and I suspect trump and company want to create an international

incident, hoping that it will improve his sinking poll numbers by talking up "nationalism"

Worst is that it will be a prelude to a military conflict in the South China sea, and that can escalate into something very bad

I am now very concerned that this will be his excuse to postpone the election

With his secret police in Portland, and threatening other Democratic cities, This is a very dangerous time

[Buckeye_Democrat]

12. Trump still has time to "end civilization"...

... like predicted by his ghost-writer of "The Art of the Deal", Tony Schwartz, in 2016.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all/amp

“I put lipstick on a pig,” he said. “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”

Schwartz described Trump's many flaws in that New Yorker article very accurately. He was exposed to Trump privately for 18 months, so he should know.

[AZ8theist]

15. He starts a war with China...

Where's he gonna get his shithole hats from??

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Not just the hats

Prety much ALL of his and Ivanka's junk.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. "closed to protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information"

The US said the consulate was ordered closed to protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information. It did not provide any details.

“The United States will not tolerate the PRC’s violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated the PRC’s unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behavior,” the statement from State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.
...
Ties between the two increasingly rival countries have deteriorated further in recent weeks as the US has taken a harder position against China and lobbied its allies to do the same. The closure of the consulate follows tightening of restrictions for Chinese nationals working in state media in the US, which Beijing claims as the reason for expelling more than a dozen western journalists over the last few months.

On Wednesday, Chinese state media suggested the possibility of closing US consulates, posting a poll on Twitter asking users to choose between embassies in Hong Kong, Chengdu, Guangzhou or others.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/22/china-us-ordered-abrupt-closure-houston-consulate-texas

[Lonestarblue]

21. Had there not been a fire, would we even have known about this?

This whole administration is just doing its best to destroy the US. We have no true allies left because they think Trump is an idiot and the US cannot be trusted so long as he is in power. The dictators of the world want Trump to be president forever because he is doing what they want by destroying the US government and so dividing people that we’re fighting each other instead of building economic strength and staying alert to international terrorism.

I honestly don’t know if we will make it to November without anarchy in the streets. Portland is close now because of Trump’s secret police. We’ll see what happens when Trump tries to occupy Chicago—and that is what it is, a hostile occupation by unauthorized federal forces. If Trump’s secret police are able to incite enough violence, he will then declare martial law and suspend civil rights. If it takes as long for any lawsuits to get through the courts as it has taken for Congressional subpoenas to be answered, we will be in civil war by November. Where in hell are Republican leaders in Congress? Trump is out of control and violating Constitutional rights. It’s really time for the 25th Amendment, though I know Republicans are too corrupt and lily-livered to use it.

[NurseJackie]

23. Many UPS-Store locations will shred documents for a reasonable rate.

[dalton99a]

28. Shredded documents can be reassembled

Which is what the Iranians did after seizing the U.S. embassy in Tehran:


Modern software can speed things a bit:


There are local companies that pulverize documents, but the Chinese didn't want to hire them for obvious reasons

[onetexan]

29. So were they just burning paper and someone saw smoke & called the Fire Dept?

If there wasn't a real fire i'd understand why the Chinese diplomats don't want American fire fighters entering their embassy. It's understandable given the circumstances that this inept administration has put them under. Diplomacy by gut feel and political expediency. I heard this morning as a result of this crap now the Chinese are thinking to close the American embassy in Hong Kong.