Chinese diplomats rush past lab guards

Two Chinese diplomats, away from their Los Angeles consulate improperly, recently sped their vehicle past a Los Alamos National Laboratory guard post near classified facilities in what U.S. officials think was an intelligence mission, The Washington Times has learned.

The diplomats, identified as Hua Yu and Bo Lai, were on an intelligence-gathering mission that is raising new worries of Chinese nuclear spying against the United States, according to U.S. officials familiar with the incident.

According to an incident report, the diplomats sped a white Ford Escort past a guard post at the New Mexico facility at about 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 26.

Security guard Joseph Chavez was at the post at the time and reported that the car “ran his post at a high rate of speed,” the report said.

The white Escort, rented in Colorado, was stopped a short distance from the post by three Los Alamos security police on Pajarito Road. The diplomats were questioned, and their car was searched.

Mr. Hua and Mr. Bo identified themselves as Chinese diplomats posted to the consulate in Los Angeles.

“At this point, we briefed the gentleman on the fact that Pajarito Road was closed to the general public, and [they] were escorted out of the area,” the report states.

Kevin Roark, a spokesman for Los Alamos, confirmed that the incident took place and said no apparent compromise of security occurred.

Pajarito Road also is the site of two sensitive facilities, Mr. Roark said. One is the Critical Assembly Facility known as Technical Area-18, and the other is the Plutonium Research Facility, known as Technical Area-55.

Both facilities are used for classified nuclear-weapons activities at Los Alamos, part of the Energy Department’s nuclear-weapons program.

“They were asked for identification. They were briefly questioned as to what they were up to. Their vehicle was searched, and after that, they were promptly escorted off the road,” Mr. Roark said.

He declined to comment on whether the FBI was notified. An FBI spokesman could not be reached for comment.

A State Department official said the Chinese diplomats did not notify the department’s Office of Foreign Missions before the visit to Los Alamos, a violation of U.S. rules.

Chinese diplomats are barred from traveling outside a 25-mile radius of their embassy or consulate and must obtain permission from the State Department before any other travel.

Xiao Mei, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, said the two diplomats were visiting New Mexico in preparation for the visit to Santa Fe by a Chinese official.

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