UT Medical Branch had deal with Wuhan lab

 Washington Examiner Reports:

The Wuhan Institute of Virology had an agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Galveston National Laboratory to collaborate on scientific research, with the Chinese lab entitled to ask the Texas lab to “destroy” any “secret files.”

The revelation provides further details about how the Chinese government lab, which at least one U.S. intelligence agency regards as the most likely origin of the coronavirus pandemic, maintained relationships with U.S. government-funded institutions as it conducted its coronavirus research.

U.S. Right to Know obtained and published the late 2017 memorandum of understanding this week.

“All cooperation and exchanges documents, data, details, and materials shall be treated as confidential information by the parties,” the agreement said. “The confidentiality obligation shall be applicable throughout the duration of this MoU and after it has been terminated. The party is entitled to ask the other to destroy and/or return the secret files, materials, and equipment without any backups.”

It was signed by UTMB “coordinator” James LeDuc and WIV “coordinator” Zhiming Yuan.

“The Galveston National Laboratory is a national biocontainment laboratory built at the University of Texas Medical Branch by the National Institutes of Health and the State of Texas to help combat global health threats,” Christopher Smith Gonzalez, director of media relations at UTMB, told the Washington Examiner. “As a government-funded entity, UTMB complies with all applicable public information law obligations, including the preservation of all documentation of its research and findings.”

…

There is much more on the Washington Examiner site.  

UTMB has a good reputation in Texas as a research hospital.  Galveston is on an island south of the Houston metro area.  UTMB also has facilities at the Houston Medical Center near Rice University. The agreement expires this year and is not expected to be renewed.

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