Chinese consulate in Houston appears to burn top secret documents after US ordered the office closed скачать в хорошем качестве

Chinese consulate in Houston appears to burn top secret documents after US ordered the office closed

A fire truck outside a Chinese consulate as workers 'burned top-secret documents' after the United States ordered the office to close its doors. Police officers responded to a firefighter call at approximately 8.25pm on Tuesday at the China Consulate General in Houston, Texas. The consulate is located in a Houston building a 3417 Montrose Boulevard, the Houston Police Department explained. "Smoke was observed in an outside courtyard area. Officers were not granted access to enter the building," the police department tweeted. "Since HPD is not a lead agency in the matter, no other information is being released by our department at this time." Witnesses reportedly saw burning papers in garbage cans on the roof of the building. On Wednesday morning, the US said China was ordered to close the consulate in Houston “to protect American intellectual property" and private information of US citizens. However, China criticiSed the order - seemingly prompting papers to be burned at the consulate at night. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they were not allowed to enter. According to the New York Times, the US only gave the Chinese consulate in Houston 72 hours to close. The order to close was reportedly due to “massive illegal spying and influence operations.” Consulate employees and those who live on a compound nearby are being evicted at 4pm on Friday, a police source told KPRC 2. US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus released a short statement without revealing why the Chinese consulate was ordered to close. “The United States will not tolerate (China’s) violations of our sovereignty and intimidation of our people, just as we have not tolerated (its) unfair trade practices, theft of American jobs, and other egregious behaviour," the statement read. Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin slammed the move as "outrageous and unjustified." Read more Dramatic scenes show fire truck at Chinese consulate as workers BURN top secret documents after US ordered office closed https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1219377... From Brexit breaking news to HD movie trailers, The Sun newspaper brings you the latest news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world. Become a Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook:   / thesun   Follow The Sun on Twitter:   / thesun   Subscribe to The Sun on Snapchat:   / 1633225139