Source: Zero Hedge
Hunter Biden’s private equity firm invested millions of dollars in a Chinese state-owned nuclear power plant operator whose French partner warned the White House that the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province was in danger of an “imminent radiological threat” due to a build-up of noble gasses in the cooling system of one of the facility’s two reactors, according to the National Pulse.
The incident has been downplayed by the Biden administration, which told CNN that the facility is not yet at a “crisis level,” and does not pose a severe safety threat to workers at the plant or Chinese public. But is there more to it?
As the National Pulse‘s Natalie Winters reported on Monday:
The Biden team’s lack of concern comes as the primary operator of the China-based plant – China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) – counts millions in investment from Hunter Biden.
BHR Partners – the private equity firm where Hunter Biden served as a director since 2013 – was a $10 million cornerstone investor in CGN’s initial public offering. Occurring in 2014, the IPO was the second largest of the entire year, valued at over $3 billion.
The company, which Hunter Biden reportedly retains a sizable stake in, still lists GCN as part of its portfolio on its website.
What’s more, in 2017 a CGN consultant was sentenced to two years in prison by the DOJ for approaching and enlisting “U.S. based nuclear experts to provide integral assistance in developing and producing special nuclear material in China,” and “did so without registering with the Department of Justice as an agent of a foreign nation or authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy.”
“Theft of our nuclear technology by foreign adversaries is of paramount concern to the FBI. Along with our local, state and federal partners, we will aggressively investigate those who seek to steal our technology for the benefit of foreign governments,” said FBI Special Agent Renae McDermott at the time.
As we noted on Monday, the US government is analyzing a reported leak at a China’s Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, after a French company that co-owns and helps operate it warned of an “imminent radiological threat,” according to CNN, citing US officials and documents reviewed by the outlet.
According to AFP, “EDF reported earlier a build-up of noble gases in one of the two reactors’ primary circuits, which is part of the cooling system,” adding “Noble gases are elements which have low chemical reactivity — in this case it was xenon and krypton.”
#UPDATE A Chinese nuclear company has deliberately released gas from a power plant into the atmosphere within authorised limits, as it seeks to fix an issue at the facility, its French partner EDF said Monday https://t.co/hFaZCnjXaO #Taishan pic.twitter.com/2H8wXvmzt3
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 14, 2021
“The gas was released after the coating on some fuel rods had deteriorated, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named.”
According to Bloomberg, the French firm has called for an “extraordinary board meeting with majority owner China General Nuclear Power Corp., to discuss the increased concentration of inert gases at the Unit 1 reactor in Guangdong.”
