⁍ Chinese staff departed China’s Houston consulate to a jeering crowd on Friday.

---

⁍ The U.S. government ordered the building closed, calling it a hub for spying on American companies and researchers.

---

⁍ About 100 protesters shouted ‘take back China,’ denounced the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

---

– The US has shut down China’s consulate in Houston, accusing it of being a hub for Chinese spying on American companies and researchers. Staffers left the building Friday afternoon as protesters jeered, Reuters reports. “We want to end the CCP, take back China, and build a nation like America,” said a 34-year-old protester from New York. “I grew up in mainland China and have seen how the CCP lies.” Other protesters included supporters of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group. The five-story building was the latest flashpoint between Beijing and Washington over trade, the novel coronavirus pandemic, and military maneuvers in Southeast Asia. The building closed for official business earlier in the week. US officials said the consulate was one of the worst offenders in terms of Chinese espionage in the US. They also linked its staff to China’s pursuit of a vaccine for the new coronavirus. “The vaccine is the latest,’ he said. “They lie, they take,’ he said. Consulate staff had duties in eight southern US states. The building closed for official business earlier in the week. Houston is a major medical hub known for top-notch research on cancer, infectious diseases, and since the pandemic hit this year, vaccines for the coronavirus, which first emerged in China late last year. The city is also home to dozens of oil and gas producers that develop technologies used around the world.