Five Chinese nationals have been charged after they were caught spying on Camp Grayling, a National Guard training facility located in Grayling, Michigan, and lying to cover their tracks.
The Chinese nationals were in the country legally as students at the University of Michigan as part of a joint program with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, and have since graduated.
“This case shows once again that [Chinese Communist Party] CCP espionage can happen anywhere in America and we must be vigilant,” said House CCP Committee Chair Rep. John Moolenaar (Mich).
“All of our nation’s universities must shut down their joint institutes with Chinese universities, and enact stricter guardrails on emerging technology research. American universities must realize they are a target for espionage and protect the critical taxpayer-funded research they do,” he added.
The five Chinese nationals, Zhekai Xu, Renxiang Guan, Haoming Zhu, Jingzhe Tao, and Yi Liang, were caught spying on the base last August during a massive joint National Guard training operation with the Taiwanese military.
Initially, they faced no charges and claimed to be media photographing a meteor shower. They claimed to be unaware that there were any military vehicles in the area and that they believed they were in a campground.
That turned out to be a lie.
Investigators were able to recover some images of military vehicles from Guan’s external hard drive, which demonstrated that the Chinese national spies were more interested in photographing American military equipment than atmospheric phenomena.
The photos were taken just hours before the Chinese nationals were discovered by a Sergeant Major with headlamps taking photos at the base.
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The men now face charges of lying to law enforcement investigators and attempting to conceal the evidence by deleting incriminating photos.
The Chinese nationals remain at large, as the new charges have come over a year after they were initially apprehended and released.
“The defendants are not in custody. Should they come into contact with U.S. authorities, they will be arrested and face these charges,” said US Attorney’s Office in Detroit spokeswoman Gina Balaya.
The men graduated from the University of Michigan in May and have reportedly returned to China, making it extremely unlikely that they will ever face the charges leveled against them.
Michigan isn’t the only place where U.S. officials have expressed concerns about Chinese nationals potentially spying on sensitive infrastructure and military properties.
Texas officials have in recent years sounded the alarm over a concerning pattern of Chinese nationals buying up land near military installations.
Here in Maine, the Maine Wire’s exclusive investigative reporting has shown that Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations have purchased hundreds of properties throughout Maine, including properties close to a U.S. Army facility in Dexter and a Maine National Guard training facility in Woodville.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has on multiple occasions raised the potential national security implications of Chinese organized crime operations in Maine with various federal intelligence community officials.
So far, however, very little has been done at the state or federal level to confront Chinese-controlled properties located near military facilities and sensitive infrastructure.
When Americans are accused of spying in other countries they put them in jail and wait for Uncle Sam to send cash. When foreigners are caught spying here we give a diploma and send them home. Thanks joe great country you got going there.
It’s time to catch PR China’s spy and send them to a jail!