‘This case shows once again that CCP espionage can happen anywhere in America and we must be vigilant,’ said Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.).
Federal prosecutors have charged five Chinese nationals with allegedly lying and trying to conceal their actions, more than a year after authorities spotted them near a remote Michigan military site where thousands of troops had gathered for summer drills.
The five defendants, who were undergraduate students at the University of Michigan at the time of the incident in August 2023, left the United States after graduating in May, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Oct. 1. Arrest warrants have been issued for the five individuals.
“The defendants are not in custody. Should they come into contact with U.S. authorities, they will be arrested and face these charges,” Gina Balaya, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit, said on Oct. 2.
The incident happened at Camp Grayling, the largest Army National Guard training facility in the United States, during last summer’s annual Northern Strike training event.
According to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, more than 7,000 participants from 25 states, one territory, and four countries took part in the military exercises.
The five defendants are not charged for what happened at Camp Grayling. Instead, they are accused of misleading investigators about their trip to the location and conspiring to delete photos from their cellphones.
The case highlights concerns in Congress about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) espionage efforts, either through buying land near U.S. military sites or breaching military bases.
In 2020, three Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison terms for trespassing and taking photos of the Naval Air Station Key West in Florida.
In July, a Chinese student pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors under the Espionage Act for using a drone to take photos of naval shipyards in Virginia.
Encounter
The five defendants are Xu Zhekai, Guan Renxiang, Zhu Haoming, Tao Jingzhe, and Liang Yi, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 13, 2023, the five were confronted after midnight at a boat launch on Bear Lake at Camp Grayling by a sergeant major with the Utah National Guard. According to the FBI, one of the defendants said, “We are media,” before they gathered their belongings and agreed to leave the area.
By Frank Fang
