Five former University of Michigan students have been arrested and charged with concealing espionage at a National Guard training center in Michigan, People's Republic of China, where training operations with the Taiwanese military were taking place.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Oct. 1, the former students, all Chinese nationals, confronted a Utah National Guard sergeant near a lake at Camp Grayling in the middle of the night in August 2023.
They told the sergeant that they had come with the media to photograph the meteor shower and believed they were at the campsite. They then took their belongings and left.
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According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, the former students, all Chinese nationals, confronted a Utah National Guard sergeant near a lake at Camp Grayling in August 2023. (Paul Welitzkin/Gaylord Herald Times/USA Today Network)
But four months later, one of the men, Renshan Guan, was questioned by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at Detroit Metropolitan Airport before traveling to South Korea and China.
The suspect told investigators that he and the suspect had traveled to northern Michigan to see shooting stars, but could not remember where they went.
CBP officers then searched his electronic devices and found images of the Grayling military facility, including military vehicles and other equipment. Data on the external hard drive shows the photo was taken during a live-fire exercise, about two hours before the sergeant encountered the students.
The remaining four were interviewed after arriving in Chicago on a flight from Iceland in March. They told investigators they were also in northern Michigan in August 2023 to see the meteor shower, according to court documents cited by the FBI.
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On August 1, 2024, the People's Liberation Army Honor Guard holds a flag-raising ceremony at Bayi Square to celebrate the 97th anniversary of Army Day in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. (Ma Yue/VCG, Getty Images)
In WeChat messages in a group chat between Chinese people, people discussed erasing photos from cameras and cell phones.
They are charged with making false statements to investigators, conspiracy, and destruction and falsification of records in an attempt to cover their tracks by deleting data.
According to local reports, the Chinese nationals are still on the run and are believed to have returned to China. The other four are named Zhekai Xu, Haoming Zhu, Jingzhe Tao, and Yi Liang.
The students attended the university as part of a joint program with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. They graduated in May, according to the complaint.
Rep. John Moolener (R-Mich.) said the incident reveals the serious threat this country faces from Chinese spies.
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A sign at the University of Michigan North Campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 30, 2019. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
“This incident once again shows that Chinese Communist Party espionage can occur anywhere in the United States, and we must remain vigilant,” Moolener said in a statement. “The Chinese Communist Party clearly has an interest in Camp Grayling, and this is further evidence that Michigan's leaders are wrong to allow Goshon to be built in the state.”
Chinese company Goshon plans to manufacture electric vehicle batteries at a factory in Green Charter Township, Mecosta County.
“State funding of Gothion's plan to bring Chinese to Mecosta County is an open invitation to further espionage at Camp Grayling. For national security reasons, Governor Whitmer and Congress must immediately revoke state funding for Gothion,” said Congress President Moulenard. Special Committee on China.
“Furthermore…my committee recently released a report on research security at our nation’s universities. All of our universities should close joint research institutes with Chinese universities and implement stricter guardrails for research in emerging technologies.” “American universities must recognize that they are targets of espionage” and protect the important research that taxpayers are funding. ”
