Chinese University of Michigan students charged after allegedly spying on military base

Five former University of Michigan students have been charged after they were caught allegedly covering up spying on a National Guard grooming halfway in Michigan for the People's Republic of China (PRC) portion a training cognition with the Taiwanese subject was taking place.

The erstwhile students, each Chinese nationals, were confronted by a sergeant large of the Utah National Guard successful August 2023 aft midnight adjacent a water astatine Camp Grayling, according to a transgression ailment filed successful national tribunal Oct. 1.

They told the sergeant large they were with the media photographing a meteor ablution and believed they were successful a campground. They past took their belongings and left. 

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The erstwhile students, each Chinese nationals, were confronted by a sergeant large with the Utah National Guard successful August 2023 adjacent a water astatine Camp Grayling, according to a transgression ailment filed successful national court. (Paul Welitzkin/Gaylord Herald Times/USA Today Network)

But 4 months later, 1 of the men, Renxiang Guan, was interviewed by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers astatine the Detroit Metropolitan Airport earlier traveling to South Korea and China. 

He told investigators helium and others had taken a travel to bluish Michigan to spot shooting stars, but helium was incapable to callback wherever they went.

CBP officers past searched his physics devices and recovered images of the Grayling Military Installation, including subject vehicles and different equipment. The information from an outer hard thrust showed the photographs had been taken during the clip that unrecorded firing exercises were taking place, astir 2 hours earlier the sergeant large encountered the students. 

The different 4 men were interviewed successful March aft arriving successful Chicago connected a formation from Iceland. They told investigators they excessively were successful bluish Michigan successful August 2023, but it was to spot a meteor shower, according to tribunal documents citing the FBI.

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The Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army performs a flag-raising ceremonial astatine Bayi Square to observe the 97th day of China's Army Day Aug. 1, 2024, successful Nanchang, Jiangxi Province of China. (Ma Yue/VCG via Getty Images)

WeChat messages successful a radical chat among the Chinese nationals discussed clearing photos from their cameras and phones.

They person been charged with giving mendacious statements to investigators, conspiracy and the demolition and falsification of records arsenic they tried to screen their tracks by deleting data.

The Chinese nationals stay astatine ample and are understood to person returned to China, according to section reports. The different 4 individuals are named arsenic Zhekai Xu, Haoming Zhu, Jingzhe Tao and Yi Liang.

The students attended the assemblage arsenic portion of a associated programme with Shanghai Jiao Tong University successful China. They graduated successful May, according to the complaint. 

Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., says the lawsuit exposes the superior menace the federation faces from Chinese spies. 

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A University of Michigan North Campus motion successful Ann Arbor, Mich., July 30, 2019.  (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)

"This lawsuit shows erstwhile again that CCP espionage tin hap anyplace successful America, and we indispensable beryllium vigilant," Moolenaar said successful a statement. "The CCP evidently has an involvement successful Camp Grayling, and this is further evidence it would beryllium a mistake for Michigan leaders to let Gotion to physique successful our state." 

Gotion, a Chinese company, plans to manufacture electrical conveyance batteries astatine a works successful Green Charter Township successful Mecosta County.

"State backing for Gotion’s program to bring Chinese nationals to Mecosta County is an unfastened invitation for further spying connected Camp Grayling. For nationalist information reasons, Gov. Whitmer and the legislature indispensable revoke authorities backing for Gotion immediately," said Moolenaar, seat of the Select Committee connected China.

"Additionally … my committee precocious issued a study connected research security astatine our nation’s universities. All of our nation’s universities indispensable unopen down their associated institutes with Chinese universities and enact stricter guardrails connected emerging exertion research. American universities indispensable recognize they are a people for espionage and support the captious taxpayer-funded probe they do."