A week after a bombshell report that China interfered with the Canadian 2019 election, the RCMP has charged an alleged Chinese spy with espionage.
“An RCMP investigation has led to the arrest and charges against Yuesheng Wang, age 35, from Candiac. While employed by Hydro-Québec, Mr. Wang allegedly obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” the RCMP said.
The RCMP further stated the investigation into Wang started in August “after receiving a complaint from Hydro-Québec’s corporate security branch.”
“Mr. Wang will appear tomorrow at the Longueuil courthouse to face four charges under the Security of Information Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.”
Those charges include the following:
- S. 19 R.S.C – Obtaining trade secrets
- S. 342.1 CC – Unauthorized use of computer
- S. 391 CC – Fraud for obtaining trade secrets
- S. 122 CC – Breach of trust by public officer
Wang’s profile on ResearchGate says he holds “interest in High capacity, high voltage novel Cathodes Materials for lithium ion batteries.”
The webpage also says he has worked at Hydro-Quebec as a researcher since 2016.
This arrest comes just days after a bombshell report from Sam Cooper of Global News uncovering a report the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada’s spy agency, gave to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January 2022.
The report said China’s Toronto Consulate secretly funded at least 11 Chinese Communist Party-affiliated (CCP) candidates in Canada’s 2019 federal election.
“The Chinese Communist Party … is using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty,” CSIS said, as reported by Cooper.
CSIS didn’t say which candidates were funded, but the list includes Liberals and Conservatives. The agency also wouldn’t say whether it thought the CCP changed the outcome of the 2019 Canadian federal election.
