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

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

The former students, all Chinese nationals, were confronted by a sergeant major of the Utah National Guard in August 2023 after midnight near a lake at Camp Grayling, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court Oct. 1.

They told the sergeant major they were with the media photographing a meteor shower and believed they were in a campground. They then took their belongings and left. 

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The former students, all Chinese nationals, were confronted by a sergeant major with the Utah National Guard in August 2023 near a lake at Camp Grayling, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. (Paul Welitzkin/Gaylord Herald Times/USA Today Network)

But four months later, one of the men, Renxiang Guan, was interviewed by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport before traveling to South Korea and China. 

He told investigators he and others had taken a trip to northern Michigan to see shooting stars, but he was unable to recall where they went.

CBP officers then searched his electronic devices and found images of the Grayling Military Installation, including military vehicles and other equipment. The data from an external hard drive showed the photographs had been taken during the time that live firing exercises were taking place, around two hours before the sergeant major encountered the students. 

The other four men were interviewed in March after arriving in Chicago on a flight from Iceland. They told investigators they too were in northern Michigan in August 2023, but it was to see a meteor shower, according to court documents citing the FBI.

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

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

They have been charged with giving false statements to investigators, conspiracy and the destruction and falsification of records as they tried to cover their tracks by deleting data.

The Chinese nationals remain at large and are understood to have returned to China, according to local reports. The other four individuals are named as 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 Moolenaar, R-Mich., says the case exposes the serious threat the nation faces from Chinese spies. 

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

"This case shows once again that CCP espionage can happen anywhere in America, and we must be vigilant," Moolenaar said in a statement. "The CCP obviously has an interest in Camp Grayling, and this is further evidence it would be a mistake for Michigan leaders to allow Gotion to build in our state." 

Gotion, a Chinese company, plans to manufacture electric vehicle batteries at a plant in Green Charter Township in Mecosta County.

"State funding for Gotion’s plan to bring Chinese nationals to Mecosta County is an open invitation for further spying on Camp Grayling. For national security reasons, Gov. Whitmer and the legislature must revoke state funding for Gotion immediately," said Moolenaar, chair of the Select Committee on China.

"Additionally … my committee recently issued a report on research security at our nation’s universities. 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."