Canadian police on Monday charged an employee at the country’s largest electricity producer, Hydro-Québec, for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets for China.
Yuesheng Wang, 35, has been charged with four criminal charges, including conspiring to spy on his employer and illegally working for Chinese institutions while also being employed at Hydro-Québec.
Wang has conducted research on battery materials for the company’s Centre of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, which focuses on the development of technology for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, for over six years.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Wang started committing the crimes back in 2018, but the police only began putting the case together this August, when Hydro-Québec’s corporate security branch filed a complaint accusing Wang of illegally obtaining proprietary information. The company said it had terminated Wang’s employment earlier this month “for serious violations to the company’s code of ethics.”
“Our detection and intervention mechanisms allowed our investigators to bring this matter to the attention of the RCMP, with whom we have worked closely ever since,” said Dominic Roy, a higher-up in charge of corporate security at Hydro-Québec, the province’s government-owned energy provider.
Roy added that “No organisation is safe from a situation like this one, which is why we must always remain vigilant and transparent, and we must not tolerate violations of the company’s code of ethics.”
Charges are as follows under the Security of Information Act and Criminal Code of Canada:
— Mercedes Stephenson (@MercedesGlobal) November 14, 2022
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
In its own statement, the RCMP said it “has a mandate to detect and disrupt foreign interference attempts,” adding that the Hydro-Québec is an essential Canadian entity and “a strategic interest to be protected.”
Wang, whose nationality status remains unclear as of now, appeared at the Longueuil courthouse on Tuesday morning via video conference link and requested a Mandarin interpreter.
Wang’s lawyer, Gary Martin, has described the case as “unprecedented” due to the charges against Wang, which include “fraud, unauthorised use of a computer, breach of trust by a public officer, and obtaining trade secrets,” a charge levied under the Security of Information Act (SIA).
Martin told reporters that the bail process will take longer than normal due to the nature of the accusations. “More disclosure will be coming. These are the first steps of the procedure,” Martin said. “He has his version of things that will be established.… We can’t speculate,” he added.
RCMP Inspector David Beaudoin confirmed that the case marks the first time such a charge has been laid in Canada since it was passed by the country’s legislature more than two decades ago.
Quebec man has been arrested by the RCMP and accused of being a Chinese spy while working for Hydro-Quebec.
— Joe Lofaro (@giuseppelo) November 14, 2022
Yuesheng Wang, 35, allegedly “obtained trade secrets to benefit the People's Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada's economic interests,” according to the RCMP. pic.twitter.com/zQegWayrvv
However, he noted that such charges may become “more common in the future,” as “awareness is becoming more widespread across companies associated with critical infrastructures.”
Beaudoin revealed during a press conference in Montreal that Wang had “allegedly used his position to conduct research for a Chinese university and other Chinese research centres,” which he said undermined Canada’s economic interests.
He added that Wang had also “reportedly published scientific articles and submitted patents in association with this foreign actor, rather than with Hydro-Québec.”
The charge could result in a maximum jail sentence of 10 years.
Prosecutors have argued against the 35-year-old’s release on bail, with Crown prosecutor Marc Cigana raising concerns that there exists a “serious” possibility that Wang would flee the country if he were released on bail.
Recent reports of a Hydro-Quebec employee charged with espionage put a spotlight on the deep-rooted encroachment of the CCP into Canada's affairs. What more will it take for the Trudeau govt to wake up to the threat of this malign regime? pic.twitter.com/5gMEfqAgPh
— Senator Don Plett (@DonPlett) November 15, 2022
However, Cigana stopped short of calling Wang an accused Chinese spy. “Mr. Wang is accused of economic espionage, but I won’t qualify him. He is a human being who is presumed innocent, who is facing these charges,” Cigana said.
Interestingly, however, the charges against Wang come just a few days after the Canadian government ordered three Chinese companies to divest from the country’s critical minerals sector due to national security concerns.
Tina Zhu, a member of the Chinese-Canada Friendship Association who was present at the hearing, remarked that “these kinds of things” seriously impact Canada and China’s relationship and such cases could lead to a spike in discrimination against the Chinese community in Canada.
This latest episode is likely to further strain bilateral ties, given that the Trudeau administration has ramped up its criticism of Chinese electoral interference, which reportedly formed part of the Canadian PM’s discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping along the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali this week.