18.6 C
Athens
Τρίτη, 5 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Worker at Canada’s largest electricity producer charged with spying for China, police say

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

An employee at Canada’s largest electricity producer Hydro-Quebec who was involved in researching battery materials has been charged with espionage for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets to benefit China, Canadian police said on Monday.

Chinese-Canadian relations have been choppy in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of industrial espionage. Earlier this month, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security.

Yuesheng Wang, 35, who worked at the state-owned firm as a researcher in battery materials, will appear on Tuesday in court in Longueuil, Quebec, police said in a statement.

He is to face four charges including obtaining trade secrets, unauthorized computer use, fraud for obtaining trade secrets, and breach of trust by public officer, it said.

“While employed by Hydro-Quebec, Mr. Wang allegedly obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

- Advertisement -

Wang, who is from Candiac in the province of Quebec, allegedly committed the crimes at the electricity utility from February 2018 to October 2022. An RCMP special national security unit began investigating in August, police said.

Wang worked for a Hydro-Quebec research unit devoted to developing battery materials that has teamed up with industry players including the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

He started working there in 2016 and was fired this month, the company said.

“Damage was limited by our internal detection mechanisms,” said Hydro-Quebec spokeswoman Caroline Des Rosiers, who declined to detail what information he had allegedly tried to steal.

A lawyer for Wang could not immediately be located for comment.

“Wang allegedly used this position to conduct research for a Chinese University and other Chinese research centers. He reportedly published scientific articles and submitted patents in association with this foreign actor, rather than with Hydro-Quebec,” an RCMP spokesman said.

Dominic Roy, senior director for corporate security at Hydro-Quebec, said no organisation was immune to such incidents.

“We must therefore constantly remain vigilant and transparent,” he said in a statement.

Police said Hydro-Quebec was cooperating fully in the investigation.

TRUDEAU AND XI
Canada is seeking to scale up its own production and processing of critical minerals so it can produce electric vehicle batteries and battery materials domestically. China is the world’s dominant supplier of EV battery materials.

“The fact that this alleged espionage was with respect to the battery ecosystem just reminds me how careful we’ll need to be,” Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters.

Tensions between Canada and China have been running high since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 over charges of bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to break U.S. sanctions.

Beijing’s subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges. All three were subsequently released.

Canada’s announcement of a new Indo-Pacific strategy to challenge China on human rights issues has also weighed on diplomatic ties. Meanwhile the countries are cooperating on climate change and other shared goals.

News of the arrest came as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a G20 meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also attending.

Spokespeople for Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino had no immediate comment.

When asked about Wang’s arrest during a regular briefing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she was not aware of the situation, adding that “the Canadian side should deal with such cases in accordance with the law and not politicise them.”

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Pakistan is third worst nation globally in terms of law and order: World Justice Project index

In the latest World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index for 2024, Pakistan has been ranked 140th out of 142 countries, making it...

EU raises concern over Chinese aggression in Taiwan

The European Commission in a report raised concern over China's aggression against Taiwan and suggested that the EU step up exchanges with Taipei, Taipei...

Taiwan detects 6 Chinese military aircraft, 9 vessels around territory

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity near the island on Tuesday and said that by 6 am (local time), six...

China Tries to Blot out Tibetan Criticism of Mining Firm’s Damage to the Environment 

Chinese censors are trying to prevent people from viewing posts that allege severe environmental damage in Tibet caused by sand mining. A young Tibetan man...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Aποκλειστικό: Σοκ στην Τουρκία-Εκδήλωση για την συμμαχία Ισραήλ-Κουρδιστάν!-Ομιλητές από Ισραήλ,Τουρκία,Γαλλία & ΗΠΑ!

Δείτε τι αναφέρουν τουρκικά ΜΜΕ: ''Ενώ οι αδιάκοπες σφαγές του Ισραήλ συνεχίζονται στη Λωρίδα της Γάζας και στον Λίβανο, ο σιωνιστικός στρατός έχει βάλει στο...

Αποκλειστικό-Στα ”κάγκελα” οι Τούρκοι: ”Ο Πομπέο έδωσε υποσχέσεις στην Αθήνα-Μήνυμα κατά της Τουρκίας!”

Δείτε τι αναφέρει τουρκικό ΜΜΕ: ''Ο Πομπέο φέρεται να έφτασε μυστικά στην Αθήνα, όπου δείπνησε με τον πρωθυπουργό Κυριάκο Μητσοτάκη σε γνωστό εστιατόριο της περιοχής...

Αποκλειστικό-Τούρκοι: ”Κάνουμε ασκήσεις με τους Αλβανούς & στέλνουμε μήνυμα στην προκλητική Ελλάδα!”-Εμείς επιτρέψαμε στον Ράμα να μιλήσει στην Θεσσαλονίκη!

Δείτε τι αναφέρει τουρκικό ΜΜΕ: ''Η Αλβανία και η Τουρκία αυξάνουν τη στρατιωτική συνεργασία και τη διαλειτουργικότητα με ναυτικές αμφίβιες ασκήσεις σε ένα σαφές...

Αποκλειστικό: Χρηματοδότης του ISIS εξασφάλισε την τουρκική υπηκοότητα με εντολή Ερντογάν: Στέλνει τρομοκράτες στην Ευρώπη μέσω Ελλάδας! – Όλα τα ονόματα – Εικόνες

Απόρρητα έγγραφα που εξασφάλισε το Nordic Monitor αποκάλυψαν ότι ένας χρηματοδότης του Ισλαμικού Κράτους στο Ιράκ και τη Συρία (ISIS), ο οποίος βοηθά επίσης...