A federal judge just banned a Chinese graduate student from studying in Ontario because he feared Beijing would encourage him to spy. The affair will certainly have “ripple effects” on other universities in Canada and Quebec.
Yuekang Li had been accepted to a doctorate in engineering at the University of Waterloo, where he would have specialized in microfluidic technology. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) denied him a visa: Beijing encourages Chinese researchers to study abroad to collect information for its Chinese military-industrial complex.
An act of “non-traditional espionage”
The student quickly challenged IRCC's refusal in court. In his decision, Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton agreed with the IRCC's view that the research Li wants to conduct in Canada amounts to “non-traditional espionage.”
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has warned for years that Beijing is threatening Canada's national security and intellectual property in sensitive areas, including biopharmaceuticals. In a secret report obtained by the Globe and Mail, CSIS said Beijing was using Canada as an alternative because some of its students were no longer allowed to study in the United States. Since 2020, Washington has banned a large number of Chinese students and postdoctoral researchers from entering American universities.
Another case of Chinese scientific espionage
Will we one day learn the details of a blatant case of Chinese scientific espionage that has been under investigation since 2019?
The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada's main virus research center, has for years allowed some Chinese scientists to conduct virus research there. They were abruptly removed from their posts in July 2019. Her whereabouts have been a mystery ever since.
The two Chinese researchers were fired after sending samples of the Ebola and Henipah viruses to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The Public Health Agency of Canada said it had brought the matter to the attention of the RCMP but declined to comment further.
Extraordinary, right? Two scientists working for the Chinese army were able to join the research teams at the Winnipeg laboratory. One of them was even responsible for a part of the program on specific pathogens. Canada's largest infectious disease laboratory supported the Chinese army's virus research.
The Conservatives, the NDP and the Bloc Québécois demanded that the government explain the reasons for the dismissal of the two Chinese scientists. Justin Trudeau dodged the questions and called them racist.
Whats become of you? It can be assumed that they have decided to cooperate with the RCMP and/or CSIS in exchange for political asylum in Canada. As of March 2023, the RCMP was still investigating her but declined to say more.
The commission's public hearings on Chinese political interference in Canada are scheduled to begin on January 29. Judge Marie-Josée Hogue must also examine Ottawa's ability to detect, prevent and combat this interference. I hope that Judge Hogue will also shed light on this matter.