Sister defends Waterloo student arrested by FBI on espionage-linked charges

Weiheng Zeng, a University of Waterloo student, was arrested at the U.S. border and charged with making false statements in an FBI counter-intelligence probe.

Family pushes back as FBI charges University of Waterloo student over airport photos

The sister of a University of Waterloo student arrested in an FBI counter-intelligence investigation has publicly denied her brother knowingly worked as a spy for Beijing.

"If my brother is a Chinese spy, then I'm Trump's father," Meixuan Wang, who also goes by the name Jade, wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.

Google News CA — Crime (EN) reports that Weiheng Zeng — a Chinese citizen born in 2004 and enrolled in Waterloo's global business and digital arts program — was arrested last month while trying to cross the U.S. border from Windsor, Ont. He was charged with making false statements amid an FBI counter-intelligence probe.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Michigan, Zeng admitted to accepting paid assignments from a person he believed to be connected to a Chinese security service. Court documents say he was directed to photograph aircraft and tail numbers at airport facilities, receiving $20–30 US per image.

Security camera footage cited in the complaint appears to show a man climbing a forklift, attempting to open a locked FedEx truck, and photographing aircraft from a parking lot at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in April. Zeng also told investigators he had trespassed and taken pictures at a FedEx facility at Toronto's Pearson International Airport the previous year, at the request of the same unidentified individual.

"The allegations amount to espionage-type activities," prosecutor Alyse Wu told the Detroit court. Gina Balaya, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, confirmed to CBC News by email that the case remains under active investigation.

On his public Instagram account — where Zeng goes by the first name Billy — he describes himself as a photography lover and lists his expected graduation year as 2028. His profile includes photographs of planes, among them Canadian military aircraft apparently taken at a 2024 air show.

Wang told the Globe and Mail that her brother has autism spectrum disorder and is obsessed with airplanes. She said he may not have understood the severity of his situation when questioned by U.S. border officers. Wang declined a CBC News interview request.

Rhonda Brazile, a court-appointed federal defender listed as Zeng's lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment. Zeng is scheduled to appear in court again next week. He remains in custody and did not request release on bond.

RCMP spokesperson Camille Boily-Lavoie said the Mounties are aware of the case but declined to confirm whether they are involved in the FBI's investigation. CSIS referred questions to the RCMP.

The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa issued a statement on Wednesday, with an unnamed spokesperson saying Beijing "firmly opposes hyping up the so-called 'China spy threat' and baseless speculations and smears against China."

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, an Ottawa-based advisory board member at the China Strategic Risks Institute, said she feels some sympathy for Zeng. "I'm sure he didn't realize when he was doing this what he was getting into," she said in an interview earlier this week. McCuaig-Johnston added that China's Ministry of State Security routinely enlists students abroad to gather information and photographs that could prove useful to Beijing's intelligence agencies. "They don't have to use their own people to find out this information, and so they have deniability," she said.

Michel Juneau-Katsuya, former chief of the Asia-Pacific unit at CSIS, said individuals who agree to carry out paid tasks for intelligence organizations are referred to in the industry as "co-optees." "The question is, is [Zeng] a spy or is he somebody who was recruited to do a job for a spy?" Juneau-Katsuya said. "And it sounds like maybe he's the latter."

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)