A former Canada Space Agency employee has been charged following a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into allegations that he was secretly working for a Chinese aerospace company while employed by the Canadian government. Wanping Zheng was fired by the space agency in 2019 after suspicions arose. The CSA and RCMP subsequently collaborated on the investigation.
Canada charges former space agency engineer
Details on what Zheng is accused of doing are scant as the case is ongoing and the Canada Space Agency declined to elaborate on the allegations.
The 61-year-old is described as hailing from Brossard, Quebec but he obviously has a Chinese name. Whether he was born in Canada or China was not explained by the RCMP.
The engineer used his position in the space agency to negotiate a deal for the construction of satellite stations in Iceland while promoting the interest of the Chinese company.
The RCMP is responsible for investigating foreign interference in the country and countering attempts to undermine the government and economy of Canada.
The deal Zheng arranged on behalf of the Chinese company is clearly an act of economic espionage but it also makes the engineer an asset of a foreign government.
Spacey, the company Zheng was working for, has ties to the Chinese government and its space program. The links are likely more extensive than Spacey would admit to officially.
Chinese espionage
The Canada Space Agency is considered as part of Canada’s critical infrastructure and of vital strategic importance by the RCMP.
Chinese espionage in Western countries is believed to be very widespread and aerospace technology is a favorite for Chinese agents hoping to steal foreign secrets and knowledge.
The case highlights the fact that much of this espionage can look very inconspicuous. On the surface Zheng was a productive and longtime employee of the Canada Space Agency.
He was not technically employed by the Chinese government but he was, through his actions, undermining the Canadian economy and strengthening China’s.
NASA has encountered similar issues with individuals covertly tied to Beijing and most have probably not been caught by the agency yet.
Whatever Zheng’s motive and background was, it seems almost certain that the engineer was being used to leech off of the Canada Space Agency on behalf of its Chinese counterpart.
