Chinese students face US charges for 'lying to FBI'
A contingent of exchange students from Shanghai toured a Michigan National Guard base, where Taiwanese troops were undergoing training. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Five Chinese nationals have been accused of deceiving the FBI and destroying evidence related to potential misconduct after being found near the largest National Guard training base in the United States.
A federal court filed a criminal complaint on Tuesday detailing that these individuals were located close to Camp Grayling in northern Michigan in August 2023, where they initially claimed to be journalists before departing the area.
Gina Balaya, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Detroit, stated on Wednesday, “The defendants are not in custody. Should they come into contact with US authorities, they will be arrested and face these charges.”
The Associated Press did not disclose the identities of the men, who were reportedly involved in a program jointly run by the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, graduating earlier this year.
As outlined in the FBI affidavit, a sergeant major from the Utah National Guard confronted the group around midnight at a lake near the military installation. One member of the group allegedly asserted, “we are media,” before they gathered their belongings and departed. Subsequent investigations by the FBI revealed that the group had reserved accommodations at a nearby motel a week in advance.
Four months post-incident, one of the men was questioned by US Customs and Border Patrol at Detroit airport before his travels to South Korea and China. He reportedly explained that the group had ventured 200 miles north of Ann Arbor “to see shooting stars,” as per the affidavit.
A search of his hard drive uncovered “two images of military vehicles” taken on the same day as the group's encounter at the lake.
The other four individuals were interviewed in March after arriving in Chicago from Iceland. They acknowledged being near Camp Grayling in August 2023, stating their purpose was to observe a meteor shower.
At that time, various National Guard units from around the US were engaged in a large-scale exercise at the facility, with soldiers from Taiwan reportedly participating, as revealed by Japanese state broadcaster NHK weeks later.
Taiwan is administered by US-backed offspring of nationalists who fled following their defeat in the Chinese civil war in 1949. The People’s Republic of China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to peacefully reunify the island.
The FBI affidavit indicated that Chinese college students may have photographed “vital defense sites” in the US on several occasions, though specifics were not provided.
No charges of espionage related to Camp Grayling have been filed against any of the students. Instead, the complaint notes that the five individuals had communicated via WeChat last December regarding the deletion of photos taken during their trip to Michigan.
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
A federal court filed a criminal complaint on Tuesday detailing that these individuals were located close to Camp Grayling in northern Michigan in August 2023, where they initially claimed to be journalists before departing the area.
Gina Balaya, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Detroit, stated on Wednesday, “The defendants are not in custody. Should they come into contact with US authorities, they will be arrested and face these charges.”
The Associated Press did not disclose the identities of the men, who were reportedly involved in a program jointly run by the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, graduating earlier this year.
As outlined in the FBI affidavit, a sergeant major from the Utah National Guard confronted the group around midnight at a lake near the military installation. One member of the group allegedly asserted, “we are media,” before they gathered their belongings and departed. Subsequent investigations by the FBI revealed that the group had reserved accommodations at a nearby motel a week in advance.
Four months post-incident, one of the men was questioned by US Customs and Border Patrol at Detroit airport before his travels to South Korea and China. He reportedly explained that the group had ventured 200 miles north of Ann Arbor “to see shooting stars,” as per the affidavit.
A search of his hard drive uncovered “two images of military vehicles” taken on the same day as the group's encounter at the lake.
The other four individuals were interviewed in March after arriving in Chicago from Iceland. They acknowledged being near Camp Grayling in August 2023, stating their purpose was to observe a meteor shower.
At that time, various National Guard units from around the US were engaged in a large-scale exercise at the facility, with soldiers from Taiwan reportedly participating, as revealed by Japanese state broadcaster NHK weeks later.
Taiwan is administered by US-backed offspring of nationalists who fled following their defeat in the Chinese civil war in 1949. The People’s Republic of China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to peacefully reunify the island.
The FBI affidavit indicated that Chinese college students may have photographed “vital defense sites” in the US on several occasions, though specifics were not provided.
No charges of espionage related to Camp Grayling have been filed against any of the students. Instead, the complaint notes that the five individuals had communicated via WeChat last December regarding the deletion of photos taken during their trip to Michigan.
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
