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The trial of a former Hydro-Québec employee accused of economic espionage for Beijing has been postponed by a day after the utility requested certain corporate information be kept confidential.
The trial for Yuesheng Wang, 38, a former Hydro-Québec employee, was scheduled to begin on Oct. 6, but Quebec Court Judge Jean-Philippe Marcoux postponed the proceedings to Oct. 7 after the utility’s lawyer raised concerns that evidence presented in open court could reveal sensitive business and client information.
Wang in 2022 became the
first person charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Security of Information Act. He also faces charges of fraudulent use of a computer, fraudulently obtaining a trade secret, and breach of trust, as well as two additional counts
laid last year related to committing preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign entity—the Beijing regime.
“While employed by Hydro-Québec, Mr. Wang allegedly obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” the RCMP said in
a release updated on Feb. 7, 2024.
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Wang, a Chinese national, worked as a researcher with Hydro-Québec’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, which
specializes in the development of battery materials for electric vehicles and energy-storage systems. He was hired by Hydro-Québec in 2016 on a work visa.
Wang was
arrested in Nov. 14, 2022, but was
released on bail later that month after a Quebec court judge ruled he wasn’t a flight risk. Wang said he would remain in Canada to clear his name.
Police allege Wang leveraged his position to conduct research for a Chinese university and other research centres in China. Additionally, he is accused of publishing scientific articles and filing patents in collaboration with a foreign entity, rather than with Hydro-Québec.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
The case sparked concern among political circles, with Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos saying at the time it was evidence of China’s interference in Canada.
“Chinese espionage at Canada’s largest power utility is yet another incident of interference by Beijing in Canada’s democracy, and is yet another example of why a foreign influence registry as called for in my Bill #S237 is so necessary,” he said in a Nov. 17, 2022, social media
post.
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Bill S-237, an act to establish the foreign influence registry and to amend the Criminal Code,
received first reading on Feb. 24, 2024, but did not proceed to second reading.
Meanwhile, a foreign influence registry is
expected to be established this year, following findings from a public inquiry that confirmed significant foreign interference operations in Canada.
Intelligence leaks reported by Canadian media outlets in late 2022 about extensive interference by Beijing
prompted a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada in 2023. The inquiry’s final
report, released earlier this year, identified China as the “most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions.”
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Ottawa
ended all research funding in February 2023 for projects where any of the researchers is “affiliated with a university, research institute or laboratory connected to military, national defence or state security entities of foreign state actors that pose a risk to our national security.”
The move came after
reports that researchers from some 50 universities in Canada had been collaborating with one of China’s top military institutions on sensitive research.
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The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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Udumbara
