US: Chinese arrested on charges of spying

CHICAGO: A Chinese national who came to the US on a student visa and later enlisted in the army reserves was arrested Tuesday in Chicago and accused of helping Beijing attempt to recruit American scientists and engineers.

Ji Chaoqun was allegedly tasked with providing Chinese intelligence with biographical information about eight American citizens — some of whom were US defence contractors.

The 27-year-old, who first arrived in Chicago in 2013 to study electrical engineering, was charged with knowingly acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the US Attorney General.

According to a court affidavit, Ji was working at the direction of a “high-level intelligence officer” in China’s Ministry of State Security, which “handles civilian intelligence collection and is responsible for counter-intelligence and foreign intelligence, as well as political security.”

All eight of the people Ji allegedly researched were naturalised American citizens who were born in Taiwan or China, according to authorities.

U.S. BILL BANS CHINESE OFFICIALS DENYING ACCESS TO TIBET

The US Congress has passed a crucial bipartisan bill that seeks to impose a visa ban on Chinese officials who deny American citizens, government officials and journalists access to Tibet.

The US has expressed concern in the past about the lack of access to the Tibetan Autonomous Region for American journalists, diplomats, academics and others to report on alleged religious persecution in the former home of the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama.