On May 16, Hao Zhang, a Chinese university professor, was arrested upon entering the U.S. as one of six defendants charged with participating in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets and commit economic espionage against the United States. Their alleged goal was to set up a factory in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that would develop and manufacture a series of high technology products that would have both civilian and military applications.

The 32-count indictment alleges that, with the financial support of the PRC and the PRC’s Tianjin University, in eastern China, the six conspirators established a shell corporation in the Cayman Islands, Novana, and a plant that could produce products from the information stolen from the U.S. entities. The conspirators had filed for patents in both the U.S. and PRC.Continue Reading Six PRC Citizens Charged With Economic Espionage