US claims Prof Zhang Hao was part of plot to steal trade secrets and pass them on to companies and universities run by Chinese government

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The wife of a Chinese professor being held in the US on spying charges has insisted her husband is innocent and described how his arrest had left her “heartbroken and angry”.

Zhang Hao, a professor from Tianjin University, was taken into custody at Los Angeles international airport on 16 May after reportedly flying into the country from China to attend a conference.

The US Department of Justice claims Zhang, 36, was part of a nine-year plot to steal US trade secrets and pass them on to companies and universities run by the Chinese government.

The academic has been charged with offences including economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Five other Chinese citizens – two of whom are also Tianjin University professors – have been charged as co-conspirators.

However, Fan Liping, the wife of Zhang, claimed her husband had been wronged. “As his wife, I have been tormented by the arrest and [have been] running around trying to sort things out,” she wrote in an open letter published on a social media account operated by Tianjin University.

“This year is the 10th anniversary of our marriage. We have an adorable two-year-old son and we are an ordinary family,” Fan added. “Zhang Hao is a typical scientific researcher: he’s not very good with words and social events, but he is very diligent and works very hard – quite often he works until 11pm before coming home. His life is so simple that work and family are the only two components … our life was simple and sweet, but the disaster came out of blue.”

Zhang, who is from Hunan province, came from a poor rural family and his achievements were the fruits of his own hard work, his wife wrote.

“We feel heartbroken and angry – we have been wronged and we are innocent. We will fight the FBI until the very end in order to defend Zhang Hao’s innocence and the reputation of the University of Tianjin.”



US prosecutors claim Zhang and his five alleged accomplices stole valuable wireless technologies from two American companies: Skyworks, where he had previously worked, and a second company called Avago Technologies.



The academics “leveraged their access to and knowledge of sensitive US technologies to illegally obtain and share US trade secrets with the PRC [People’s Republic of China] for economic advantage”, John Carlin, the US assistant attorney general for national security, said at the time.



The secrets that were allegedly stolen involve thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR), technology, which is mostly used in mobile phones, tablets and GPS devices.

A special agent from the FBI’s San Francisco division, David Johnson, claimed the accused were part of “a methodical and relentless effort by foreign interests to obtain and exploit sensitive and valuable US technology through the use of individuals operating within the United States”.

Zhang’s wife appealed for donations to help fund a potentially lengthy legal battle that lawyers have estimated could cost up to 35m yuan ($5.64m).

“I have told myself not to cry and to be strong because my husband is innocent and I will find the best lawyers to represent him and clear his name,” Fan wrote.

Tianjin University has rejected the charges against its professors, pointing out that it is “a top-ranked, modern Chinese university with a 120-year history”.



Additional reporting by Luna Lin

