An employee of Hydro-Quebec has been charged with espionage for obtaining trade secrets to benefit China, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Monday..The RCMP said in a statement that while employed by Hydro-Quebec, Yuesheng Wang allegedly obtained trade secrets in order to benefit the People's Republic of China "to the detriment of Canada's economic interests." .The crimes were allegedly committed between February 2018 and October 2022..While employed as a researcher at Hydro-Québec's Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, Wang published academic papers and patents in connection with Chinese universities without obtaining permission..This is the first time that the obtaining trade secrets charge has been laid under the Official Secrets Act, an act of Parliament that addresses national security concerns. .The investigation into Wang began in August 2022 after Hydro-Québec's corporate security branch filed a complaint about him. When corporate security became suspicious, preventative measures were taken against Wang..Wang was due to appear on Tuesday in court in Longueuil, Quebec to face four charges. These include obtaining trade secrets, unauthorized computer use, fraud for obtaining trade secrets, and breach of trust by public officer..According to LinkedIn, Wang has worked at Hydro-Quebec since October 2016, He has a master's degree in materials engineering from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' institute of physics.
