A Stanford University researcher has been charged for concealing and lying about her membership with the Chinese military.
A federal grand jury on February 19 charged Chen Song with visa fraud, obstruction of justice, destruction of documents, and false statements in connection with a scheme to conceal and lie about her status as a member of the People’s Republic of China’s military forces while in the United States, the Justice Department said in an official statement.
“When Song feared discovery, she destroyed documents in a failed attempt to conceal her true identity. This prosecution will help to protect elite institutions like Stanford from illicit foreign influences,” the department said.
It further said, “We allege that while Chen Song worked as a researcher at Stanford University, she was secretly a member of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army”.
Speaking on the matter, Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said, “Members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army cannot lie on their visa applications and come to the United States to study without expecting the FBI and our partners to catch them…Time and again, the Chinese government prioritizes stealing U.S. research and taking advantage of our universities over obeying international norms”.