Advertisement
Advertisement
The US Department of Justice says one of the suspects was arrested in Los Angeles when he arrived in the country on Saturday. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Six Chinese, including university professor, charged with industrial espionage in US

Suspects alleged to have stolen mobile phone technology

Six Chinese nationals were charged with economic espionage in the United States on Tuesday after they were accused of stealing mobile phone technology and trade secrets.

At least four of them are affiliated with Tianjin University. The six were accused of stealing sensitive radio frequency filter technology developed by two US companies to benefit universities and companies on behalf of the Chinese government.

Professor Zhang Hao, 36, from Tianjin University is among the six. He was arrested upon entry into Los Angeles on Saturday, according to the US Justice Department. Fellow professor Pang Wei, 35, and four others are believed to be in China.

According to the charge sheet, Zhang and Pang met while studying at the University of Southern California. They conducted research on acoustic technology funded by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency when studying at USC.

Shortly after earning their doctorates in 2005, Pang was employed as an engineer by Colorado-based Avago Technologies, while Zhang went to work for Skyworks Solutions, in Massachusetts. The allegedly stolen trade secrets belong to Avago or Skyworks, which were both developers of FBAR technology.

Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator technology is primarily used in mobile devices, filtering wireless signals so that a user receives and transmits only communications intended by the user. The technology has numerous military applications.

The others accused are: Chen Jinping, 41, professor at Tianjin University; Zhang Huisui, 34, who studied with Pang and Zhang in USC, Zhou Chong, 26, a Tianjin University student and Gang Zhao, 39, general manager of Zhang and Pang's joint venture, ROFS Microsystems.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Six Chinese charged with economic spying in US
Post