Investigation of a couple of researchers | Spying and Ebola in the lab

After being dragged for years, the Trudeau government released documents this week on the firing of a couple of scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg in 2021. The researchers, who worked with pathogens the most dangerous on the planet, maintained links with the Chinese army. The woman even gave secrets to China. Here are five highlights of the Canadian intelligence services’ investigation into them.

Cutting-edge research

Xiangguo Qiu and her husband Keding Cheng worked at Canada’s only level 4 virology laboratory, a federal establishment recognized worldwide for its expertise. Researchers there manipulate extremely dangerous viruses under strict control. As part of his duties, Mr.^me Qiu notably participated in the development of a revolutionary treatment against the Ebola virus, which earned him a Governor General’s Award in 2018.

Originally from China, M^me Qiu and Mr. Cheng held Canadian citizenship and were enthusiastic about international scientific collaborations. “Scientists are all about working hard to be more productive and help save lives. We help each other to advance science,” said M^me Qiu in an interview reproduced in the investigation documents.

Rules broken

The two researchers were escorted out of the laboratory in 2019 and then fired in 2021. Investigations by the Public Health Agency and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) revealed several breaches of the rules on their part.

Mr. Cheng had allowed a Chinese student to roam the laboratory unsupervised and had let another access the computer network using his identifier. It allowed the use of a Gmail account and a USB key to bring experimental data out of the laboratory. He had also received mouse proteins sent from China in a package falsely labeled as containing utensils.

The name of M^me Qiu, for his part, appeared in China on a patent, in a field of research that overlapped with his work in Canada. She too had let two Chinese researchers linked to Chinese government institutions access the Winnipeg laboratory.

Hidden links

The CSIS investigation then uncovered joint research conducted by the couple and researchers linked to the Chinese Military Academy of Medical Sciences. According to Canadian intelligence services, this institution reports to the People’s Liberation Army and “has offensive means of producing chemical and biological weapons.”

M^me Qiu also allegedly admitted to having collaborated on a research project with Major General Chen Wei, the most eminent virologist in the Chinese army, recently decorated by Xi Jinping for her contribution to the fight against COVID-19. A Chinese soldier admitted to a stay at the Manitoba laboratory as a student, thanks to a scholarship granted by the Chinese embassy, ​​would also have described Major-General Chen Wei as her mentor.

M^me Qiu also maintained links with several very lucrative Chinese programs for recruiting foreign researchers, which “incentivize economic espionage and the theft of intellectual property”.

Some of them allow researchers to obtain millions of dollars in China while maintaining their main job abroad, according to Canadian authorities. The couple also had a bank account in China.

Dangerous work

A document from the Chinese military academy found by Canadian secret agents openly explained that M^me Qiu was using the Winnipeg lab as an “operational base” to help China combat certain “highly pathogenic” agents. The document emphasized that M^me Qiu had “provided China with the genetic sequences of the Ebola virus, which was very useful for China.”

Emails from internal discussions with the researcher’s colleagues in Canada show that some were concerned about the transfer of an Ebola sample to China, given the dangerousness of the virus.

Xiangguo Qiu also collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Message exchanges discovered by CSIS show that she discussed the possibility of developing vaccines using a controversial approach involving the creation of synthetic “gain-of-function” virus strains, the aim of which was to improve the contagion capacity of a pathogen in order to better study the nature of its interactions with a host.

Final verdict

The verdict of the Canadian intelligence services was final. CSIS concluded that the two researchers had brazenly lied throughout the investigation. M^me Qiu had failed to follow protocols related to the transfer of pathogens and “collaborated with institutions whose objectives could include lethal military applications that are clearly not in the interests of Canada and its people.”

“CSIS believes that she disclosed sensitive information,” specifies a report dated 2020. As for Mr. Cheng, CSIS questioned his loyalty and reliability and considered that he “could disclose sensitive information”. The two researchers were therefore fired. A police investigation is now underway, but the couple appears to have disappeared from the country.

It took years for the government to release details of the investigation. The opposition parties have called for them on several occasions. Ottawa even went to court to prevent their disclosure, but the procedure fell through when the last election was called. Negotiations ultimately led to the creation of a special committee made up of MPs from all four parties represented in the House of Commons to review the material and determine what could be made public.