Chenguang Gong, who has been accused of stealing U.S. infrared missile detecting technology, was listed as a ‘young talent’ in the Thousand Talents Plan.
SAN FRANCISCO—Chenguang Gong, a Chinese American who has been accused of stealing U.S. infrared missile detection technology, was listed as one of 558 “young talents” in the 12th Thousand Talents Plan run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2016.
The list of talents was issued by the Task Force Office of Overseas High-Level Talent Recruitment Programs under the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CCP.
A complaint by the U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed that Mr. Gong transferred 3,600 files from his work laptop to three personal storage devices from March 2023 to April 2023.
It also claimed that Mr. Gong possessed in his personal storage devices files marked as “confidential” that appeared to belong to several of Mr. Gong’s former employers. These devices were taken from his temporary residence in Thousand Oaks, California, following an FBI search on May 8, 2023.
Mr. Gong, 57, of San Jose, was arrested on Feb. 6 and was bailed out on a $2.5 million bond following a hearing in San Jose the next day. He was indicted on Feb. 27 by the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Office, making it a formal criminal case.
The case has since been transferred to the Central District Court in Los Angeles, where Mr. Gong made his first appearance on Feb. 20.
A post-indictment arraignment hearing will be decided upon soon.
The Thousand Talents Plan
The Chinese regime offers hefty financial incentives—including research funding, salaries, and housing—via many different talent recruitment programs to entice overseas Chinese and foreign experts into working in China’s science and tech sectors.
Through these programs, the CCP hopes to quickly turn China into an industrial and innovation powerhouse, one that ultimately outperforms Western countries.
The program known as the Thousand Talents Plan was initiated in 2008 and went underground after U.S. authorities realized its underlying goal in 2018.
The FBI explains on its website that all of China’s talent plans incentivize their participants to steal foreign technology. The website states that while the United States welcomes international collaboration in research and development, American businesses should take measures to keep their intellectual property safe and should understand that talent plans encourage illegal conduct.
“Even if talent plan participants who steal information are eventually caught and prosecuted, the damage done to your organization by intellectual property theft may be irreversible,” the FBI warns.
By Lear Zhou
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