Potential Chinese spying efforts spur international hostility

On March 31, a 32 year old woman named Yujing Zhang was arrested at  President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. This incident occurred in the midst of concern surrounding the lack of security and easy accessibility to President Trump at his private Florida club.

According to Miami Herald, prior to the investigation of Yujing Zhang, there was an investigation focusing on Li “Cindy” Yang, a South Florida massage parlor entrepreneur. In the past she had promoted events at Mar-a-Lago with ads made to attract Chinese business executives, in hopes of gaining access to Trump and his family.

Zhang was on her way to an event advertised on social media by Yang at the pool. She approached a Secret Service Agent with two Chinese passports and the agent attempted to confirm her identity. Although a manager at the club confirmed that there was someone on the list with Zhang as a surname, Yujing was hesitant to confirm that he was her father.

Zhang would not say if she was there to meet someone, but because of a possible language barrier, Mar-a-Lago allowed her onto the grounds. Once she entered, Zhang told a receptionist  that she was there for an United Nations Chinese American Association event that evening. However, that event didn’t exist, igniting suspicion about Zhang’s presence. She presented an invitation for the supposed UN Chinese American Association even that evening, but no such event was scheduled.

When the agent told her she wasn’t allowed on the grounds, Zhang apparently became “verbally aggressive” with the agent and was then detained. Upon searching her belongings, authorities found four cell phones, a hard drive, a laptop, and a malware-infected USB drive. Her hotel room held more than $8,000 in cash, along with an electronic device that detects hidden cameras. Eventually, Zhang was arrested and charged with lying to a federal agent and knowingly entering a restricted area.

On Monday’s hearing, federal magistrate judge William Matthewman will decide whether to order Zhang’s continued detention or grant her a bond. According to NBC, Zhang entered the country on March 28 through Newark Liberty International Airport on a 10-year tourist visa she had been granted in 2016. The visa has been revoked as a result of the charges against her. If Zhang is granted bond, she will move into immigration detention and will most likely be scheduled for deportation.

Zhang’s arrest reignited a broader federal investigation into possible Chinese espionage operations in South Florida. These recent breaches in security at Mar-a-Lago, one of Trump’s favorite vacation spots certainly serves to perpetuate the distrust in relationships between countries in our world today.

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Faith Cheung of Richard Montgomery High School