China02 September, 20262 min read
FBI Charges University of Waterloo Student Weiheng Zeng With False Statements Over Airport Photos
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Zeng, University of Waterloo student and Chinese citizen, arrested Aug. 23 crossing the Ambassador Bridge. Took photos at Toronto and Chicago airports for someone believed connected to the Chinese government.
Airport Photos Alleged
American authorities suspect Weiheng Zeng, a Chinese citizen born in 2004 and an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo, of spying for an unknown person in China by taking photos of aircraft and airport facilities in Toronto and Chicago, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI.
On Aug. 23, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers arrested Zeng while he attempted to cross the Ambassador Bridge and travel to Detroit, and he was detained in Detroit where he has been charged with one count of making false statements.
The case began after surveillance footage from April 21 showed Zeng taking pictures of aircraft and facilities at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and the complaint says he drove a van with Ontario licence plates into a FedEx employee parking lot near the airport.
CBC reported that FedEx employees spotted a man taking photos, climbing a forklift and attempting to open locked delivery truck and a shipping container in the company’s parking lot at the Chicago airport, and that Zeng acknowledged he climbed the forklift "to get a better angle to take pictures."
Court, Custody, and Denials
Zeng appeared in federal court in Detroit and agreed to remain in custody as he awaits his trial, after being charged with one count of making false statements. CBC said Zeng was denied bail, and it quoted assistant U.S. attorney Alyse Wu telling the court, "He is a foreign resident and a foreign citizen."
In an interview with The Globe and Mail in Cambridge, Ont., Zeng’s twin sister Meixuan Wang disputed the allegations as far-fetched and described him as a “really nerdy, silly guy,” who is obsessed with airplanes and has autism spectrum disorder. Wang also told The Globe and Mail, "If he’s a spy, I’m Trump’s dad," and she said the family is looking for a lawyer in the U.S. to represent her brother.
Alleged Payments and Communications
The FBI affidavit reviewed by CBC and other outlets alleges Zeng eventually said he was being paid by someone identified in U.S. court records only as "Chinese contact" to photograph specific planes and their tail numbers. CBC reported that Zeng purportedly said the "Chinese contact" would mail him a new SIM card every four to five months, and that the SIM card from China Telecom allowed him to by-pass Canadian cellular network and connect directly with the Chinese provider network to send text messages.
The Globe and Mail said the FBI’s investigation was triggered after surveillance footage from April 21 showed Zeng taking pictures of aircraft and facilities at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and it says the complaint alleges his story changed in each interview. The Bureau said Holbrook alleges the contact assigned Zeng specific aircraft and tail numbers, paid him $20 to $30 for each accepted photograph in yuan transferred to a Bank of China account, and sent him on two assignments involving FedEx facilities at Toronto Pearson International Airport in October 2025 and at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago the following April.