Is China Spying on Whiteman Airforce Base?
A federal judge this week ruled that the government can continue to detain Chinese national Wu Qilin after he was charged with illegally taking photos of Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster.
U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price announced the charges earlier this month, alleging that Wu photographed “a vital military installation and military equipment without authorization.” The base’s Office of Special Investigations looked into a report of a suspicious minivan with a Massachusetts license plate near the perimeter of the base last month. Air Force patrolmen encountered Wu, who told them he was there to observe the B-2 bomber, according to the U.S. Justice Department
Although the patrolmen told Wu that he was not permitted to photograph or record the base, his minivan was observed near the base again the next day, according to the criminal complaint. The patrolmen again engaged with Wu, and he allegedly made multiple admissions of taking photographs and recording the military installation.
Wu allegedly claimed he was an “aviation enthusiast,” according to court documents. Prosecutors argued that Wu took photos and videos of the base’s security perimeter, leading them to believe that his “intent was to capture images that could later [be] examined by nefarious actors who are interested in infiltrating the security of this vital military installation.”
Prosecutors said Wu “was likely involved in espionage” and had indicated an interest in visiting other military installations to take photos. Prosecutors argued that the incapacitation of the base would “have a debilitating impact on the nation’s nuclear posture and one or more critical missions.”
Wu, who possessed a Massachusetts driver’s license, told investigators he had driven from Boston to New York state and then to Missouri to see a B-2 bomber. He said in the same interview that he previously visited the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and photographed multiple military aircraft, according to a court document.
–Alan Goforth & The Epoch Times News Service
