The Chinese Communist Party’s espionage activities targeting military, commercial, and technological secrets overseas have been frequently reported. On April 15, Swiss French-language public broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) released an article titled “A student from Les Roches hotel school suspected of being a Chinese spy.” This Chinese student purchased an old hotel near a Swiss military airport, claiming that his parents ran the hotel, which is set to receive American-made F-35 fighter jets. Currently, the family of three is nowhere to be found, and the incident has attracted high attention from the Swiss military.
According to the report, the Chinese student named David W hastily left Switzerland in 2023. David was studying at a hotel school in Leysin and was suspected of acting as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party. He had bought a hotel adjacent to the Meiringen military airport. The “Focus” program on RTS conducted an investigation into this case.
On July 26, 2023, police conducted a search at the Rössli Hotel in Unterbach, Bern. Plainclothes officers searched the hotel and carried out arrests. The German-language newspaper “Tages-Anzeiger” revealed the police action and suspicions of espionage activities. It was disclosed that the hotel’s owner was a special agent from the Chinese intelligence department named David W. This young man, along with his parents, operated the Rössli Hotel, and all three were from Beijing.
The Rössli Hotel purchased by David in 2018 was unattractive, aging, and distant from popular tourist routes. The hotel located on the edge of the Meiringen military airport provided an ideal location for espionage activities, as planes taking off could be directly observed from the hotel rooms. Military aircraft flew within 50 meters of the hotel.
In 2018, the US F-35 fighter jets conducted multiple test flights at Meiringen. The airport is set to receive F-35 combat aircraft in 2027, of which the Swiss military has already ordered 36. This aircraft has raised concerns from the United States’ biggest competitor, China.
Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party is making every effort to secure information on the F-35. In recent years, the US has uncovered numerous instances of Chinese espionage activities. There have been reports in the US media of over a hundred cases of Chinese citizens trespassing into military airports, often posing as tourists or businessmen and sometimes equipped with drones.
At Meiringen Airport, the police did not provide detailed information on the Swiss case. It is known that the Bern police intervened on July 26, 2023. During the intervention, one person was temporarily arrested, and a second person was brought to the police station for further investigation. Both individuals were released after the investigation.
Authorities did not mention espionage activities and closed the case with a simple criminal order. David and his parents were fined several thousand Swiss francs and found guilty of charges including illegal residence in Switzerland and operating a restaurant in the hotel without a permit.
However, since the incident, the Swiss military has been closely monitoring the hotel in Meiringen, preventing curious individuals from approaching the premises. Following the military police patrol’s request, the “Focus” program team from RTS had to vacate the site. The hotel has since been closed. David remains a mysterious figure, with his social media presence deleted, photos removed, and most friends erased.
Ariane Knüsel, a historian specializing in the relationship between China and Western countries and one of Europe’s foremost experts in the field of espionage, has been researching Swiss secret files related to China. Knüsel stated, “We often see espionage cases involving ordinary Chinese citizens. They are rarely professionals. The Chinese government asks them for a favor, seeking their assistance.”
“The Chinese Communist Party uses all means to recruit Chinese citizens for espionage activities. Official incentives are often used to persuade them, but they are also threatened regarding their families in China,” she said.
On April 26, 2019, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, “China is using a whole-of-society approach, utilizing all elements of society to steal innovation from various businesses, universities, and organizations. This is achieved through the use of intelligence agencies, state-owned enterprises, so-called private companies, graduate students and researchers, as well as individuals working on behalf of China.”
Collaboration between the Chinese Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army has helped in stealing detailed design information for numerous US military hardware, from fighter jets to ground vehicles to robots. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency, previously referred to this phenomenon as the “greatest transfer of wealth in history.”
In June 2014, Chinese immigrant Su Bin in Vancouver was arrested by the FBI for allegedly masterminding the theft of commercial jet fighter secrets from Pentagon contractors. Details revealed in the FBI court statement showed that Su Bin and his associates planned to steal secrets related to C-17 Globemaster transport planes, F-22 Raptor fighter jets, and F-35 prototype aircraft that Canada and other allies were considering purchasing.
On July 24, 2020, the US Department of Justice announced that Singaporean Chinese Jun Wei Yeo admitted to engaging in secretive information collection for the Chinese Communist Party in the US. Yeo successfully recruited a civilian employee involved in the F-35 project at the US Air Force, a State Department official, and a Pentagon officer to provide intelligence.