The Canadian national newspaper "The Globe and Mail" reported on Thursday that the Canadian Federal Court ruled that a Chinese engineering student named Li Youkang (literal translation, Li Youkang) was a potential spy, and consequently denied his entry into Canada.

This ruling expands Canada's definition of espionage, affecting foreign researchers who wish to come to Canada.

Li Youkang was accepted into the PhD program in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Canada's largest science and technology university, and his research field was microfluidics. He promised to bring the knowledge he learned back to China to improve China's public health system.

For his part, Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton said that Li Youkang's plan meets the definition of unconventional espionage, despite no evidence that he engaged in espionage activities or received espionage training, and no evidence that his research was military-related.

Li Youkang defended himself by saying that the accusation that he might be forced to spy for China is merely speculation.

However, Judge Crampton said there are objective reasons to believe that Mr. Li completed his undergraduate studies at a university in Beijing with close ties to China's national defense. In addition, his specialization in microfluidics is very useful for China's biopharmaceutical industry. There are even reports that China targets scientists and students, asking them to transfer sensitive commercial and military information.

Crampton stated in his ruling issued on December 12, 2023, that hostile countries increasingly use unconventional methods to obtain sensitive information in Canada and other countries, which conflicts with Canadian interests, so the court's definition of espionage must continue to evolve.

The ruling was not announced until Wednesday.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) expressed concern about intellectual property theft from academic research institutions in its universities.

CSIS publicly warned that China threatens Canadian national security and intellectual property rights in sensitive fields, including biopharmaceuticals.

According to a 2021 report obtained by The Globe and Mail, CSIS believes that due to the United States rejecting some Chinese students, China uses Canada as an alternative to provide scholarships for students to study in Canada.

Nevertheless, in the case of Li Youkang, court documents show that his financial resources came from himself, his family, and the university, not from scholarships provided by the Chinese government.

Laurence Waldman, an immigration lawyer interviewed by The Globe and Mail, said the ruling had a broad impact on international researchers from China and elsewhere. This hinders the free exchange of scientific research and ultimately negatively affects Canada's long-term interests.

Also, Leah West, a national security expert at Carleton University, said this ruling is an important precedent to ensure the safety of scientific research and sends a signal to Canadian universities that they need to reconsider their admission processes and background check practices.

She said more directly that this student should not have been admitted to the University of Waterloo at all.

A spokesperson for the University of Waterloo said the university will carefully study the ruling and believes it contains the government's interpretation of (national security) risks and that it is helpful.