A Canadian national of Chinese origin has been placed in one-month pretrial detention in Belgium after being accused of spying for a foreign power while working as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), according to Belgian authorities.
The woman, who was arrested last week, was denied bail during a closed-door hearing and has until the prescribed legal deadline to appeal the detention order. Belgian prosecutors have charged her with alleged espionage on behalf of a “third country” and participation in a criminal organization.
Authorities have not identified the country she is suspected of working for. However, the case has drawn attention because NATO has previously identified China as a strategic security challenge alongside Russia. Belgian officials have not publicly linked the allegations to Beijing.
According to Belgian prosecutors, SHAPE’s internal security services first flagged concerns about the intern and alerted Belgium’s military intelligence agency, prompting an investigation by the Federal Judicial Police. Investigators later searched her apartment in Charleroi and her office at SHAPE before she was taken into custody.
Media investigations have identified her as Biwei Zhang, and reported she worked in SHAPE’s IT department and was nearing the end of her internship.
The case has raised questions about NATO’s internship screening process. Under SHAPE’s procedures, the intern’s home country is responsible for verifying security clearances before candidates are accepted into the program.
Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Canadian authorities are working to understand how the incident occurred and will review existing security screening procedures to prevent similar cases in the future.
SHAPE, NATO’s strategic military headquarters near Mons, Belgium, oversees Allied military operations and is home to NATO’s Cyber Security Centre. Despite the investigation, NATO said there is n
