A federal court judge has affirmed that an overseas agency of China is involved in acts of espionage that go against Canada’s interests. In a ruling on Jan. 19, Justice Vanessa Rochester wrote that there are enough grounds to believe that the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) has engaged in espionage activities that are “contrary to Canada’s interest.” “Given the evidence in the record that links OCAO to the activities described by the [Immigration Citizenship and Refugees Canada (IRCC)] Officer, it was reasonable for the Officer to conclude that there were reasonable grounds to believe that OCAO had infiltrated overseas Chinese communities in Canada and other countries and engaged in covert action and intelligence gathering,” Rochester ruled. “Consequently, I conclude that the Officer reasonably determined that such acts by OCAO fall within the definition of espionage.” The decision came in the case involving former OCAO employee Yong Zhang and his …