Chinese national's family denies espionage charges

The family and a friend of Deng Yuanqing, a Chinese national arrested for alleged espionage, have denied the accusations and maintained his innocence.

Deng's mother and sister described him as an honest and kind person who could not be a spy.

Deng, who married a Filipina in 2014, has been traveling to the Philippines frequently and was managing a formal and legal pharmacy business in Zamboanga.

According to a friend, Deng was recruited by a China-based firm to test-drive vehicles in the Philippines, which involved arranging routes for testing.

Teresita Ang See, a prominent figure in Filipino-Chinese community relations, has questioned the basis of the allegations, highlighting inconsistencies.

Deng's sister Wenying clarified that he is a labor contractor for a driving technology company working on a road-testing project, and the equipment in question consisted of standard road surveying instruments.

Wenying criticized the tendency to jump to conclusions and stated that Deng has been denied consular visits from the Chinese embassy, raising concerns about his well-being.

Authorities arrested Deng along with two Filipinos for alleged surveillance activities and seized mapping devices and rovers.