Overview
- An independent blogger, Jennifer Zeng, posted on Friday that a server seen standing behind Elon Musk at the state banquet was Major Cheng Cheng, whom she described as a decorated active-duty officer in the PLA honor guard.
- Three news outlets that covered the claim reported they could not independently verify Cheng’s identity and said the Chinese government has not publicly responded to the allegation.
- Zeng published a detailed profile saying Cheng had led the female honor guard, helped draft ceremony manuals, served as a battalion commander, and suggested the server may have been armed.
- Security experts and Western intelligence warnings cited by reporters note that states have used deep-cover or embedded personnel at diplomatic and corporate events, which makes such suspicions plausible in principle but does not prove the specific claim.
- The allegation spread rapidly on social media as users dissected banquet footage, and the next developments to watch are independent verification, any official Chinese comment, and whether U.S. or corporate officials seek answers or tighten security around high-level visits.