…Researched and contributed by Solomon Thomas.
The FBI has arrested two Chinese operatives in connection with an illegal police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which was allegedly used to spy on and harass dissidents on US soil.
Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, were both arrested at their homes in New York and charged with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government.
The police station was reportedly established to silence and harass individuals across America, and both men are accused of running it for a provincial branch of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Charges on Chinese Nationals Accused of Spying on US Soil
In addition to the case in New York, the Department of Justice has announced two other cases accusing dozens of Chinese nationals of spying on US soil.
One case involves 34 members of Beijing’s Municipal Public Security Bureau (MPSB), while the other involves a group of 10 people that includes eight Chinese government officials.
The members of the MPSB are accused of creating fake social media accounts across various platforms to harass Chinese dissidents in the US and promote propaganda from China, including relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The third case involves Chinese security officials allegedly spying on Zoom calls and then harassing those identified as targets.
Commentary
The arrests and charges against Chinese operatives in New York and across the US represent a major crackdown on Chinese espionage activities.
The three cases announced by the DOJ accused the Chinese government of spying in the US, including setting up illegal police stations and using fake social media accounts to harass and silence dissidents.
The charges come after FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed his concern about the presence of such stations in US cities, which he said violated sovereignty and circumvented law enforcement cooperation.
The charges will likely increase tensions between the US and China, which have already been strained over a range of issues, including human rights abuses, intellectual property theft, and cybersecurity.
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