NEW YORK, USA – In a groundbreaking operation, federal officials detained two New York residents on Monday, April 17, 2023, accusing them of running a covert Chinese police outpost from a Manhattan office space.
The suspects are believed to have used the secret base to track down and threaten a Chinese dissident in California.
In addition, over 30 officers from China’s national police force, who are not living in the United States, face charges of using numerous fraudulent social media profiles to harass expatriate dissidents and disseminate Chinese propaganda.
Ten more individuals have been indicted for targeting and intimidating users of a U.S. technology platform, including those critical of the Chinese government.
Safeguard Defenders, a human rights organisation, has exposed China’s establishment of more than 100 secretive police facilities around the world, designed to monitor and harass Chinese citizens living overseas.
Monday’s arrests represent the first criminal charges ever filed against individuals connected to these unauthorized police stations, according to Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Peace highlighted the significance of these charges, stating, “The allegations you just heard pull back the curtain on the [People’s Republic of China’s] audacious and illegal attempts to harass dissidents and stifle free speech in our country.”
He added, “Today’s charges send a crystal clear response to the PRC that we are on to you, we know what you are doing and we will stop it from happening in the United States of America.”
“Harry” Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan—the duo accused of running the clandestine police base—were apprehended in New York City on Monday morning. They face charges of conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government and obstructing justice by destroying evidence.
Peace revealed that the suspects deleted communications with the Chinese government upon discovering that the FBI was investigating them, making it harder for law enforcement to determine the full scope of the alleged police base operation and the number of U.S. residents potentially tracked.
A separate criminal indictment charges 34 Chinese police officers with conspiracy to transmit interstate threats and conspiracy to commit interstate harassment.
Additionally, ten more individuals, including six Chinese police officers, have been charged with conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and unlawful conspiracy to transfer means of identification. They are accused of targeting Chinese dissidents using an American company’s virtual platform. Among those charged in the third indictment is a China-based employee of the unidentified U.S. communications company.
In September, Safeguard Defenders reported the existence of “Police Service Stations” in cities worldwide, including New York. These unauthorized stations are used to coerce Chinese nationals living abroad into returning to China to face criminal charges.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray expressed his concerns about the secret stations during a Senate hearing in November, as reported by Reuters.
