Two men were arrested Monday after the Department of Justice announced charges related to an FBI bust of what they say was a secret Chinese police station operating in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government. In a separate case also announced Monday, the Justice Department charged 34 officers in China’s ministry of public security with using social media to harass critics of China’s government.
U.S. authorities claim a nondescript building in the heart of New York City’s bustling Chinatown held a dark secret.
“Until several months ago, an entire floor this building hosted an undeclared police station of the Chinese national police,” declared U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.
The Justice Department revealed Monday the station was illegally providing Chinese citizens with government services like renewed driver’s licenses, but also had more sinister uses.
“The Chinese national police appear to have been using the station to track a US resident on US soil,” explained Peace.
Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping were arrested in New York City Monday after being charged with doing China’s bidding in secret on U.S. soil, then destroying evidence of their communication with the Chinese National Police when they learned of the FBI’s investigation. The two used the office in New York City to go after Chinese dissidents who are pro-democracy.
“Lu was enlisted in efforts to cause a purported Chinese fugitive to return to China. That victim received threats of violence against his family in the United States and MPS officers harassed the victim’s family,” explained Peace.
The Justice Department is also charging 34 Chinese officers involved in a special task force that worked out of a police facility in Beijing to spread Chinese government propaganda on thousands of fake social media accounts.
“This task force acts as an internet troll farm, creating thousands of fake online personas which they use in a coordinated plot to harass, disparage, and threaten dissidents,” said Peace.
China is also accused of having a secret operative inside the Zoom company who hacked Zoom sessions. All this comes just weeks after a Chinese spy balloon traversed the United States and gathered intelligence on military sites. The FBI warns China is clearly broadening its espionage efforts on U.S. soil.
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