April 18 (UPI) — A secret illegal police station, fake social-media accounts, and a conspiracy with a U.S. telecommunications company are at the center of a Chinese scheme targeted by the FBI and Department of Justice on Monday.
Three criminal complaints were unsealed by the Justice Department on Monday, bringing charges against more than 40 individuals believed to be working on behalf of the People’s Republic of China to suppress and harass dissidents living in the United States.
The first complaint is against two individuals accused of operating an illegal police station in Manhattan. “Harry” Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan were arrested Monday and charged with acting as agents of the PRC, as well as obstructing justice.
Lu and Chen allegedly operated out of a nondescript building in Manhattan’s Chinatown, from which they intimidated and harassed Chinese nationals who were critical of the Chinese government.
The New York Times reports that Ireland, Canada, and the Netherlands have discovered similar operations by China and have called for them to cease. The NYC station, which closed in 2022, was operating on behalf of the Fuzhou branch of China’s Ministry of Public Security. It is believed to be just one of as many as 100 like it worldwide. Police reportedly raided the station at 107 East Broadway and seized documents and other materials last fall.
“The PRC, through its repressive security apparatus, established a secret physical presence in New York City to monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical of its government,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in a statement. “The PRC’s actions go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct. We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression.”
The second complaint charges 34 members of the Ministry of Public Security in a conspiracy to commit interstate harassment against Chinese dissidents. The individuals allegedly set up thousands of fake social media accounts on sites such as Twitter to share Chinese propaganda, harass those critical of the Chinese government and recruit U.S. citizens to their cause.
The Justice Department believes all of those charged in the second complaint are living in China and have not been apprehended.
This group is also accused of attempting to work with a telecommunications company to have dissidents removed from its service. When a group of dissidents held a videoconference to discuss countering communism, the co-conspirators allegedly joined the conference and hurled vulgar threats at participants.
The third complaint again alleges a group of people in a conspiracy to commit interstate harassment. This time, a company based in China and one of its employees, along with six Ministry of Public Security officers and two Chinese officials with the Cyberspace Administration of China, are charged. They are also accused of attempting to illegally transfer a means of identification and are believed to be living in China or somewhere else in Asia.
“In the United States, the freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy, and the FBI will work tirelessly to defend everyone’s right to speak freely without fear of retribution from the CCP,” Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office said in a statement.
“These complex investigations revealed an MPS-wide effort to repress individuals by using the U.S. communications platform and fake social media accounts to censor political and religious speech.”
