Federal prosecutors and the FBI announced on Monday the arrests of two New York residents for allegedly running a secret Chinese government police station in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood.
The two individuals, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, have each been charged with conspiring to act as agents of China's government. Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated that China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) "has repeatedly and flagrantly violated our nation's sovereignty, including by opening and operating a police station in the middle of New York City."
According to Peace, an entire floor of an office building in Chinatown, which until several months ago was hosting an undeclared police station of the Chinese National Police, was involved in providing some government services like renewing Chinese driver's licenses. However, the law requires individuals acting as agents of a foreign government to give prior notice to the attorney general before setting up a shop in New York City. Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping failed to do so, making their actions illegal.
Moreover, the secret police station allegedly had a more sinister use on at least one occasion, where an official with the Chinese National Police directed one of the defendants. This U.S. citizen worked at the secret police station to locate a pro-democracy activist of Chinese descent living in California. This instance indicates that the Chinese national police were using the station to track a U.S. resident on U.S. soil.
Peace added that the two defendants destroyed evidence of their communications with the Chinese national police when they learned of the FBI's investigation. This action led to the obstruction of justice and prevented the FBI from knowing the full extent of their activities.
The Justice Department described this announcement as a "significant national security matter." The defendants are scheduled to appear in court this afternoon before a magistrate judge. Peace stated, "thanks to our investigation and arrest today with the FBI, the defendants will be held accountable." Furthermore, Peace announced charges on Monday against 34 MPS police officers who belong to a task force called the "912 Special Project Working Group." They are accused of conspiracy to transmit interstate threats and conspiracy to commit interstate harassment.
In a third federal criminal complaint, ten additional individuals, including a former China-based employee of a U.S. telecommunications company, were charged with conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and unlawful scheme to transfer means of identification. Julien Jin, the former China-based employee, and his co-conspirators in the Ministry of Public Security and Cyberspace Administration of China allegedly weaponized the U.S. telecommunications company to intimidate and silence dissenters and enforce PRC law to the detriment of Chinese activists in New York.
These significant charges signal the U.S. government's growing concern regarding China's activities on U.S. soil. The arrests are the first law enforcement action taken against China's overseas police stations, making it clear that the U.S. will not tolerate foreign governments violating American sovereignty.
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