They’d occupied an entire floor, for years, doing driver’s license renewals and surveillance missions… Like a regular police office, except nothing is legal. This Monday, a clandestine antenna of the Chinese police was flushed out in the middle of New York, by the FBI. An example of “the extent of China’s efforts to expand its authoritarian vision”, according to Brooklyn federal prosecutor Breon Peace. Explanations.
Who are the suspects?
US federal police have arrested two people believed to be “agents”. Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59. Both men are US citizens and were released on bail after appearing before a magistrate. The first of them introduced himself as the president of an NGO called “America Changle Association NY”, whose offices housed the underground police station. They were also charged with destroying evidence.
What activities did they carry out?
Beyond routine administrative activities, the two suspects would have acted on orders from Beijing and in a secret way to monitor and put pressure on opponents, according to American justice. On at least one occasion, a Chinese National Police official asked one of the defendants, a U.S. citizen, to help locate a Chinese-born pro-democracy activist living in California,” Breon Peace said.
Who supervised this underground police station?
According to court documents, the Manhattan police station was overseen by the Fuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, a branch of China’s Ministry of Public Security. According to the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, quoted by the New York Timesthis is the first time that criminal proceedings have been brought under such a police station.
Have other activities been identified?
On Monday, charges were also filed in two related cases: the first against 34 Chinese police officers accused of harassing Chinese nationals living in the New York area. Referred to by US authorities as the “912” group, this Chinese “elite police team” has “an internet troll farm, creating thousands of fake online accounts which they use to harass, denigrate and threaten dissidents and activists around the world,” Breon Peace described. The second case involves eight Chinese officials suspected of ordering a China-based Zoom employee to remove dissidents from the platform.
Are other countries affected?
The presence of this type of clandestine antenna has been denounced in other Western countries, such as Canada, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. In total, US authorities estimate that 100 such offices have been set up to intimidate and control Chinese citizens abroad, methods reminiscent of the darkest hours of the Cold War.
How did China react?
The Chinese government on Tuesday accused the United States of “political manipulation” after this operation. “China firmly opposes the defamation, denigration, political manipulation by the United States, as well as malicious accusations of so-called transnational suppression,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs.