Two men have been arrested in New York for allegedly operating a Chinese “secret police station” in the Chinatown neighbourhood of Manhattan.
Two New York City residents, Lu Jiangwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, have been arrested for pretending to act as Chinese agents without informing the United States government.
They were also charged with destroying evidence of their communication with Chinese authorities.
They have been charged with obstruction of justice and conspiring to act as agents of the Communist Party of China. Until several months ago, the entire floor of the building was home to an illegal police station of the Chinese National Police.
They have been released on bail after appearing in Brooklyn federal court. They can face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of their crime.
A 2022 Investigation
An investigation that was published by an advocacy group based in Spain, called Safeguard Defenders, reported that China had set up several overseas “service stations” in many countries, including New York.
These stations are believed to exist in at least 53 countries across the world, including the UK and the Netherlands. Canadian police had announced last month an investigation into two sites in Montreal thought to be police stations.
These alleged support groups worked with Chinese authorities to coerce fugitives to return to China.
The Chinese government has claimed that these overseas support groups were run by local volunteers and that the Chinese police had no part in them. China claims that these centers aim to help Chinese citizens renew their documents and offer other assistance.
United States’ reaction
The Department of Justice has been investigating “transnational regression” by U.S. foes such as China and Iran to coerce political opponents living in the United States.
Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said that they will not tolerate the litigation of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in the U.S.
Peace said that this violates the sovereignty of the United States.
Matthew Olsen, from the Justice Department’s National Security Division, added that these actions by China were not acceptable and that they need to protect the U.S. from this authoritarian threat.
Charges were also laid on Monday against 34 Chinese officials for allegedly operating a “troll farm.”
They created several fake social media accounts to harass protestors online by disrupting their meetings on U.S. tech platforms.
Peace explained that this task force, instead of protecting people or preventing crimes, commits crimes against Chinese democracy activists and dissidents located outside of China.
Helping to locate offenders
Lu and Chen lead a non-profit organisation whose mission is to provide a place for people from China’s Fujian province to meet.
This NGO was closed in 2022. It was located in a nondescript building in Chinatown, near Manhattan.
The organisation was used to offer government services like renewing driving licenses. This should have been disclosed to the U.S. authorities, which they did not do. Peace believes that it was also used for other sinister activities.
Lu opened the illegal police station in 2022, and he was asked by the Chinese government to locate a person living in California who was believed to be a pro-democracy activist.
The prosecutor has also said that in 2018, Lu had convinced a person who was considered a fugitive by China to return home.
These revelations are concerning given the present condition of the US-China relationship and can have serious diplomatic implications.
