Topline
Agents of the Chinese government established an undeclared “police station” in New York City to “silence and harass” dissidents, the Department of Justice alleged Monday, announcing the arrest of two accused Chinese agents and charges against nearly three dozen others for leading several alleged attempts by China to intimidate U.S.-based critics.
People walk in front of the Brooklyn federal court.
Key Facts
The DOJ arrested and charged two individuals with conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with the police station scheme, and separately accused 34 officers with China’s Ministry of Public Security of being involved in schemes to target members of the Chinese-American community in New York City and elsewhere in the U.S.
The DOJ says the Chinese National Police had a station in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood that was used to help Chinese citizens renew their driver’s licenses but also to track a Chinese-American resident on U.S. soil—a scheme that wasn’t disclosed to the Attorney General, as required by U.S. law, prosecutors allege.
The police station opened in early 2022 and closed later that year due to the FBI’s investigation, according to prosecutors.
The two police station defendants were arrested and are expected in federal court in Brooklyn on Monday, DOJ officials said at a press conference.
The other 34 defendants—who allegedly used social media to post favorably about China and attack their “perceived adversaries”— all live in China and are still at large, the Justice Department said Monday.
Crucial Quote
“It is simply outrageous that China’s Ministry of Public Security thinks it can get away with establishing a secret, illegal police station on U.S. soil to aid its efforts to export repression and subvert our rule of law,” said Kurt Ronnow, acting assistant director of the DOJ’s counterintelligence division.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Further Reading
DOJ Accuses China Of Using ‘Police Station’ To Spy On, Harass Dissidents Inside US (ABC)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/04/17/chinese-agents-opened-police-station-in-nyc-to-spy-on-dissident-doj-alleges/