Three cases regarding China's danger to national security, based on activities in New York City, were made public by the Justice Department on Monday. The People's Republic of China built an unofficial station for the Chinese National Police within two miles from the office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, according to authorities.
The station offered certain official services, such letting Chinese citizens renew their driver's licences, but it was also used for more nefarious purposes.
Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said that "the Chinese National Police appear to have been using this station to track a U.S. resident on U.S. soil." The Chinese government's abroad police stations are being investigated by us, he said, making us the first law enforcement partners in the world to make arrests in this regard.
Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, two suspects, were taken into custody early on Monday, according to Peace.
In the second complaint, 34 Chinese police personnel are accused of participating in a task force known as the "special project working group" that "commits crimes, targeting Chinese democracy activists and dissidents located outside of the PRC, including right here in New York City," according to Peace. This task force "operates as an online troll farm, creating thousands of fake online personas that they use in a coordinated plot to harass, denigrate, and threaten dissidents and activists around the world." They also disseminated false material online, alleging, for example, that the United States was to blame for the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Today's allegations make it quite evident to the PRC that we have you under surveillance. Peace said, "We are aware of what you're doing and we will prevent it from occurring in the United States of America.
Peace withdrew from the third criminal complaint that his office had filed. In that case, prosecutors said that Beijing took part in attempts to internationalise the authoritarian methods employed in China to stifle dissent.
According to the third complaint, a Chinese employee of a U.S. tech company "removed content critical of the PRC, fabricated evidence of the terms of service violations in order to end virtual meetings critical of the PRC, and suspended and cancelled user accounts that were critical of the PRC," according to David Newman, a top lawyer at the Justice Department's National Security Division.
The statement follows the Justice Department's indictment of 13 alleged Chinese government operatives in October.
The station offered certain official services, such letting Chinese citizens renew their driver's licences, but it was also used for more nefarious purposes.
Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said that "the Chinese National Police appear to have been using this station to track a U.S. resident on U.S. soil." The Chinese government's abroad police stations are being investigated by us, he said, making us the first law enforcement partners in the world to make arrests in this regard.
Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, two suspects, were taken into custody early on Monday, according to Peace.
In the second complaint, 34 Chinese police personnel are accused of participating in a task force known as the "special project working group" that "commits crimes, targeting Chinese democracy activists and dissidents located outside of the PRC, including right here in New York City," according to Peace. This task force "operates as an online troll farm, creating thousands of fake online personas that they use in a coordinated plot to harass, denigrate, and threaten dissidents and activists around the world." They also disseminated false material online, alleging, for example, that the United States was to blame for the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Today's allegations make it quite evident to the PRC that we have you under surveillance. Peace said, "We are aware of what you're doing and we will prevent it from occurring in the United States of America.
Peace withdrew from the third criminal complaint that his office had filed. In that case, prosecutors said that Beijing took part in attempts to internationalise the authoritarian methods employed in China to stifle dissent.
According to the third complaint, a Chinese employee of a U.S. tech company "removed content critical of the PRC, fabricated evidence of the terms of service violations in order to end virtual meetings critical of the PRC, and suspended and cancelled user accounts that were critical of the PRC," according to David Newman, a top lawyer at the Justice Department's National Security Division.
The statement follows the Justice Department's indictment of 13 alleged Chinese government operatives in October.
