DOJ accuses China of using illegal police station in New York City’s Chinatown to spy on and ‘harass’ dissidents inside the US: FBI arrest two men on ‘espionage charges’ for targeting pro-democracy activist in California

  • Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, are set to appear at a Brooklyn federal court on Monday
  • Prosecutors say the illegal police station to ‘silence and harass’ individuals across America 
  • The DOJ announced three cases that accuse the Chinese government of spying in the US 

By Emma James For Dailymail.Com

Published: 17:58 BST, 17 April 2023 | Updated: 18:52 BST, 17 April 2023

The Department of Justice has accused China of using an illegal police station in downtown Manhattan to spy on and harass dissidents on US soil. 

US attorney for the Eastern District of New York confirmed that two men have been arrested in connection with the station in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood.

Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, were both arrested on Monday morning at their addresses in New York. 

They have been charged with conspiring to act as agents for the Chinese government, and are expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors say Jianwang tried to persuade a Chinese fugitive to return home, and continually ‘harassed and threatened’ the individual in 2018.

The US attorney for the Eastern District of New York confirmed that two residents have been arrested in connection with the station in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood

The US attorney for the Eastern District of New York confirmed that two residents have been arrested in connection with the station in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood

In 2022 China’s government asked Jianwang to locate a pro-democracy Chinese activist living in California.

The pair admitted to the FBI that they deleted their communications with a Chinese government official after discovering they were under investigation.

Both are accused of running the station for a provincial branch of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 

In addition to the case in New York, the Department of Justice announced two other cases accusing dozens of Chinese nationals of spying on US soil. 

One is against 34 members of Beijing’s Municipal Public Security Bureau (MPSB) , and another against a group of 10 people that includes eight Chinese government officials.

Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a statement: ‘This prosecution reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City.’ 

This is a developing story.  

New York's secret police station is above a ramen shop located on East Broadway between Chinatown and the Lower East Side and was opened on February 15

New York's secret police station is above a ramen shop located on East Broadway between Chinatown and the Lower East Side and was opened on February 15

New York’s secret police station is above a ramen shop located on East Broadway between Chinatown and the Lower East Side and was opened on February 15

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