US: Two people arrested for setting up Chinese 'secret police' outpost in New York

Federal agents in the United States arrested two people in New York under suspicion that they were operating a Chinese “secret police” outpost in Manhattan. The so-called outpost was what prosecutors alleged was an attempt by China to target dissidents overseas.

On Monday, federal agents arrested Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping on suspicion of operating a Chinese “secret police” station in the Chinatown district in Manhattan. Lu and Chen are facing charges of conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government without informing US authorities and obstruction of justice. Lu and Chen were released on bond after making an initial appearance at a federal court in Brooklyn.

The Justice Department has been ramping up its investigations into what it refers to as “transnational repression” by the country’s adversaries, such as China and Iran, to intimidate political opponents that were living overseas.

“We cannot and will not tolerate the Chinese government’s persecution of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in this country,” Brooklyn federal prosecutor Breon Peace told reporters.

On the same day, prosecutors also unveiled charges against 34 Chinese officials for allegedly operating a “troll farm” to harass dissidents online, including disrupting meetings on US platforms. Eight additional officials of the Chinese government were also placed as defendants in a case that was announced in 2020 that charged a China-based executive of the Zoom video platform with disrupting online meetings that commemorated the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. All of whom remain at large.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the United States said the charges placed on the individuals listed were fabricated and the case was politically manipulated that sought to “smear China’s image.”

On Tuesday, the US Air Force said the 102nd Intelligence Wing, the unit to which Jack Teixeira, the alleged leaker of classified information, belonged, is ordered to halt its intelligence mission as the inspector general carries out an investigation. The Air Force said all units would also have to carry out a “security-focused” stand down in the next 30 days.

This comes as Teixeira has been charged with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified material after he was accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence records online.