An American man has pleaded guilty to helping run the first known secret police station in New York on behalf of the Chinese government.
Prosecutors say Chen and his co-defendant Lu Jianwang opened and operated the station in Manhattan's Chinatown in early 2022 on behalf of China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
At least 100 such stations have been reported globally in 53 countries, with rights groups accusing China of using the outposts to threaten and surveil Chinese nationals abroad.
But China denied they were police stations, saying they were “service stations” providing administrative services to nationals abroad.
The outpost, which occupied an entire floor above a ramen stand, provided basic services like renewing Chinese citizens' driver's licenses, but it also helped Beijing identify pro-democracy activists living in the United States, federal authorities say.
Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, called the attempted exploitation of the undeclared overseas police station “a clear affront to American sovereignty and a danger to our community that will not be tolerated.” .
The station was closed in the fall of 2022 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation.
But Chen Jinping and Lu destroyed text messages they exchanged with an MPS official when they learned of the investigation, prosecutors said.
The men, both US citizens, were arrested in April last year.
On Wednesday, Chen, 60, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an agent of China and faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced next year.
Chen's admission of guilt is a “stark reminder of the (Chinese) government's insidious efforts to threaten, harass and intimidate those who speak out against their Communist Party,” said Robert Wells, executive deputy director of the China branch. FBI National Security. a declaration.
Lu, 59, has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Prosecutors accused him of harassing an alleged Chinese fugitive into returning to China and helping locate a pro-democracy activist in California on behalf of the Communist Party.
At the time of Chen's arrest, authorities said it was the first time the United States had brought criminal charges against such police outposts.
Mr. Olsen said U.S. authorities “will continue to pursue anyone who attempts to support the PRC’s efforts to expand its repressive reach in the United States.”
In September, Linda Sun, a former aide in the New York governor's office, was accused of using her position to further the interests of the Chinese government – receiving benefits including travel in exchange.
Last year, 34 MPS agents were also accused of using fake social media accounts to harass Chinese dissidents in the United States and spread official Chinese government propaganda.
