New York: An American citizen has admitted to his role in operating what has been identified as the first known secret police station in the United States, allegedly run on behalf of the Chinese government. Chen Jinping, along with co-defendant Lu Jianwang, is accused of running the station in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which opened in early 2022. The station was reportedly linked to China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS). Authorities said that more than 100 similar stations have been found in 53 countries globall.
Rights groups accusing China of using these outposts to monitor and intimidate Chinese nationals living abroad. But China said that these stations are not police outposts, but “service stations” and offer administrative services to Chinese citizens abroad, BBC reported.
US slams China’s secret station
While the station did provide basic services like renewing driver’s licenses for Chinese nationals, federal authorities say it also played a role in identifying pro-democracy activists living in the US Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general at the US Department of Justice, condemned the operation, calling it “a direct challenge to American sovereignty and a threat to the safety of our community.”
The station was shut down in late 2022 after a probe launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, prosecutors claim Chen and Lu tried to hide their involvement by destroying text messages exchanged with an MPS official once they became aware of the investigation.
American citizens plead guilty
Both men are American citizens. They were arrested in April 2023. On Wednesday, Chen, 60, pled guilty to conspiring to act as an agent for China and faces up to five years in prison when sentenced in 2025. FBI official Robert Wells said that Chen’s guilty plea highlights the efforts by the Chinese government to harass and intimidate critics of the Communist Party. Lu, 59, has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. He is accused of tried to force a Chinese fugitive to return to China and helping the Chinese government in tracking a pro-democracy activist in California.
In a separate case, former New York governor’s aide Linda Sun was charged in September for using her position to further Chinese government interests. Apart from that, 34 MPS officers were charged last year for using fake social media accounts to harass Chinese dissidents in the US.
