An American citizen and four Chinese intelligence officials have been charged with spying on Chinese dissidents, human rights advocates, and pro-democracy activists in the United States (US), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday.
It accused the five men of trying to “silence critics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)” in the US and abroad, and of working under the instructions of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). The Department said they would be charged with conspiracy, espionage, and transnational repression.
The American, Wang Shujun, 73, is from Queens, New York, while the other men are from the Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Qingdao. The Department said Wang was arrested in March and will be arraigned at a later date. The four Chinese men remain at large.
Attorney Breon Peace accused Wang of acting as a “covert intelligence asset in his own community, spying on and reporting sensitive information on prominent pro-democracy activists and organisations” to his Chinese counterparts. “Today’s indictment exposes and disrupts an operation by the PRC that threatens the safety and freedom of Chinese nationals residing in the United States on account of their pro-democracy beliefs and speech,” Peace said.
The DOJ statement said that Wang, a well-known academic and author, had helped establish a pro-democracy organisation that opposes China. Simultaneously, however, since 2011, Wang “used his position and status within the Chinese diaspora and dissident communities to covertly collect information about prominent activists and human rights leaders on behalf of the MSS and PRC.”
The four Chinese individuals acted as Wang’s handlers and directed him to target individuals and groups that China considers subversive, including Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Uyghur, and Tibetan activists.
“Wang communicated and provided information to the MSS “by using encrypted messaging applications and emails, as well as during face-to-face meetings in the PRC,” the statement read. Wang would also write down his conversations with dissidents in email diaries and send them to his handlers.
“A search of Wang’s residence incident to his arrest revealed approximately 163 diary entries,” it added. Wang’s indictment also alleges that he “transferred and possessed telephone numbers and contact information belonging to Chinese dissidents to the MSS.”
U.S. Citizen and Four Chinese Intelligence Officers Charged with Spying on Prominent Dissidents, Human Rights Leaders and Pro-Democracy Activists @NewYorkFBI https://t.co/R1qHqh3K3G pic.twitter.com/OSPUGP5tnU
— FBI (@FBI) May 19, 2022
“We will not tolerate efforts by the PRC or any authoritarian government to export repressive measures to our country,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said. He added that the charges were meant to convey the Department’s “unwavering commitment” to hold accountable those responsible for violating US laws and suppressing dissident voices within the country.
“If anyone doubts how serious the Chinese government is about silencing its critics, this case should eliminate any uncertainty,” a top official of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said. He added that the incident reveal that the PRC’s repressive activities are no longer confined to its borders and the Chinese government has started targeting people in the US and elsewhere.
In March, the US charged five people for working on behalf of China’s secret police and stalking, spying on, and harassing Chinese dissidents. The Justice Department accused the five men of perpetrating “transnational repression schemes to target US residents whose political views and actions are disfavoured” by the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).
According to reports, the Chinese government has been stepping up efforts to infiltrate US government institutions and private companies. A 2020 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) notes that from 2000 to 2020, there were at least 160 reported cases of Chinese espionage against the US and over 1,000 cases of intellectual property theft committed by Chinese entities against US companies.
The report notes that 85% of cases involved Chinese agents trying to acquire US military and commercial technologies. For instance, in November last year, the DOJ convicted a Chinese spy for attempting to steal trade secrets from American aviation and aerospace companies.
Additionally, CSIS reported that while 32% of the people involved in spying for China were private Chinese citizens, 26% were non-Chinese actors, “usually US citizens recruited by Chinese officials.” For instance, in December 2021, the US convicted Harvard professor Charles Lieber for lying to the FBI regarding his work with the Chinese government and failing to disclose the salary paid to him by the Wuhan University of Technology.