Two Convicted in US for Acting as Unauthorized Agents for China

A 64-year-old president of a Chinese community group was found guilty this week of acting as an unauthorized foreign agent for China after federal authorities accused him of operating an overseas police station in Manhattan's Chinatown. The individual, Lu Jianwang, opened an office in 2022 in a building above a ramen store.

His lawyers said the space was intended to help Chinese expats renew driver's licenses and host social activities such as mahjong and ping pong. Prosecutors said the office functioned as the first known Chinese secret police station in the United States and that Lu used it to monitor critics of the Chinese government.

In one instance, prosecutors said Chinese officials directed Lu to verify the location of a longtime critic who had left China in 2013. Lu's co-defendant had already pleaded guilty to related charges. Lu faces up to 30 years in prison.

Separately, the mayor of Arcadia, California, pleaded guilty this week to acting as an unauthorized foreign agent. Officials said she posted propaganda on a website aimed at the Chinese American community at the direction of the Chinese government. The content included statements denying genocide and forced labor in China's Xinjiang region.

China has faced international criticism over its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, where evidence indicates millions have been held in camps. Chinese authorities describe the facilities as re-education centers.

The convictions occurred in the same week that President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The two leaders focused on trade and did not address espionage issues. China has been accused of establishing at least 100 overseas police stations in 53 countries.

The Chinese government has denied that the stations are police facilities, describing them instead as volunteer centers offering administrative help to citizens. A similar investigation in London found no criminal activity. Experts have tracked an increase in such activities over the past decade.

The cases form part of a wider pattern that includes monitoring dissidents, propaganda efforts and technology acquisition. China views criticism from overseas Chinese communities as a threat to stability and believes Western governments support such dissent.

These types of prosecutions require significant resources. Officials have described China's approach to espionage as a "volume enterprise," suggesting that such activities are likely to continue despite individual convictions.