The US Justice Department announced that a US citizen and four officials from China’s Ministry of State Security have been charged with conspiracy and espionage in a plan to quell dissent against Beijing.
In an indictment that closed Tuesday in federal court in New York, the US alleged that New York’s Shujun Wang, a naturalized US citizen, acted as a secret Chinese intelligence asset in his own community, “sensitizing on key supporters.” By spying and reporting information. Democracy activists and organizations in the United States”.
The indictment alleges that Wang, 73, filed the report with four Chinese state security officials — Fang He, Ji Ji, Ming Li and Keking Lu — who Justice Department officials say were Wang’s handlers. The Justice Department said Wang was arrested on March 16, but the other four are absconding.
US Attorney Brian Peace in New York said the indictment “exposes and disrupts an operation by (China) that threatens the safety and freedoms of Chinese citizens living in the United States because of their pro-democracy beliefs and speech “
The indictment described Wang in New York as “a noted academic and author who helped start a pro-democracy organization” that opposes the current communist regime in China.
But the US alleged that since at least 2011, Wang has used his stature within the Chinese expatriate and dissident communities to secretly collect information about prominent activists and human rights leaders and then transfer it to encrypted messaging applications. Through sent to the Ministry of State Security or disclosed it during the face. One-on-one meeting in China.
The indictment says US law enforcement officers found 163 “diary” entries at Wang’s residence, which he sent to four of his Chinese masters.
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