WASHINGTON, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US federal prosecutors accused Chinese government agents of trying to spy on and intimidate dissidents living in the United States including a congressional candidate.
Justice Department officials said the three criminal cases amounted to “transnational repression” by an authoritarian government, including a discussion of assaulting one dissident.
“These cases expose attempts by the government of the People’s Republic of China to suppress dissenting voices within the United States and demonstrate how the PRC attempts to stalk, intimidate and silence those who oppose them,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen told a news conference.
In one of the cases, federal prosecutors said a Chinese government agent approached a US private investigator to help manufacture a political scandal that would undermine a China-born man seeking the Democratic nomination to run for a New York seat in the US House of Representatives.
At one point, the Chinese agent proposed that the private investigator consider physically attacking the candidate to prevent his candidacy, according to prosecutors.
The candidate was not identified in court documents, but fits the description of Xiong Yan, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for a House seat representing the eastern part of New York’s Long Island. The seat is held by Republican Lee Zeldin, who opted to run for governor rather than seek reelection.
In another case, prosecutors said a Long Island resident named Frank Liu approached a private investigator about performing due diligence on two Chinese-born dissidents living in the United States. Liu was charged with conspiring to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government.
Cho set a US$1 million bond for Liu, with conditions including that he not visit China’s consulate in New York.
In another case, Chinese government agents are accused of planting surveillance equipment in a California-based artist’s workplace and car to spy on him. The agents also allegedly destroyed artwork created by the artist, a Chinese national residing in Los Angeles.
The United States last year sanctioned Russia for having tried to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, a claim that Russia denies.
Last month the Justice Department ended a program focused on fighting Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft at universities, shifting to address threats from a broader array of hostile nations. — NNN-AGENCIES
