The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday charged a US citizen and four Chinese intelligence officers with conspiracy and other charges related to espionage. The indictment claims that the five defendants spied on pro-democracy activists, Chinese dissidents and human rights advocates and relayed the information to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
According to a statement released Wednesday by the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the American defendant, Shujun Wang, is a noted writer and academic residing in Queens. Wang helped start a pro-democracy organization in the city, but officials allege that Wang reported those who joined. Announcing the charges, United States Attorney Breon Peace stated that the indictment “exposes and disrupts an operation . . . that threatens the safety and freedom of Chinese nationals residing in the United States on account of their pro-democracy beliefs and speech.”
The statement alleges that the four Chinese agents acted as Wang’s “handlers” and instructed him to report on certain groups and individuals deemed subversive by the Chinese government. Defendants allegedly targeted “Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, advocates for Taiwanese independence, and Uyghur and Tibetan activists.”
Wang communicated with his handlers through an intricate system of encrypted messaging and in-person meetings. Officials believe that Wang has worked in this capacity since at least 2011. Authorities arrested Wang in March, but the four Chinese agents remain at large.
The charges are the latest in a an ongoing campaign against espionage between China and the West. In November, 2021, a federal grand jury convicted a Chinese national of attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. Last month, a University of Kansas professor was similarly convicted after failing to reveal ties to the Chinese government while working on research funded by the US. China sentenced a Canadian citizen to 11 years in prison last year on charges of espionage.
