A New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after being accused of operating a so-called 'secret police station' on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood.
Federal Prosecution Details
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn alleged that Lu Jianwang, 64, should have informed the US attorney general that he was a Chinese agent when he helped establish the unregistered station in 2022. They further claimed he assisted China's government in locating a pro-democracy activist residing in California.
Lu was arrested in April 2023 and had pleaded not guilty to three felony charges: conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent, acting as an unregistered agent of China, and obstruction of justice. After a weeklong trial, a jury in Brooklyn federal court delivered the verdict. Lu now faces up to 30 years in prison.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle stated, 'May today’s verdict send a message to other foreign agents – the FBI maintains its unwavering resolve to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversarial nations.'
Context of Transnational Repression
The Justice Department has intensified investigations into what it terms 'transnational repression' by US adversaries like China and Iran, aimed at intimidating political opponents living in the United States. China's government has dismissed the charges as 'fabricated' and part of a smear campaign, asserting that such centers abroad are run by local volunteers, not Chinese police, and offer document renewal and other services.
In her opening statement on 6 May, prosecutor Lindsey Oken described Lu, a naturalized US citizen, as having ties to Chinese law enforcement. She claimed he met with officials during a 2022 trip to China who tasked him with opening the station, which he operated from a nondescript office building in Chinatown. Oken said Lu began by helping Chinese nationals in New York renew driver's licenses—an act that itself constitutes a crime if undisclosed to the US government. She also stated that Lu agreed to help locate a pro-democracy activist, though no harm to the activist was alleged.
Defense Argument
Lu's lawyer, John Carman, argued that his client agreed to open the center to assist Chinese nationals unable to travel to China for document renewal due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carman maintained that Lu was not acting on instructions from the Chinese government. A co-defendant arrested alongside Lu, Chen Jinping, pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiring to act as an unregistered Chinese agent.
The arrests followed a 2022 investigation by the Spain-based advocacy group Safeguard Defenders, which reported that China had established overseas 'service stations,' including in New York, that illegally collaborated with Chinese police to pressure fugitives into returning to China.
This verdict comes two days after the mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, agreed to plead guilty to charges of acting as an illegal agent of China. Wang resigned her position as part of the plea deal, having coordinated with China to post pro-China propaganda on a website presented as a news source for the local Chinese American community.
