Arrest Of Chinese Agents Gives Beijing Another Blackeye

“We don’t need or want a secret police station in our great city,” said Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York on Monday -- expressing the disgust of many Americans after FBI arrested two alleged Beijing agents accused of working to harass and silence its critics in the US, Stephen Collinson, Caitlin Hu and Shelby Rose reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: The two men Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping — both US citizens — allegedly created the “first known overseas police station in the US,” on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

The Justice Department also charged 34 officers of China’s national police, all of whom are in China, with related offenses.

According to a new report by Madrid-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders shared with CNN last year, President Xi Jinping’s government has set up more than 100 such posts to monitor the activity of large Chinese diasporas, using bilateral security arrangements as a cover.

Prosecutors allege that China opened an “undeclared police station” in New York City that was used at least once to track down a pro-democracy activist of Chinese descent living in California.

The two men Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping — both US citizens — allegedly created the “first known overseas police station in the US,” on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the Justice Department said.

The FBI also accused a group of Chinese officers of flooding an online video conference and screaming at and threatening Chinese dissidents in the US who were discussing democracy.

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