Chinese'secret police' are detained by the US

The Department of Justice on Monday arrested two New Yorkers, 61-year-old Harry Lu Jianwang and 59-year-old Chen Jinping, for helping the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) establish a secret police station in Manhattan. The two men were charged with conspiracy to act as agents of the Chinese government and obstruction of justice, facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The US accused Lu of “repressive activities” on US soil on behalf of China, such as leading a 2015 protest against “members of a religion that is forbidden” during a visit by President Xi Jinping, alleged harassment in 2018 of a “purported fugitive” to return to China, and locating a “pro-democracy activist” in California in 2022. The DOJ has also announced two cases against a total of 44 Chinese nationals, accusing them of using the internet to threaten and harass “Chinese dissidents located throughout the world,” including the US. 34 MPS officers were part of a "912 Special Project Working Group" and ten others were charged with "unlawful conspiracy to transfer means of identification". All reside outside the US and remain at large.