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. According to federal prosecutors, the two men had a “long-standing relationship of trust” with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS), which they helped “surreptitiously open and operate an illegal MPS police station on US soil.” The alleged outpost of the Fuzhou branch of the MPS operated from an office building in Manhattan’s Chinatown, until it was raided and closed by the FBI in October 2022. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said these actions “go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct.” The US Attorney Breon Peace has called the existence of a secret police station in New York City a "flagrant violation of our nation's sovereignty." 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. The DOJ has also announced two cases against 44 Chinese nationals, accusing them of using the internet to threaten and harass "Chinese dissidents located throughout the world," including the US.

According to the prosecutors, 34 MPS officers were part of a "troll farm" dubbed the "912 Special Project Working Group" and another ten, including employees of MPS and the Cyberspace Administration of China, were charged with "unlawful conspiracy to transfer means of identification". All reside outside the US and remain at large.