Federal Prosecutors Charge Chinese Dissident in US for Alleged Spying for Beijing
New York prosecution authorities have arrested Yuanjun Tang, a 67-year-old Chinese-born US resident, accusing him of secretly working for China’s intelligence agency and spying on pro-democracy activist groups, Fox News reports.
According to a press release from the US Justice Department, Tang faces charges of acting in the US as an unregistered agent China and making materially false statements to the FBI. Authorities alleged that Tang has been engaged in espionage activities since 2018, operating under the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
Tang’s background is notable; he defected to Taiwan in 2002 after being imprisoned for protesting against the one-party authoritarian regime of the Chinese Communist Party. He was later granted asylum in the US and had been living in New York City. Federal agents claim that from 2018 until around June 2023, Tang acted as an agent for China by carrying out tasks as instructed by the MSS.
The Justice Department alleges that Tang provided Beijing with information concerning US-based Chinese democracy organizations. Furthermore, he reportedly made at least three trips for in-person meetings with MSS intelligence officers, assisting them in joining encrypted messaging applications used by Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy activists.
As part of the probe, the authorities recovered photographs, videos, and documents that contained instructions from the MSS. Fedral officials also stated that Tang made false claims to the FBI, allegedly saying that he could no longer access an email account used to communicate with his MSS handler.
Tang’s possible charges are: one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; one count of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, with a maximum penalty of 10 years; and one count of making false statements, also carrying a potential five-year sentence. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine his sentencing based on guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI continues to investigate the case.
