By Steve Neavling
A man admitted in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday to secretly working on behalf of the Chinese government to operate an illicit police outpost in Lower Manhattan as part of Beijing’s efforts to suppress dissent and stifle criticism abroad.
Prosecutors allege that Chen Jinping operated a covert police outpost in Lower Manhattan, a key piece of Beijing’s effort to silence its critics abroad, The New York Times reports.
Chen, along with another man, Lu Jianwang — also known as Harry Lu — was charged last year for helping run the outpost and concealing their activities from U.S. authorities by failing to register as foreign agents. The pair are accused of conducting covert operations on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security.
Federal investigators revealed that Chen and Lu scrambled to cover their tracks when they learned of the inquiry. Prosecutors said the men destroyed text messages exchanged with their Chinese handler just before the FBI searched the Chinatown building housing the outpost in October 2022.
In court, Chen, speaking through an interpreter, acknowledged that he had “agreed with others to act as an agent of a foreign government” without registering as required by U.S. law. While Chen pleaded guilty, his co-defendant Lu has maintained his innocence and is preparing for trial. Both men hold U.S. citizenship.
As Chen admitted his role in the operation, his son and daughter quietly observed from the courtroom’s front row, a solemn presence during the proceedings.
This case represents a broader effort by the Justice Department to combat covert Chinese influence within the U.S. Prosecutors in Brooklyn, led by U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, have been at the forefront of this campaign in recent years.
“A priority of my office has been to counteract the malign activities of foreign governments that violate our nation’s sovereignty by targeting local diaspora communities,” Peace said in a news release following the plea.
The charges against Chen are part of what officials describe as a global effort by Beijing to silence dissidents and intimidate critics. At the time of the arrests, the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn described the case as the first of its kind involving a Chinese police outpost on U.S. soil.
In addition to Chen’s case, federal prosecutors have pursued other instances of Chinese influence in the region. Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, was charged in September with accepting payoffs to advance the interests of China’s Communist Party.
Earlier cases in Brooklyn federal court include Shujun Wang, a Queens scholar convicted of spying for the Chinese government, and a trio of men who stalked a New Jersey family on Beijing’s behalf. These prosecutions underscore the scope of China’s reach within U.S. borders.
