A naturalised US citizen from China has been arrested on charges of acting as an unregistered agent for Beijing and for lying to the FBI after he allegedly ran a pro-democracy civic group while providing intelligence on dissidents to the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
Arraigned in federal court in New York on Wednesday, Yuanjun Tang, 67, faces up to 20 years in prison, charged with one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the US Attorney General, one count of conspiracy and one count of making false statements.
According to court documents, Tang was imprisoned in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as a dissident opposing Beijing’s one-party state and Chinese Communist Party control before defecting to Taiwan around 2002.
Tang was subsequently granted political asylum in the US where he “regularly participated in events” with fellow Chinese dissidents, according to the criminal complaint.
In 2018 and 2023, and possibly on other occasions, however, Tang worked as an agent for MSS, China’s principle civilian agency handles foreign intelligence, counter-intelligence, espionage and political security activities.
Prosecutors allege that Tang agreed to cooperate in a bid to see his family back on the mainland. They add that after a visit home in 2018, he was introduced to an unnamed MSS official at which point the MSS provided money to his family.
We firmly oppose the [groundless] slandering and smearing targeting China
The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was not aware of specific details involving the case.
“But in recent years, the US government and media have frequently hyped up the so-called ‘Chinese agents’ narratives, many of which have later been proven untrue,” said spokesman Liu Pengyu.
“China requires its citizens overseas to comply with the laws and regulations of the host country, and we firmly oppose the [groundless] slandering and smearing targeting China,” he added.
Two weeks ago, a jury in New York convicted a naturalised US citizen from China of leading a pro-democracy group while secretly working with Beijing intelligence officers to monitor dissidents.
And in April 2023, the FBI arrested two New York residents for allegedly running a secret Chinese police station in New York City.
According to the Justice Department filing, Tang used an email account, encrypted chats, text messages and audio and video calls to communicate with and receive instructions from an MSS intelligence officer.
Of particular interest to Beijing, US prosecutors said, were details on US-based Chinese democracy activists, dissidents and groups that China saw as “potentially adverse” to its interests; events planned to commemorate the 2021 June 4 anniversary; and details of the US asylum process.
“He also travelled at least three times for face-to-face meetings with MSS intelligence officers and helped the MSS infiltrate a group chat on an encrypted messaging application,” the filing said.
The chat platform, with some 140 participants, was reportedly used to communicate about activist issues and criticise the Chinese government.
Tang also allegedly provided MSS with information about an unnamed Congressional candidate – reportedly a Chinese dissident and human rights activist – including details on the candidate’s campaign team and fundraising.
05:29
China executes scientist for spying in 2016, among 10 ‘shocking’ cases revealed in documentary
China executes scientist for spying in 2016, among 10 ‘shocking’ cases revealed in documentary
During a 2022 meeting, prosecutors allege, the MSS officer inserted a monitoring device in one of Tang’s cellphones that “caused any photo, screenshot, or voice memorandum generated or captured on the compromised phone to be immediately transmitted” to the officer.
The Justice Department said that the FBI is still investigating, but that law enforcement agencies have recovered instructions that MSS sent Tang as well as photographs, videos and documents Tang collected or created to send back to the spy agency from several electronic devices.
In recent years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made security a cornerstone of his administration and significantly expanded the power of the MSS.
The US State Department expressed “great concern” last year that China’s vaguely worded counter-espionage law has the potential to criminalise legitimate activities, including corporate due diligence, financial accounting, academic research and college application consulting.
In May, MSS warned on its WeChat account against “quite deceptive” foreign operatives seeking to steal hi-tech Chinese industrial secrets.
Agencies investigating and prosecuting the Tang case include the FBI’s national security unit and the Justice Department’s counter-intelligence and export control section.
Neither Tang, who was arrested in the New York City borough of Queens, nor any lawyer he has hired, could be reached. New York, where Tang has lived for two decades, has the largest concentration of Chinese-Americans – more than half a million – of any US city.
