A Massachusetts man allegedly acted on behalf of China to report on Chinese dissidents living in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Litang Liang, 63, faces one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without providing notification to the attorney general and one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without providing notification to the attorney general, according to the DOJ. Liang allegedly acted as an agent of China around 2018 through at least 2022, providing China with information on individuals, organizations and pro-democracy protests that featured Chinese dissidents, according to his indictment. (RELATED: CCP-Controlled, State-Owned Firm Behind Chinese Cash Allegedly Funneled To Hunter Biden, Documents Show)
In one instance, Liang allegedly sent a list of members of a pro-Taiwan organization operating in the U.S. directly to a Chinese government official, according to the indictment
“It is alleged that Liang sent information regarding anti-PRC dissidents to PRC officials including: identification of an individual he accused of having ‘sabotaged’ PRC flags in Boston’s Chinatown in October 2018; video of a dissident attending the ‘Boston Stands with Hong Kong’ march in August 2019; and photographs of anti-PRC dissidents in front of the Boston Public Library in September 2019,” the DOJ announced.
Moreover, Liang allegedly cooperated with the United Front Work Department, China’s overseas influence operation that reported directly to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to the indictment.
(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“We will not tolerate the PRC’s efforts to interfere with public discourse and threaten civic participation in the United States,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in the DOJ’s Monday statement.
“This case demonstrates, once again, the lengths that the PRC government, including its Ministry of Public Security, will go to target people in the U.S. who exercise their rights to speak out against the PRC,” Olsen added.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.