The Justice Department announced Wednesday that they charged a New York man with operating as a spy of the Chinese government in the United States.
Yuanjun Tang, 68, lives in Flushing, Queens, and is a naturalized American citizen, a U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York press release reads. The DOJ is accusing him of spying on people critical of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the U.S.
“As alleged, for years, Yuanjun Tang used his position as a leader among pro-democracy activists in the U.S. to collect information for the Chinese government and to report on people critical of the PRC and events conducted in support of democracy,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “Today’s charges reflect this Office’s commitment to combating the repressive and illegal use of foreign agents in the U.S. to sow fear and distrust within our communities and subvert our country’s most basic freedoms.”
Tang acted as an agent of the PRC by taking orders from the Ministry of State Security “MSS” between 2018 and 2023, the DOJ alleged. The MSS is known for conducting counterintelligence, espionage and foreign intelligence gathering. (RELATED: Biden Admin’s Watered Down Vetting Process For Chinese Illegal Immigrants Poses National Security Risk, Experts Warn)
Tang allegedly communicated with the MSS through a variety of methods, including emails, encrypted chats, text messages and audio and video calls, the DOJ said. His activities allegedly targeted individuals and groups viewed by the PRC as threats to its interests, including prominent Chinese democracy activists based in the United States, according to the DOJ.
Tang met with MSS officers in person on several occasions and facilitated the infiltration of an encrypted messaging group used by Chinese dissidents to discuss pro-democracy issues, the DOJ alleged. During the investigation, law enforcement officials reportedly recovered instructions from the MSS, as well as photographs, videos and documents that Tang had allegedly collected for transmission to the MSS from his electronic devices.
Ting was a former citizen of the PRC. Authorities there imprisoned him for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party “CCP” political system, the press release reads. Tang defected to Taiwan sometime around 2002 and was later reportedly given political asylum in the United States. He has resided in New York City as a “pro-democracy” activist within the PRC dissident community, according to the DOJ.
He faces three counts in total: conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General and one count of false statements.
Tang faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all three charges.