- The FBI arrests two individuals in connection with a suspected secret Chinese police station hidden in New York
- The hidden outpost was thought to have been operating in the area's Chinatown
- Federal officials believe that the secret police station was created to intimidate Chinese dissidents who were living in the United States
On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested two people believed to have conspired to act as agents of the Chinese government at a remote police station hidden in Manhattan, New York.
Officials believe that the two men used the secret police station to intimidate Chinese dissidents living in the United States and working on behalf of the People's Republic of China (RPC).
Secret Chinese Police Station in New York
Authorities also charged other people in two unrelated cases; one was against 34 Chinese police officers who are believed to have harassed Chinese nationals living in the New York area. The second is against eight Chinese officials facing accusations of directing a US-based tech company employee who sought to remove dissidents from the platform, per the New York Times.
Court papers said that Chinese security officials were running the Manhattan outpost, which was only one of over 100 Chinese police operations worldwide. These stations worked to unnerve diplomats and intelligence officials in various nations.
The recent case marks the first time that criminal charges have been raised about one such Chinese police outpost. Furthermore, the charges against the two arrested individuals, 61-year-old Lu Jianwang and 59-year-old Chen Jinping followed an FBI and US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn investigation.
In a statement, the US attorney in Brooklyn, Breon S. Peace, said that the newly-revealed charges responded to the PRC that the United States was aware of what they were doing. He argued that they would work on stopping these efforts from occurring in the US.
Intimated Chinese Dissidents
Despite the allegations, Chinese authorities have denied any responsibility for the secret police stations in the United States, calling the outposts "service centers" meant for nationals living overseas, according to BBC.
On Monday, the US Department of Justice said the two individuals established the first overseas police station on US soil on behalf of Beijing's Ministry of Public Security. The establishment was later forced to close in the autumn of 2022, said the DOJ, after the people involved with the station became aware of the FBI investigation.
The acting assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, Kurt Ronnow, said that the situation was "outrageous" because China's Ministry of Public Security was trying to get away with establishing a secret police station in Manhattan, New York.
He argued that the hidden outpost was created amid Beijing's efforts to export repression and subvert the rule of law. He added that this case was a reminder that the PRC would do anything to bend people to its will, even forcefully, said CBS News.