DOJ Indicts New York Resident For Allegedly Spying On Pro-Democracy Activists For Chinese Government

In a recent development, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted a New York resident, accusing him of acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government and spying on Chinese pro-democracy activists and dissidents.

What Happened: The DOJ has charged Yuanjun Tang, 67, with operating as an illicit agent of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) in the U.S. from 2018 to 2023, Reuters reported on Thursday. Tang allegedly provided MSS intelligence officers with information about individuals and groups considered “potentially adverse” to China’s interests.

The DOJ claims that Tang assisted the MSS in infiltrating a group chat on an encrypted messaging app used by several Chinese dissidents. Tang is also accused of making false statements to the FBI, claiming he could no longer access an email account used for communication with his MSS handler.

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A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. stated that he was unaware of the case details and emphasized that China expects its citizens abroad to abide by the laws of their host country. The spokesperson also expressed China’s firm opposition to “groundlessly slandering and smearing” that targets the country.

Why It Matters: This case comes amid escalating concerns over Chinese espionage. In June, U.S. tech giants, including Google and OpenAI, tightened their employee screening processes due to fears of foreign governments manipulating compromised staff to gain access to proprietary information and corporate data.

In July, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) warned tech startups about the potential risks of espionage from foreign adversaries, including China, through investment channels. The NCSC stated that foreign threat actors might exploit tech startups through private investments, posing substantial risks to both economic and national security.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari