A New York City resident was convicted on Wednesday of running spy operations for China from a Manhattan office building.
Lu “Harry” Jianwang, 64, was convicted of acting as an illegal foreign agent and obstructing justice by deleting WeChat messages that prosecutors said included orders from Beijing to harass and intimidate pro-democracy dissidents. Prosecutors said he set up an outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood in 2022, after attending an event in Fujian province where China’s Ministry of Public Security announced it was opening 30 secret police stations around the world. A U.S. citizen for decades, Lu now awaits sentencing and faces up to 30 years in prison.
“A police station operating in New York City at the direction of the Chinese government has been exposed, its sinister purpose disrupted, and its founder held accountable for blatantly disregarding the law and our country’s sovereignty,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. “Our Office remains resolute in protecting the rights of people seeking freedom from repression and speaking out to bring democracy, reform, and human rights to China.”
Prosecutors described the matter as the first criminal case of its kind. A jury in Brooklyn federal court convicted Lu after a weeklong trial.
Lu was initially arrested in April 2023 and pleaded not guilty. His legal team pushed back against accusations that he acted as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government. They defended the outpost, arguing that he acted voluntarily and alone to create a community center where he helped people renew their Chinese driver’s licenses remotely without returning to China.
“Harry’s motives were pure. Harry’s support in the community is enormous for a reason — not because he’s some underworld operative,” attorney John Carman said. “His support is there because he’s helped a lot of people in the 45 years that he’s been in the United States of America, becoming a citizen and reaching out to members of his community to help them.”
Prosecutors argued otherwise, saying Lu created the outpost at China’s direction, making him “in lockstep with what the Chinese government tasked him to do.” They also accused him of helping China locate a pro-democracy activist living in California.
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“The police station wasn’t the defendant’s idea or initiative: this was the Chinese government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Antoinette Rangel said. “This was the Chinese government’s plan, and the defendant made it happen.”
“May today’s verdict send a message to other foreign agents–the FBI maintains its unwavering resolve to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversarial nations,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle added.