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US charges one American and four Chinese intelligence officers with spying
The US Department of Justice said on Wednesday (May 18), a US citizen and four Chinese intelligence officers have been charged with spying on Chinese dissidents, human rights leaders and pro-democracy activists residing in the United States.
The indictment alleges Wang Shujun, of Queens, New York, used his status within Chinese diaspora and dissident communities to collect information about activists on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The Justice Department said, Wang, 73, was arrested on March 16 and will be arraigned at a later date.
It added that the four MSS officials, who the department named as Feng He, Jie Ji, Ming Li and Keqing Lu, are still at large. The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in a federal court in Brooklyn.
Representatives for Wang were not immediately reachable for comment. China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said: “Today’s indictment exposes and disrupts an operation by the PRC that threatens the safety and freedom of Chinese nationals residing in the United States on account of their pro-democracy beliefs and speech."
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The indictment alleges that Wang has provided information to the MSS since at least 2011. It says, the MSS officials directed Wang to target Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, advocates for Taiwanese independence and Uyghur and Tibetan activists.
Source: alarabiyaenglish
