U.S. federal prosecutors accused government agents from #China on Wednesday of trying to spy on and intimidate dissidents living in the United States, bringing at least three criminal cases, including one involving a congressional candidate. swissinfo.ch/eng/justice-de…
Justice Department officials said the cases amounted to "transnational repression" by an authoritarian government, including a discussion of assaulting one dissident.
"These cases expose attempts by the government of the PRC to suppress dissenting voices within the United States and demonstrate how the PRC attempts to stalk, intimidate, and silence those who oppose them," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen told a news conference.
In one of the cases, federal prosecutors said a Chinese government agent asked a U.S. private investigator to help manufacture a political scandal that would undermine a China-born man seeking the Democratic nomination to run for a New York seat...
... in the U.S. House of Representatives. At one point, the Chinese agent proposed that the private investigator consider physically attacking the candidate to prevent his candidacy, according to prosecutors.
"You can start thinking now, aside from violence, what other plans are there," the Chinese agent allegedly said. "But in the end, violence would be fine too. Huh? Beat him, beat him until he cannot run for election."
In another case, Chinese government agents are accused of planting surveillance equipment in a California-based artist’s workplace and car to spy on him. The agents also allegedly destroyed artwork created by the artist, a Chinese national residing in Los Angeles.
"These charges show that both election interference and malign foreign influence remain top priorities for the DOJ," said Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department lawyer now at Morrison & Foerster who is not involved in the cases.
Last month the Justice Department ended a program focused on fighting Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft at universities, shifting to address threats from a broader array of hostile nations.
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