Guilty Plea Exposes Secret Chinese Operations in NYC's Chinatown

Chen Jinping has pleaded guilty to conspiring to serve as an agent for the Chinese government by running an undisclosed police station in Manhattan's Chinatown, raising alarms over China's influence and espionage activities in the U.S.

In a troubling development highlighting alleged foreign interference in the United States, an American citizen has confessed to his role in running what has been described as the first known covert police station in the U.S. on behalf of the Chinese government. Chen Jinping, along with co-defendant Lu Jianwang, established the clandestine outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown in early 2022, according to prosecutors. This facility was reportedly utilized to assist Beijing in identifying pro-democracy activists residing in the U.S.

Globally, at least 100 such stations have been documented across 53 nations, raising human rights concerns regarding China's tactics to intimidate and surveil Chinese nationals living overseas. The Chinese government has characterized these installations as "service stations" offering administrative assistance rather than police operations.

Functioning secretly above a ramen shop, the outpost did provide practical services such as renewing driver’s licenses for Chinese citizens, but federal authorities assert it also played a role in tracking down dissidents opposing the Chinese Communist Party. Matthew Olsen, an assistant attorney general with the U.S. Department of Justice, condemned these efforts as an affront to American sovereignty and a threat to public safety that would not go unnoticed.

After the Federal Bureau of Investigation began looking into the operation, the station was abruptly shuttered in the autumn of 2022, but Chen and Lu allegedly destroyed critical communications with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security when they became aware of the inquiry.

Chen Jinping, 60, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and now faces a potential five-year prison sentence at his forthcoming hearing next year. His admission serves as a pointed example of the lengths to which the Chinese government is willing to go to silence dissent and disrupt pro-democracy movements, emphasized Robert Wells, an executive assistant director at the FBI's National Security Branch.

While Chen has taken accountability, Lu Jianwang, 59, has maintained his innocence and is awaiting trial. Prosecutors claim he harassed a Chinese fugitive to facilitate their return to China and aided in tracking a pro-democracy activist in California for the Communist regime.

In a wider context, this incident marks the first instance of the U.S. pursuing criminal charges tied to such overseas police stations. U.S. authorities have vowed to diligently tackle any attempts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to extend its oppressive practices into American territory.

This case follows recent legal actions against other individuals believed to be serving Chinese government interests in the U.S., including the recent arrest of Linda Sun, a former aide in the New York governor's office, for her alleged complicity with Chinese authorities. Additionally, last year saw 34 officers from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security being charged for orchestrating campaigns on social media to harass dissidents and disseminate Chinese propaganda.