NEW YORK — A resident of Manhattan has admitted guilt for his involvement in the formation of a covert police station attributed to the Chinese government in New York City.
Chen Jinping, aged 60, made his guilty plea on a single charge of conspiracy to serve as an agent for a foreign government during a court session in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Matthew Olsen, who serves as an assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, stated that Chen acknowledged his participation in “boldly establishing an undeclared police station” in Manhattan and attempting to hide this activity when approached by the FBI.
Olsen emphasized that “this illegal police station was not set up for public safety, but to advance the malicious and oppressive objectives of the People’s Republic of China,” referring directly to the actions that violate U.S. sovereignty.
Prosecutors indicated that Chen and his accomplice, Lu Jianwang, initiated operations for a local branch of China’s Ministry of Public Security in Manhattan’s Chinatown area starting in early 2022.
This office, which occupied a whole floor in the building, provided various basic services, including renewing driver’s licenses for Chinese citizens, while also targeting pro-democracy activists residing in the United States, as per federal authorities.
The secretive Chinese police initiative was closed down in the autumn of 2022 during an FBI investigation. However, to seemingly obstruct the federal inquiry, Chen and Lu allegedly deleted messages from their phones that were exchanged with a Chinese government official, according to prosecutorial statements.
China is suspected of maintaining similar undercover police posts across North America, Europe, and other regions with significant Chinese populations, though the Chinese government contends these outposts are primarily for civic services such as licensing support.
The apprehensions of Chen and Lu, which took place in April 2023, were part of a series of prosecutions pursued by the Justice Department aimed at combating “transnational repression,” wherein foreign states like China strive to track, intimidate, and silence their critics in the U.S.
Legal representatives for both Chen and Lu declined to comment on the matter during the hearing. Chen could face a maximum of five years in prison when his sentencing occurs on May 30.
Lu, who is expected to return to court in February, has a reported extensive background of interactions with Chinese law enforcement, according to prosecutors.
Over time, they allege that the Bronx resident, also known as Harry Lu, assisted in the harassment and intimidation of a Chinese fugitive residing in the U.S. and sought to locate a pro-democracy activist in California on behalf of the Chinese government.