New York Man Charged as Illegal Chinese Agent in U.S.

A New York man, Yuanjun Tang, was charged for operating as an illegal agent of the Chinese government in the U.S. He is accused of spying on Chinese pro-democracy activists and dissidents for China's Ministry of State Security from 2018 to 2023. Tang previously sought political asylum in the U.S.

A New York man was charged on Wednesday with operating as an illegal agent of the Chinese government in the United States. The Justice Department has accused him of spying on Chinese pro-democracy activists and dissidents.

The DOJ alleges that Yuanjun Tang, 67, acted as a Chinese agent between 2018 and 2023 at the direction of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), its principal intelligence agency. Tang provided MSS intelligence officers with information about individuals and groups viewed by China as adverse to its interests, including prominent U.S.-based Chinese dissidents and helped infiltrate a group chat used by numerous Chinese dissidents.

Tang is also accused of making false statements to the FBI, claiming he could no longer access an email account used to communicate with his MSS handler. Tang is a former Chinese citizen who was imprisoned for his dissident activities, later granted political asylum in the U.S., and became a citizen.

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters was unable to contact Tang.

(With inputs from agencies.)