New York: Shujun Wang, a US citizen of Chinese descent, was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison as he was convicted for spying in the US for China, the US Office of Public Affairs (OPA) said in a press release.
Wang, 75, was an academician and author in the US. He also helped start a pro-democracy organization in Queens, New York, that opposes the current communist regime in the People's Republic of China (PRC).
However, an indictment by the Office of Public Affairs found him guilty on charges of acting and conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the US Attorney General, criminal use of identification and making false statements to US law enforcement.
While commenting on the matter, Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's National Security Division highlighted that Wang infiltrated a New York-based advocacy group while covertly collecting and reporting sensitive information to China's intelligence agency.
"This defendant infiltrated a New York-based advocacy group by masquerading as a pro-democracy activist all while covertly collecting and reporting sensitive information about its members to the PRC's intelligence service. Today's verdict demonstrates that those who would seek to advance the Chinese government's agenda of transnational repression will be held accountable," Olsen stated.
Meanwhile, US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, said that the indictment could have been the plot of a John LeCarre or Graham Greene spy novel, but the evidence is shockingly real that the defendant led a double life, pretending for years to be an activist for democracy while he was secretly passing information to the Chinese government.
"The defendant was a perfect stooge for the PRC, a well-known academic and founder of a pro-democracy organization who was willing to betray those who respected and trusted him. When confronted with his shameful conduct, Wang lied to the FBI, but today's verdict revealed the truth of his crimes and now he will face the consequences", the Attorney said.
Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI's National Security Branch stressed that any support for transnational repression is unacceptable, and the FBI brings to justice to those who support such activities.
"This conviction underscores the FBI's commitment to countering espionage schemes by holding those accountable who collect US activist information for the benefit of China. Any support for transnational repression is unacceptable, and the FBI works diligently with its partners to seek out and bring to justice those who support such activities," Wells stated.
Wang was one of the founders of the pro-democracy Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang Memorial Foundation, an organization whose members are well-known pro-democracy dissidents who oppose the current government of the PRC.
But instead of promoting democracy in the PRC, Wang, at the direction of PRC government officials, used his position within the Memorial Foundation and his status within the Chinese diaspora community to collect information about prominent activists, academics and dissidents and reported that information to the PRC government, The same press statement by the OPA claimed.
According to court documents, since at least 2006, Wang operated under the direction and control of his co-defendants of China's Ministry of State Security, which is responsible for the PRC's foreign intelligence collection.
Reportedly, Wang gathered information on people and groups that the PRC considers subversive, such as Hong Kong democracy protestors, advocates for Taiwanese independence and Uyghur and Tibetan activists, both in the United States and abroad.
Wang conducted face-to-face meetings with MSS officials while on trips to the PRC and used an encrypted messaging application to receive taskings from his co-defendants and to send and receive written messages and files.
Wang often memorialized the information he collected in email "diaries" to be accessed by the MSS. These "diaries" included details about Wang's private conversations with prominent dissidents, as well as the activities of pro-democracy activists and human rights organizations.
Law enforcement recovered from Wang's residence approximately 163 "diary" entries that he wrote to He, Ji, Li and Lu and other MSS officials.
Additionally, in connection with his work for the MSS, Wang possessed telephone numbers and contact information belonging to Chinese dissidents.
—ANI