US arrests Chinese-American on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Beijing
A Chinese-American man was arrested last week for allegedly serving as an agent of the Chinese government without notifying the US government, the Department of Justice announced on Monday.
Litang Liang, 63, of Brighton, Massachusetts, was accused of providing Chinese officials with information about Boston-area individuals and organisations; leading a counter-protest against anti-Beijing activists; and suggesting potential recruits to China's Ministry of Public Security.
Liang was indicted on two counts related to acting as an agent of a foreign government. The charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to US$250,000.
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"We will not tolerate the PRC's efforts to interfere with public discourse and threaten civic participation in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's national security division.
According to the indictment, Liang, a US citizen, communicated with seven Chinese officials, including several from the Chinese consulate in New York, from 2018 to 2022.
In 2018 he shared with Chinese officials photographs of an individual he said had "sabotaged" Chinese flags in Boston's Chinatown and said the person was a member of a local Chinese group with pro-Taiwan leanings.
Several of the officials requested more information about the organisation, the indictment said, and Liang sent them information about another Chinese group in the area with similar leanings, in addition to that of other Chinese organisations in New England and New York.
In 2019 Liang founded a group, the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China, "to appear to be acting as a member of a local community organisation unconnected to the PRC government, when in fact he was acting at [their] direction or control", according to the indictment.
In August that year, Liang also allegedly communicated to Chinese officials about organising a counterprotest to a march called "Boston Stands With Hong Kong", which was in support of the protests in Hong Kong; sent officials photographs of anti-Chinese government protesters the day of the protest; and sent more photos the following month when Hong Kong protesters stood in front of the Boston Public Library.
Also in 2018 and 2019, Liang allegedly travelled to China to attend meetings hosted by the United Front Work Department, a Chinese Communist Party organ tasked with strengthening adherence to the party within and outside China.
Finally, the indictment said, last year Liang provided someone identified as "DC Ministry of Public Security Shanghai" the names of two leaders in the Chinese diaspora as candidates to "cultivate and train".
Liang's defence lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said that while he was unfamiliar with the case, "in recent years, the US government and media have frequently hyped up the topic of 'Chinese spies', many of which later proved to be unfounded".
"China always requires its citizens to abide by the laws and regulations of the host country, and firmly opposes the US side's groundless slander and smear of China," Liu added.
At his arraignment on Thursday in the US District Court of Massachusetts in Boston, Liang was released on conditions including surrendering his passport; restricting his travel to within Massachusetts; electronic monitoring; a US$25,000 bond; and no contact with Chinese officials.
In January, a Chinese music student in Boston was indicted after allegedly stalking and threatening a woman posting fliers in support of democracy in China.
This case also follows several high-profile cases of alleged "transnational repression" by the Chinese government, including one last month in which two New York residents were arrested on suspicion of operating a "secret" police station in Manhattan's Chinatown.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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