Counterterrorism magazine published my piece on Chinese intelligence operatives that were uncovered in the United States.
You can read the piece via the above and below pages or the below text:
On November 16th, the U.S. Justice Department announced that a
Chinese spy was sentenced to 20 years in prison for espionage.
The spy, Yanjun Xu, was the first Chinese government
intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States. He was tried in
Cincinnati.
Xu, who held the rank of deputy division director at the Chinese
Ministry State Security (MSS), Communist China’s intelligence and security
agency, was convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit
economic espionage, conspiracy to commit trade theft, and other related charges
in November 2021.
“As proven at trial, the defendant used a range of techniques to
attempt to steal technology and proprietary information from companies based in
both the U.S. and abroad,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland at the
announcement. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the seriousness of those crimes
and the Justice Department’s determination to investigate and prosecute efforts
by the Chinese government, or any foreign power, to threaten our economy and
national security.”
According to the Justice Department, in March of 2017, a GE
Aviation employee in Cincinnati was asked to give a report to a university in
China. The employee traveled to China, gave the report and was introduced to
Xu. Xu paid the employee’s travel expenses as well as a stipend.
Later, the FBI posed as the employee and communicated with Xu.
Xu requested system specifications and design process information from the
employee, and – with the cooperation of GE Aviation, who was working with the
FBI – the employee emailed a two-page document from the company that included a
label that warned about the disclosure of proprietary information.
“In February 2018, XU began discussing with the employee the
possibility of meeting in Europe during one of the employee’s business trips
and asked the employee to send a copy of the file directory for his
company-issued computer,” the Justice Department stated. “Xu traveled to
Belgium with cash and pictures of the employee on April 1, 2008. He was
scheduled to meet with the employee and was arrested.”
“This case is just the latest example of the Chinese
government’s continued attacks on American economic security – and, by
extension, our national security,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The
Chinese government tasked an officer of its own spy agency to steal U.S. trade
secrets so it could advance its own commercial and military aviation efforts,
at the expense of an American company. This brazen action shows that the
Chinese government will stop at nothing to put our companies out of business to
the detriment of U.S. workers. As long as the Chinese government continues to
break our laws and threaten American industry and institutions, the FBI will
work with its partners across the globe to bring those responsible to justice.”
On October 24th Attorney General Garland, FBI Director Wray and
other officials announced that the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern
District of New York and the District of New Jersey charged 13 individuals,
including members of the Chinese MSS and their agents, for alleged efforts to
unlawfully exert influence in the United States for the benefit of the Chinese
government.
According to the Justice Department, an eight-count indictment
was unsealed in New York on October 20th charging seven Chinese nationals, two
of whom were arrested in New York, with participating in a scheme to cause the
forced repatriation of a Chinese national residing in the United States. The
defendants are accused of conducting surveillance of and engaging in a campaign
to harass and coerce a U.S. resident to return to China as part of an
international extralegal repatriation effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
A criminal complaint was unsealed on October 24th in federal
court in Brooklyn charging two Chinese intelligence officers with attempting to
obstruct a criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of New York. The
defendants remain at large.
In New Jersey, an indictment was unsealed on October 24th
charging four Chinese nationals, including three MSS intelligence officers, in
connection with a long-running intelligence campaign targeting individuals in
the United States to act as agents for China.
“As these cases demonstrate, the government of China sought to
interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and
to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights. They did not
succeed,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Justice Department will not
tolerate attempts by any foreign power to undermine the Rule of Law upon which
our democracy is based. We will continue to fiercely protect the rights
guaranteed to everyone in our country. And we will defend the integrity of our
institutions.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco added, “The actions
announced today take place against a backdrop of malign activity from the
government of the People’s Republic of China that includes espionage, attempts
to disrupt our justice system, harassment of individuals, and ongoing efforts
to steal sensitive U.S. technology. The men and women of the Department of
Justice will continue to defend the United States, our institutions, and our
people from foreign threats that violate the law — no matter what form they take.”
The eight-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charged a total
of seven Chinese nationals – Quanzhong An, 55; Guangyang An, 34; Tian Peng, 38;
Chenghua Chen; Chunde Ming; Xuexin Hou, 52; and Weidong Yuan, 55 – with
participating in a scheme to cause the forced repatriation of a Chinese
national residing in the United States. The lead defendant, Quanzhong An,
allegedly acted at the direction and under the control of various officials
with the Chinese government’s Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection
(Provincial Commission) – including Peng, Chen, Ming, and Hou – to conduct
surveillance of and engage in a campaign to harass and coerce a U.S. resident
to return to the PRC as part of an international extralegal repatriation effort
known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
Quanzhong An and Guangyang An were arrested and were arraigned.
The remaining defendants remain at large.
“These indictments of PRC intelligence officers and government
officials – for trying to obstruct a U.S. trial of a Chinese company,
masquerading as university professors to steal sensitive information, and
trying to strong-arm a victim into returning to China – again expose the PRC’s
outrageous behavior within our own borders,” said FBI Director Wray. “The FBI,
working with our partners and allies, will continue to throw the full weight of
our counterintelligence and law enforcement authorities into stopping the
Chinese government’s crimes against our businesses, universities, and
Chinese-American communities.”
About the Author
Paul Davis, who writes the online Threatcon column, is a longtime contributor to the Journal.
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