An American citizen has pleaded guilty to helping run what has been described as the first known “secret police department” in the US on behalf of the Chinese government.

According to the BBC, prosecutors say Chen Jinping and Lu Jianwang opened and operated the department in Chinatown of Manhattan in early 2022 on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

At least 100 such stations have been reported worldwide in 53 countries, with China accused of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad.

However, China has denied that these are police stations, saying they are “service stations” that provide administrative services to nationals abroad.

As the BBC reports, the outpost, which took up an entire floor above a ramen stand, provided basic services such as renewing driver’s licenses for Chinese citizens, but also helped Beijing track down pro-democracy activists living in the US, federal authorities say .

Matthew Olsen, an assistant attorney general at the US Department of Justice, called the attempt to operate the undeclared police station overseas “a clear affront to American sovereignty and a risk to our community that will not be tolerated.”
The station was closed in the fall of 2022 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation.

However, Chen and Lu destroyed text messages they exchanged with an official from China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) when they learned of the investigation, prosecutors said.

The men, who are both US citizens, were arrested in April last year.

On Wednesday, Chen, 60, pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a Chinese agent and faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced next year.

Chen’s guilty plea is a “stark reminder of the Chinese government’s insidious efforts to threaten, harass and intimidate those who speak out against the Communist Party,” said Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the Department of National Security. F.B.I.

Lu, 59, has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Prosecutors accused him of harassing an alleged Chinese fugitive to return to China and helping track down a pro-democracy activist in California on behalf of the Communist Party.

At the time of Chen’s arrest, authorities said it was the first time the US had brought criminal charges in connection with such police stations.

Mr. Olsen said US authorities “will continue to pursue anyone who attempts to assist the DPRK’s efforts to extend its repressive reach into the United States.”

In September, Linda Sun, a former aide in the New York governor’s office, was accused of using her position to serve Chinese government interests. He is said to have received perks, including trips, in return.

Last year, 34 officers from China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) were also charged with using fake social media accounts to harass Chinese dissidents in the US and spread official Chinese government propaganda.