NEW YORK – United States law enforcement officials on Monday arrested two New York residents for allegedly operating a Chinese “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown, part of a crackdown on Beijing’s alleged targeting of US-based dissidents.

Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, face charges of conspiring to act as agents of China’s government without informing the US authorities, and obstruction of justice.

They were released on bond following an initial appearance at the Brooklyn federal court.

A 2022 investigation published by Spain-based advocacy group Safeguard Defenders reported that China had set up overseas “service stations”, including in New York, that illegally worked with the Chinese police to pressure fugitives to return to China.

“We cannot and will not tolerate the Chinese government’s persecution of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in this country,” said Mr Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors on Monday also unveiled charges against 34 Chinese officials over a campaign to harass US-based dissidents online, including by disrupting their meetings on US technology platforms. The officials charged are all at large.

“By initiating prosecution against Chinese citizens under the pretext of ‘transnational repression’, the US side is exercising long-arm jurisdiction based on fabricated charges. This is sheer political manipulation, and the purpose is to smear China’s image,” said Mr Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the US.

Prosecutors said that Lu and Chen are both US citizens who lead a non-profit organisation that lists its mission as providing a social gathering place for people from China’s Fujian province.

Before it closed in the autumn of 2022, the men’s New York operation occupied a full floor in a nondescript building in Chinatown near the Manhattan Bridge. 

Mr Peace said the site was being used “at the very least” for government services such as helping some Chinese citizens renew their driving licences – activity that should have been disclosed to the US authorities.

But he said it was also used for more “sinister” activities.

In 2022, Lu helped open the so-called police station and was asked by China’s government to locate an individual living in California who was considered a pro-democracy activist, said prosecutors.

In 2018, Lu had sought to persuade an individual considered a fugitive by China to return home, they added. REUTERS, AFP