Chen Jinping, 60, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring with Chinese officials to run a covert surveillance operation in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Prosecutors said the facility, inaccurately referred to as a “police station,” targeted individuals critical of Beijing.
Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, condemned the operation as a violation of U.S. sovereignty. Chen and his co-defendant, Lu Jianwang, 61, allegedly worked under the direction of China’s Ministry of Public Security to monitor and intimidate dissidents.
American Pleads Guilty to Operating Secret CCP Police Station in NYC's Chinatown
China Joe Biden will probably pardon him https://t.co/4hN6mwvK1c
— Gordon 💥🇺🇸💥🇮🇱 (@StopTheCoup2020) December 19, 2024
The operation was housed in a Chinatown office building and closed in late 2022. Chen admitted to acting as an unregistered agent and taking orders from Chinese officials, including the removal of an article about the facility.
#ChenJinping, an American citizen, has pleaded guilty to helping run the 1st known secret police station in the U.S. in #Manhattan's #Chinatown neighborhood in early 2022 on behalf of #China's Ministry of Public Security (#MPS).https://t.co/yZcjdKCJ9N#NewYorkCity #NYC
— Venus Throw (@OneVenusThrow) December 19, 2024
FBI agents raided the site in October 2022, uncovering evidence of deleted communications between the men and Chinese officials. Lu, who maintains his innocence, is accused of aiding Chinese authorities in tracking dissidents within the U.S.
Chen faces sentencing in May 2025. Federal officials emphasized that the facility served as a surveillance hub, not a lawful police station.
🚨BREAKING: Two Chinese Nationals have been charged with running an “undeclared Chinese government police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown. pic.twitter.com/7CqQb3USHz
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 17, 2023
