New York resident arrested for spying for China, misleading FBI

A US resident has been charged and arrested for allegedly spying for China on pro-Democracy activists and dissidents whilst making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice (DoJ) said.  

The accused, identified as 67-year-old Yuanjun Tang, is a resident of Queens, New York. He acted as a Chinese agent between 2019 and 2023 under the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), its principal intelligence agency. Among either things, MSS is also responsible for espionage and political security functions. 

Tang targeted US-based Chinese dissidents that Beijing views as potentially adverse. after collecting information on such individuals and groups, the data was delivered to the Politburo. Notably, he also helped MSS infiltrate a group chat on a messaging platform that was used by these dissidents. 

Tang used an email account where he received regular instructions from his Chinese overlords regarding the targets to be tailed. He also travelled abroad three times for face-to-face meetings with MSS intelligence officers. 

After arresting Tang, the law enforcement agencies recovered the numerous electronic devices and accounts that he used to communicate.  

“Tang also made materially false statements to the FBI. He falsely claimed that he was no longer able to access an email account through which he had communicated with his MSS handler through draft emails,” DoJ added.