Members of the Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party weighed in on the recent arrest of two New York residents accused of a conspiracy to aid the CCP in setting up a secret police station in Manhattan.
Two New York residents, Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, are accused of helping the CCP target dissidents in the United States without reporting their activity to the Department of Justice or any U.S. authority. Members of the committee said this case is an example that the U.S. will not tolerate any attempts by foreign adversaries to suppress the fundamental rights of those living in this country.
"This case sends a powerful message to the world that the U.S. will not tolerate flagrant violations of American sovereignty, transnational aggression and coordinated attempts to suppress the fundamental rights of individuals to free speech and expression," Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote Monday in a Twitter post.
According to Reuters, the two arrested allegedly were running a secret police station, which a 2022 Safeguard report said is a common tactic for the CCP to employ. The stations are set up in U.S. cities, including New York, and work with Chinese police to pressure Chinese nationals who have fled China to return home. The Chinese government said these centers are set up to help Chinese nationals gain the correct documentation.
"We cannot and will not tolerate the Chinese government's persecution of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in this country," Breon Peace, lead prosecutor in the case, said in the Reuters report.
According to The New York Times, charges were unveiled against 34 Chinese individuals accused of harassing Chinese nationals living in New York as well as charges against Chinese officials who allegedly used a Zoom employee in China to remove dissidents from the platform.
“The People’s Republic of China, through its Ministry of Public Security, has engaged in a multifront campaign to extend the reach and impact of its authoritarian system into the United States and elsewhere around the world,” David Newman, the Justice Department’s top national security official in Washington, said in The New York Times.
"While I’m glad arrests have been made, the CCP should have never been able to open and operate a police station on U.S. soil, and it is critical we catch the perpetrators at large. We must be proactive – not reactive – in shutting down the CCP’s surveillance state in the U.S.," Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), a member of the Select Committee on the CCP, tweeted on Monday.
Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), ranking member, issued a joint-statement on the news of the arrests: "[This] action sends a strong message that we will not allow Chinese Communist Party officials to violate U.S. law or harass, intimidate or conduct surveillance on anyone in the United States. These arrests also serve as a reminder that the victims of this persecution are often Chinese-Americans who came to this country to achieve the American Dream. As chair and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, we will continue our vigilance in support of human rights and the rule of law in our own country and around the world."
