A Massachusetts man has been indicted for allegedly acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China without notifying the U.S., the Department of Justice reports.
Litang Liang, 63, of Brighton, Mass., was arrested May 9, the DOJ announced May 15. Liang was charged with one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government and one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General in each count, the DOJ reports.
“The United States requires agents of foreign countries to register with our government, and for good reason – in such cases, those agents often act against the interests of the United States,” Suzanne Turner, assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division, said in the news release.
Charging documents allege that beginning in 2018 through at least 2022, Liang acted illegally in the U.S. as an agent of China by providing information on U.S. residents and organizations to the Chinese government, the release said.
“Specifically, beginning in or around 2018, Liang allegedly provided information about Chinese individuals and organizations in the Boston area to PRC government officials,” the release states. Liang allegedly focused on "members and leaders of Boston-area, Chinese family associations and community organizations with pro-Taiwan leanings," according to the release.
During this period, Liang allegedly supplied the PRC with information such as names and photographs of individuals and organizations to Chinese entities that directly report to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Additionally, he allegedly coordinated a counter-protest against pro-democracy dissidents, according to the news release.
“We will not tolerate the PRC’s efforts to interfere with public discourse and threaten civic participation in the United States,” Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in the release. “This case demonstrates, once again, the lengths that the PRC government, including its Ministry of Public Security, will go to target people in the U.S. who exercise their rights to speak out against the PRC.”
Liang faces up to 15 years in prison, three years of probation and up to $500,000 in fines if convicted on all charges, according to the news release.
“The FBI is not going to stand by and allow undeclared agents of the People’s Republic of China to operate in our country unchecked," Turner said in the release. "We will continue to steadfastly enforce the law of the land, uncovering these efforts and holding accountable all those who work with foreign governments to violate our laws.”
