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A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the U.S. is arguing that the Justice Department is trying to “smear China’s image” after it announced charges yesterday against two New Yorkers who allegedly ran a secret police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood.
The revelations, which the Justice Department is describing as a “significant national security matter,” come as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York also accused dozens of Chinese government police officers of belonging to an “army of Internet trolls” who have threatened and harassed Chinese democracy activists and dissidents worldwide, including in New York City.
“By initiating prosecution against Chinese citizens under the pretext of ‘transnational repression’, the U.S. side is exercising long-arm jurisdiction based on fabricated charges,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the U.S., told Reuters.
“This is sheer political manipulation, and the purpose is to smear China’s image,” he added.
2 NEW YORK RESIDENTS ALLEGEDLY RAN SECRET CHINESE POLICE STATION
The Justice Department said Monday that Chinese Ministry of Public Security officers have been going after pro-democracy dissidents worldwide, including in the U.S. (US DISTRICT COURT: EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin also claimed Tuesday that no secret police stations are being operated by China in New York City, despite the extensive amount of evidence unearthed by the Justice Department, according to Reuters.
He reportedly said during a press briefing that Beijing upholds a policy of non-interference in other countries.
In the announcement from federal prosecutors, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping were each charged with conspiring to act as agents of China’s government by allegedly running the secret police station.
Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said China’s Ministry of Public Security “has repeatedly and…
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