A 64-year-old New York resident was convicted Wednesday on charges of serving as an unregistered Chinese government agent following a trial concerning allegations he ran a covert police station for Beijing in Manhattan’s Chinatown district.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn stated that Lu Jianwang, 64, was required to notify the U.S. Attorney General of his role as a Chinese agent when he assisted in establishing the alleged police station in 2022. Authorities also accused him of assisting China’s government in tracking down a pro-democracy activist residing in California.
Lu’s arrest occurred in April 2023. He had entered not guilty pleas to three felony counts: conspiracy to serve as an unregistered foreign agent, operating as an unregistered Chinese agent, and obstruction of justice.
A Brooklyn federal court jury delivered the guilty verdict following a week of testimony. Lu could receive up to 30 years behind bars.
“May today’s verdict send a message to other foreign agents–the FBI maintains its unwavering resolve to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversarial nations,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle in an announcement of the verdict.
The Justice Department has recently increased investigations into what officials term “transnational repression” by U.S. adversaries including China and Iran to threaten political dissidents residing in America.
China’s government has labeled the accusations “fabricated” and described them as part of a campaign to damage the nation’s reputation. Beijing maintains that overseas centers are operated by local volunteers rather than Chinese police officers to assist Chinese citizens with document renewals and other services.
During her May 6 opening remarks, prosecutor Lindsey Oken described Lu – a naturalized U.S. citizen – as having connections with Chinese law enforcement and meeting with officials who assigned him to establish the station during a 2022 China visit.
Oken explained that Lu operated the station from an unremarkable office building in Chinatown. She noted he initially assisted Chinese nationals in New York with driver’s license renewals, which constitutes a crime when not reported to the U.S. government.
Oken stated that Lu also consented to assist the Chinese government in locating a pro-democracy activist living in the United States. Prosecutors did not claim the activist suffered harm.
John Carman, Lu’s attorney, argued his client agreed to establish the center to assist Chinese nationals unable to travel to China for document renewals during the COVID pandemic. However, Carman maintained Lu was not directed to do so by the Chinese government.
Chen Jinping, a co-defendant arrested with Lu, entered a guilty plea in 2024 to conspiring to act as an unregistered Chinese agent.
The arrests followed a 2022 investigation published by Spain-based advocacy group Safeguard Defenders that documented China’s establishment of overseas “service stations,” including in New York, that unlawfully collaborated with Chinese police to coerce fugitives into returning to China.
