The US unsealed criminal charges on Thursday against seven Chinese nationals accused of waging a surveillance and harassment campaign against a US resident and his family, in a bid by the Chinese government to repatriate one of them back to China.
The eight-count indictment, released in a US district court in Brooklyn, New York, is the latest case by the US Department of Justice targeting China’s apparent expatriation campaign, known as Operation Fox Hunt (獵狐行動).
The seven individuals charged are An Quanzhong (安全忠), 55, of Roslyn, New York; his daughter, An Guangyang, 34; and five others still in China: Peng Tian, Chen Chenghua, Ming Chunde, Hou Xuexin and Yuan Weidong.
Photo: REUTERS
The lead defendant, An Quanzhong, and his daughter were arrested on Thursday morning. The remainder of the defendants remain at large. The US does not have an extradition treaty with China.
An Quanzhong is accused of working at the behest of the Chinese Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to harass and intimidate a Chinese man and his son living in the US. The man and his son are identified only as “John Doe-1” and “John Doe-2.”
As part of the plot, the defendants allegedly coerced a relative of the family to travel from China to the US in a bid to convince John Doe-1 to return to the country.
At a meeting in a restaurant in September 2018, the relative explained to John Doe-2 that he had been forced to travel there by the government as part of a plan to repatriate the 100 most-wanted fugitives, the indictment said.
Other examples of harassment that the family endured included a letter-writing campaign, with one letter warning that “coming back and turning yourself in is the only way out.”
The Chinese government also filed a lawsuit against the father and son in a New York state court, claiming the father had stolen money from a Chinese employer and his son illegally profited from the scheme.
“The victims in this case sought to flee an authoritarian government, leaving behind their lives and family, for a better life here. That same government sent agents to the United States to harass, threaten, and forcibly return them to the People’s Republic of China,” New York FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll said.
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