U.S. accuses five of spying and harassing China’s critics, effort to smear congressional candidate

The Biden administration is accusing five people of spying, stalking, and harassing U.S. residents who are critical of Beijing, including a congressional candidate.

The Justice Department unsealed complaints and charged the five people this week with various crimes related to their alleged work for the Chinese government. Three of the people were arrested this week, while two others remain at large.

Matthew Olsen, assistant attorney general for the National Security Division, said the corresponding three cases brought by the government show that American law enforcement officials will disrupt plots and bring people to justice if abuse is reported.

“While separate matters, these three cases are all very much related,” Mr. Olsen said at a press briefing. “One shows an insidious strategy to collect information on dissidents in order to target them and in some cases to imprison pro-democracy advocates abroad. One case describes a conspiracy to derail the congressional candidacy of an American citizen and a military veteran, who also was a former student protester at the 1989 Tiananmen protest and later escaped to the United States. And one shows a campaign to surveil and harass an artist engaged in free and peaceful expression.”

The government did not identify the targeted congressional candidate but reports indicate that person is Yan Xiong, who is running for Congress in New York. Mr. Xiong shared a statement from his lawyer on Twitter indicating that he intends to continue his campaign for federal office this year.

Qiming Lin, who was not arrested, allegedly sought to derail Mr. Xiong’s campaign and considered using violence or framing him as someone who hired a prostitute.

While Mr. Lin appeared to be retired from China’s Ministry of State Security, FBI Special Agent Jason Moritz said in an unsealed complaint filed in federal court that Mr. Lin continued to act on the agency’s behalf.

Mr. Lin’s conversations with an FBI informant revealed the extent of his alleged plans, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

“Just taking photos, or chatting, that’s useless,” Mr. Lin told the informant on Dec. 24, 2021, according to the complaint. “Right now, must get some dirt. Because we already know everything in his past. But how to fully use you, to dig up stuff on him. This is what you need to do.”

Later on Christmas Eve, Mr. Lin sent the informant a voice message saying that “violence would be fine too” and said the informant could “beat him until he cannot run for election” as a last resort.

The FBI said the defendants’ actions reveal the depravity of China’s Ministry of State Security.

“These indictments should serve as a stark warning to the MSS and all foreign intelligence agencies that their efforts at repression will not be tolerated within our borders,” said Alan E. Kohler Jr., assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, in a statement.

Mr. Olsen also touted the FBI and Justice Department’s work as an example of the Biden administration’s new strategy for countering foreign threats that last month replaced the Trump-era China Initiative, intended to probe things like potential economic espionage and intellectual property theft.