Jury convicts man accused of running secret Chinese spy outpost in New York City

A federal jury in Downtown Brooklyn convicted 64-year-old Lu Jianwang on Wednesday for operating an undeclared Chinese government outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Prosecutors established that Lu acted as an illegal foreign agent by assisting China’s Ministry of Public Security in monitoring and harassing pro-democracy dissidents living in the United States. He was also found guilty of obstructing justice for deleting communications with Chinese officials.

Defense attorneys argued the facility was merely a community center for the Fujianese diaspora to play mahjong and process driver’s license renewals during the pandemic. However, the government presented evidence that the office served a more sinister purpose of transnational repression. Lu, a naturalized U.S. citizen, faces up to 10 years for the foreign agent charge and 20 years for obstruction.

Summary by Dispatch AI — read the full story at Brooklyn Eagle — Heights Press.