Two men have been arrested on charges that they helped establish a secret police outpost in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government, U.S. Justice Department officials said Monday.
“New York City is home to New York’s finest: the NYPD,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said at a news conference announcing the arrests.
“We don’t need or want a secret police station in our great city.”
Officials separately announced charges against more than three dozen members of China’s national police, accusing them of creating and using fake social media accounts to locate and harass dissidents in the United States.
The cases are part of a series of Justice Department prosecutions aimed at disrupting Chinese government efforts to target Chinese dissidents, including those promoting pro-democracy views, and stifle their speech.
China has also faced accusations of operating secret police stations in Canada, which Beijing has dismissed as an attempt by Ottawa to smear its reputation.
There are at least three Chinese police outposts in and around Toronto in predominantly Chinese neighbourhoods, according to a report by human rights group Safeguard Defenders who say they’re being used to pressure some nationals to return to China. Now, the RCMP says it’s investigating whether any criminal activity is taking place.
