The Chinese government accused the United States of engaging in a politically motivated smear campaign Tuesday as part of a searing response to the FBI arrests of two in New York for allegedly helping it run an illegal police station and U.S. Justice Department statements that dozens had been arrested for allegedly harassing dissidents in America.
Accusing the feds of "hyping up the so-called cross-border suppression plan," Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenben said his country has used various means to suppress those who oppose it, but that the label ascribed by U.S. officials in these latest cases "is more suited to the U.S. side."
"We urge the U.S. to reflect on itself, abandon the Cold War mentality, stop its wrongdoing, stop political manipulation, stop smearing China," Wenben's translated comments said. "The U.S. has maliciously linked the overseas service stations for overseas Chinese with Chinese diplomatic and consular officials, making unfounded accusations. This is pure political manipulation.
The rebuke comes after two men were arrested by the FBI in Lower Manhattan Monday for allegedly helping the government of China target party critics in the five boroughs. Those arrests came alongside charges against 34 officers with China’s national police force in China for using social media to do the same throughout the United States.
Wenben denied the existence of such overseas police stations and the related allegations as China has done in the past, saying those stations serve to help Chinese citizens with matters like driver's license renewals.
"China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, strictly abiding by international law and respecting all countries' judicial sovereignty," Wenben said.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
The American government begs to differ, however.
Local
Such secret offices have been reported across North America, Europe and in other countries where Chinese communities include critics of the Communist Party who have family or business contacts in China.
In the New York case, “Harry” Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, were charged with conspiring to act as agents for the Chinese government.
Two other complaints were also filed Monday -- one against 34 members of Beijing's Municipal Public Security Bureau, and another against a group of 10 people that includes eight Chinese government officials.
The common thread in the three complaints - that the suspects allegedly worked to intimidate, harass and threaten "wanted" Chinese nationals inside the United States, the FBI said.
Last November, the FBI said it was aware that China was operating a de facto police station in Manhattan, outside of proper procedure or authority, as part of global network of such outposts. It followed a Sept. 2022 investigation by a nongovernmental organization, Safeguard Defenders, which reported there were dozens of such centers worldwide conducting police operations.
Chinese officials decried that characterization, saying the "service centers" were volunteer-run and had nothing to do with policing. But the New York Times reported in January that Chinese state media had explicitly described the centers as policing facilities, acting in other countries without collaborating with local authorities. The Times also reported that the FBI had searched the East Broadway facility in the fall of 2022.
"This case serves as a powerful reminder that the People’s Republic of China will stop at nothing to bend people to their will and silence messages they don’t want anyone to hear," Kurt Ronnow, acting assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division, said in a statement Monday.
