US Charges Chinese Agents, American Citizen with Spying

The Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2022. (Getty Images)
The Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2022. (Getty Images)
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US Charges Chinese Agents, American Citizen with Spying

The Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2022. (Getty Images)
The Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2022. (Getty Images)

The United States said Wednesday it had charged four Chinese intelligence officers with helping an American citizen spy on prominent critics of China.

Together all five conspired to silence Chinese dissidents, pro-democracy activists and human rights leaders, New York prosecutors said in a statement.

The US citizen -- 73-year-old Shujun Wang, a prominent Chinese-born academic living in New York -- was arrested in March on suspicion of acting as an agent of the Chinese government.

The indictment, dated Tuesday, accuses him of using the pro-democracy organization that he founded to "covertly collect information about prominent activists and human rights leaders."

Federal prosecutors say he passed on the information to his "handlers" inside China's Ministry of State Security (MSS): Feng He, Jie Ji, Ming Li and Keqing Lu.

The agents directed Wang to target Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, advocates for Taiwanese independence, and Uyghur and Tibetan activists, the Brooklyn prosecutors said.

He passed on messages to the four "using encrypted messaging applications and emails, as well as during face-to-face meetings" in China, according to the department of justice statement.

Wang faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His four co-defendants remain at large.

Wang was arrested on March 17 as US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace announced charges in three separate cases.

In one, MSS agent Lin Qiming, 59, was accused of conspiracy to harass a congressional candidate who was a student leader of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

In the other case, Fan "Frank" Liu, 62, of New York; Matthew Ziburis, 49, of New York; and Qiang "Jason" Sun, 40, of China, were charged with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government.



Netanyahu Expected to Talk Tariffs with Trump in Washington on Monday, Officials Say

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, US, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File photo
US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, US, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File photo
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Netanyahu Expected to Talk Tariffs with Trump in Washington on Monday, Officials Say

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, US, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File photo
US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, US, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File photo

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Monday to discuss recently announced tariffs with US President Donald Trump, three Israeli officials said on Saturday.

The impromptu visit was first reported by Axios, which said that if the visit takes place, the Israeli leader would be the first foreign leader to meet with Trump in person to try to negotiate a deal to remove tariffs.

Netanyahu's office has not confirmed the visit, that would likely also include discussions on Iran and Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The surprise invite by Trump came in a phone-call on Thursday with Netanyahu, who is presently on a visit to Hungary, when the Israeli leader raised the tariff issue, according to the Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, Reuters reported.

As part of a sweeping new tariff policy announced by Trump, unspecified Israeli goods exports to the United States face a 17% tariff. The US is Israel's closest ally and largest single trading partner.

An Israeli finance ministry official said on Thursday that Trump's latest tariff announcement could impact Israel's exports of machinery and medical equipment.

Israel had already moved to cancel its remaining tariffs on US imports on Tuesday. The two countries signed a free trade agreement 40 years ago and about 98% of goods from the US are now tax-free.