US trial over 1 alleged China police post follows 2 UK spy convictions

The trial of a 64-year-old U.S. citizen accused of establishing a clandestine Chinese police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown began this week, a case that mirrors a recent conviction of two men for spying for China in the United Kingdom. The proceedings in Brooklyn federal court against Lu Jianwang, who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, represent a significant moment in U.S. efforts to combat what officials call Beijing's campaign of "transnational repression."

"The activities carried out by these men, on behalf of China, are an infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated," UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis said following the British convictions, a sentiment echoed by U.S. authorities.

Prosecutors allege Lu, at the direction of Chinese government officials, opened a "Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station" in 2022 within the offices of a community organization. While ostensibly providing services like driver's license renewals, the outpost allegedly had a "darker" purpose: collecting information on U.S.-based dissidents. The case follows the conviction of a UK border official, Peter Wai, 40, and a former Hong Kong police superintendent, Bill Yuen, 65, on charges of assisting a foreign spy service by surveilling pro-democracy supporters in Britain.

The twin cases in New York and London underscore a coordinated Western response to a global network of more than 100 similar outposts identified by the Madrid-based group Safeguard Defenders. These stations are allegedly part of China's United Front Work Department, a Communist Party network designed to extend its influence and harass critics abroad. Lu's co-defendant, Chen Jinping, pleaded guilty in 2024 to acting as an undeclared foreign agent, while China’s embassy in the U.K. called the British trial a "political farce."

A Global Network of Influence

The operations in New York and London are part of a broader pattern that U.S. and UK officials are treating with increasing severity. Lu Jianwang is accused of working with China's Ministry of Public Security not only to establish the police post but also to track a political dissident in California. His defense attorney argues he was merely providing bureaucratic assistance during the pandemic and is not a spy.

China has consistently denied the allegations of espionage, maintaining that the overseas stations are volunteer-run "service centers" for its citizens. Following the UK convictions, Beijing's embassy lodged serious representations with the British side and condemned what it termed "anti-China political manipulation." This diplomatic friction highlights the growing geopolitical stakes, with the U.S. Justice Department charging over 40 individuals in total, most of them overseas Chinese security officers, in connection with efforts to harass critics in America.

From New York to London

The parallels between the U.S. and UK cases are striking. In Britain, prosecutors said Yuen and Wai conducted surveillance on activists, including former Hong Kong lawmaker Nathan Law, referring to them as "cockroaches" in phone messages. The plot was uncovered in May 2024 after police disrupted an attempt to break into the home of a Hong Kong woman in northern England.

The British case also involved a payment trail, with Wai receiving funds from an account linked to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office where Yuen was employed. This direct financial link, combined with the surveillance activities, provided prosecutors with the evidence needed to secure convictions under the National Security Act. The verdict prompted the British Foreign Office to summon the Chinese Ambassador, signaling the seriousness of the diplomatic fallout.

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