Chinese Agents Charged With Spying on Critics of Beijing in U.S.

Within the case involving the congressional candidate, prosecutors mentioned Qiming Lin — recognized within the court docket filings as a member of the Chinese language safety equipment who relies in China — tried to assemble damaging info on a naturalized U.S. citizen who had been a scholar chief of the 1989 Tiananmen Sq. protests.

The candidate was not named within the grievance, however matches the outline of Yan Xiong, who final fall introduced his candidacy for a U.S. Home of Representatives seat from Lengthy Island. An individual accustomed to the instances confirmed Mr. Yan’s identification. Mr. Yan served within the U.S. army and has taken half in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, in line with the grievance.

Prosecutors say that Mr. Lin engaged a personal investigator final fall to dig up — or, failing that, to fabricate — compromising details about Mr. Yan, corresponding to an affair or unpaid taxes, forward of the June main.

The non-public investigator, nevertheless, was an F.B.I. supply and, in line with the grievance, saved the authorities apprised of the efforts. In a voice mail message quoted within the grievance, Mr. Lin prompt that the investigator bodily assault Mr. Yan, saying, “beat him till he can’t run for election.”

In an interview, Mr. Yan mentioned he had been unaware of an effort to discredit him, including, “I respect the prosecutors who’re attempting to guard me.”

Mr. Lin stays at massive, the authorities mentioned. He faces two counts associated to conspiracy to commit interstate harassment.

In one other case, prosecutors accused Shujun Wang — a Queens-based scholar and naturalized U.S. citizen — of working secretly for at the least 15 years underneath the path and management of Chinese language state safety officers. Prosecutors mentioned Mr. Wang had labored as a mole inside a pro-democracy group that he helped discovered to advertise the work of former reformist members of the Chinese language Communist Celebration.