New York man pleads guilty to running Chinese 'secret police station' in US

By Beril Canakci

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US citizen arrested in 2023 for operating an "overseas police station" for the Chinese government in New York City has pleaded guilty in federal court.

According to CNN, Chen Jinping, 60, on Wednesday admitted to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government.

Chen, a naturalized US citizen, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced next year.

US Attorney Breon Peace said he was part of a “transnational repression scheme to establish a secret police station in the middle of New York City on behalf of the national police force of the People’s Republic of China.”

In court, Chen, through a translator, acknowledged he had worked to remove an article online for the Chinese government in 2022.

According to the indictment, Chen had an article about the PRC’s Overseas Police Station removed from a Chinese media outlet at the request of a Chinese government official.

He confirmed he knowingly conspired with others to act as an agent for China.

Chen Jinping and his co-defendant, 62-year-old “Harry” Lu Jianwang, both US citizens, were arrested and charged in April 2023 with conspiracy to act as foreign agents and obstructing justice for allegedly deleting messages with Chinese Ministry of Public Security officials.

Lu has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Chen, who was released on bond after his arrest, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30.

The secret police station in New York was shut down in 2022 after the FBI executed a search warrant at the location, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.