WSJ: China Recruited PI's in US to Harass, Forcibly Repatriate Dissidents

China recruited and hired private investigators to harass U.S.-based dissidents and forcibly repatriate them, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Congressional candidate Yan Xiong, a student leader in the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989, was allegedly one of the targets.

Citing federal law-enforcement officials and unsealed court cases, the Journal says the Chinese government recruited private investigators at U.S. trade associations and through cold calls and hired them to pressure individuals located in the U.S. and elsewhere outside of China to return to the PRC to face charges or reach financial settlements with the Chinese government.

Earlier this week, Sun Hoi Ying, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, was charged with acting and conspiring to act in the U.S. as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government.

"The PRC Government launched a campaign dubbed ‘Operation Fox Hunt,’ a global plot to repress dissent and to forcibly repatriate so-called ‘fugitives’ – including citizens living legally in the United States – through the use of unsanctioned, unilateral, and illegal practices," Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a press release.

"We allege Mr. Sun, as part of that campaign, attempted to threaten and coerce a victim into bending to the PRC’s will, even using a co-conspirator who is a member of local U.S. law enforcement to reinforce that the victim had no choice but to comply with the PRC Government’s demands. Today’s charges reflect this Office’s continued commitment, working hand in hand with our partners at the FBI, to combat transnational repression and bring to justice those who perpetrate it."

James Dennehy, the top counterintelligence official in the FBI’s New York office, said the harassment is an effective way "of actually silencing the entire community and the entire population, which is why so many Chinese Americans here in New York would rather stay quiet than speaking their true beliefs about the Chinese government."                                      

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