Chinese Democracy Movement Leader Charged with Spying in the United States
A dramatic turn of events has unfolded in New York, as a 67-year-old resident who participated in China’s 1989 democracy movement has been charged with operating as an illegal agent for the Chinese government in the United States.
Tang Yuanjun, a native of China’s northeastern Jilin province, swam to a Taiwan-controlled island over 20 years ago and was later granted political asylum by the United States. On Wednesday, he was charged with acting as an agent for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the United States between 2018 and 2023.
According to the justice department, Tang completed tasks at the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), providing officials with information on individuals and groups viewed as potentially adverse to China’s interests. This included prominent US-based Chinese democracy activists and dissidents.
Tang also allegedly lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about having access to an email account used to communicate with his MSS handler.
He was arrested on Wednesday and is scheduled to appear before a district judge.
In response to the charges, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that it was “not familiar with the specifics you have raised.”
Tang’s tumultuous past is marked by his participation in the 1989 democracy movement, which resulted in the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison but was released after serving eight years.
Before fleeing to Taiwan, Tang remained active in advocating for democracy in China and was repeatedly detained, questioned, and harassed by the authorities. A Taipei-based rights group helped facilitate his asylum bid in 2002.
The case has raised concerns about the alleged activities of Chinese intelligence agencies in the United States and the extent to which China will go to silence its critics and opponents.
