With a new trial beginning this week, we’ll finally get answers about the ‘secret’ Chinese police station in New York

For years, there has been a great deal of concern about potential “spygate” by the Chinese, with reported covert operations to “keep an eye” on American citizens. There have been investigations into the matter, but we had yet to see any sort of legal action being taken against individuals involved in this. Until now, that is.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that a trial began this week, investigating a U.S. citizen who has been accused of opening a covert Chinese police station in Manhattan, in the hopes of keeping tabs on certain parties with help from the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.

64-year old Lu Jianwang is under investigation for three specific charges as the trial gets underway in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York. There’s acting as an unauthorized agent of China, conspiracy to act as a foreign agent, and obstruction of justice.

Jianwang reportedly rented out the fourth floor of a building in Chinatown, utilizing its resources to track particular Chinese people living in the area. Though he has pleaded not guilty of all three charges (after admitting that he did, in fact, work for the CCP), a co-defendant, Chen Jinping, pleaded guilty to a similar unauthorized agent charge back in December 2024. He has not yet been sentenced, but we’ll see what happens following this trial.

What’s scary to think about here, however, is just what kind of forces are at work here. Based on this report, Julian Ku, a Hofstra Law professor who studies international law, explained how many agencies take part in China’s United Front Work Department. These include the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. That first one is very concerning, as “they’re interested in people who think (Chinese friends and allies) are threats,” he said.

But very little was known about one of the other groups, the Ministry of State Security. Ku notes they operate a bit like the FBI, but very little is known about them because they operate so deeply.

Think about that for a second. The Chinese have agencies that work so deep undercover that they could be operating from anywhere. The fact that they managed to set up shop in New York without being noticed is insane. Who knows where else they’ve set up? Los Angeles, perhaps?

Ku noted, “MSS operates both within and outside China.” He also said that “Chinese people know that MPS and the Chinese government keep track of them overseas.”

Of course, the trial is still ongoing. But I really hope it opens a few eyes here, because the CCP could’ve easily been keeping tabs on things for years. And not just investigating the interested “friends and allies” with specific targets, but also U.S. infrastructures and security systems. Need I remind you about the Chinese balloon seen floating over United States waters, leading to military forces having to shoot it out of the sky?

This piece from CNN explains quite a bit as well. In it, a whistleblower explains how these Chinese agencies use an “array of tactics” to keep an eye on people, including “physical, digital, pressure on families,” and “passport control,” to say the least.

I know there were some investigations happening regarding Chinese tactics in the U.S. for some time, and my only hope is that they’re continuing. It’s scary to think about how much access the CCP has had to our tools in the past and what kind of access they still have. Obviously, there are other threats to consider, but you never know what kind of strike could come through something as simple as an electric system or Internet structure.

My advice? Set up those security protocols and make sure to avoid those spam phone calls and emails. You never know who might be on the other end.

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