US: Boston man accused of providing information about local pro-democracy dissidents to Chinese officials
May 14, 2023
Washington [US], May 14 : A Boston man was arrested and accused of acting as a spy for the Chinese government for years by sharing information on local pro-democracy dissidents, USA Today reported citing federal prosecutors.
From 2018-2022, 63-year-old Litang Liang allegedly worked with Chinese officials to spy on dissidents in Boston, USA Today reported citing the statement released by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts on Friday.
Prosecutors in an indictment said that Liang is a US citizen living in Boston's Brighton, organised a counter-protest against pro-democracy dissidents and gave "photographs of and information about dissidents" to Chinese government officials.
Litang Liang was indicted on one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without informing the US Attorney General and one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the US Attorney General.
Liang allegedly gave information regarding Boston-area people and organizations with "pro-Taiwan learnings." He is accused of charging documents of notifying Chinese officials of the identity of a person Liang claimed had "sabotaged" Chinese flags during protest in Boston's Chinatown held in 2018, as per the news report.
He allegedly gave a video of a dissident who participated in the "Boston Stands with Hong Kong" rally held in August 2019 and photographs of other dissidents in front of Boston Public Library in September 2019, as per the news report.
In a message to the Chinese official, Liang called the people he took pictures of in front of the library "a bunch of clowns trying to cause trouble," USA TODAY reported citing an indictment.
He even used phone calls and the WeChat app to contact Chinese officials, including diplomats, the Ministry of Public Security and other bodies reporting to the Chinese Communist Party, according to the indictment.
As per the news report, the indictment has alleged that the purpose of Liang's actions was "to act at the direction or control of the (People's Republic of China) government in order to covertly advance the PRC government's goals and agenda within the United States."
Litang Liang was arrested on Tuesday and released on Thursday on USD 25,000 bond and the condition that he will not travel outside the state or communicate with any Chinese officials. Earlier this year, China was accused of interfering with pro-democracy activists in the United States.
In April, the US Justice Department announced charges against Chinese security officials allegedly operating as agents for Beijing to censor dissidents in the United States, as per the USA Today report. Two people were accused of operating an illegal overseas police station of the Chinese government in lower Manhattan.
