Secret Chinese Police Station in NYC Confirmed
A New York jury has convicted Lu Jianwang, a 64-year-old U.S. citizen also known as Harry Lu, of acting as an illegal foreign agent and obstructing justice in a case tied to what federal prosecutors called a secret Chinese “police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown. He was acquitted on a related conspiracy charge. Lu remains free on bail while he awaits sentencing.
The case has become one of the clearest examples yet of how U.S. officials say Beijing is trying to reach critics far beyond China’s borders. Prosecutors said the outpost was opened in 2022, occupied a floor in an office building in lower Manhattan, and operated under the direction and control of an official tied to China’s Ministry of Public Security. The Justice Department said it was the first known overseas police station in the United States.
The legal fallout began in April 2023, when federal agents arrested Lu and Chen in New York. Reuters reported at the time that prosecutors said the men were operating a Chinese “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown as part of a crackdown on Beijing’s targeting of dissidents. In December 2024, Chen pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government.
What prosecutors say about Secret Chinese Police Station
Federal prosecutors said Lu and Chen helped open and run the outpost for the Fuzhou branch of the ministry. They also said the station was used to help locate a Chinese dissident living in the United States and to pressure or monitor people seen as critical of the Chinese government. During the trial, jurors saw a banner reading “Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station, New York USA.”
The government’s theory was that the outpost was not a harmless neighborhood office, but part of a broader effort to intimidate dissidents. In closing arguments, prosecutors said China had announced plans to open dozens of similar stations abroad. AP reported that jurors heard testimony from Xu Jie, a Chinese dissident, activist and YouTuber in California, who prosecutors said was targeted by the New York outpost.
What Lu’s lawyers say happened
Lu’s lawyers presented a different picture. They said the office functioned as a community center where Chinese nationals could get help renewing driver’s licenses without returning to China during pandemic-era travel restrictions. They also said people met there to play ping-pong and mahjong. His lawyer argued that the case had been inflated into a spy thriller.
Web Resources on Secret Chinese Police Stations
1. BBC.com : US citizen convicted of running secret Chinese ‘police station’ in NYC
2. DOJ : New York Resident Pleads Guilty to Operating Secret Police Station of the Chinese Government in Lower Manhattan
3. NBC News : 2 Chinese nationals charged with operating a secret police station in NYC
4. AP News : Jury convicts man accused of running secret Chinese spy outpost in New York City