Chen Jinping pleads guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of China’s government and faces up to five years in prison

Summary

A New York man, Chen Jinping, pleaded guilty to operating an undeclared Chinese police station in Manhattan for China’s Ministry of Public Security.

The station, part of a transnational repression scheme, aided Beijing in locating and suppressing pro-democracy activists in the U.S., violating American sovereignty.

Authorities say the station also served routine functions like renewing Chinese driving licenses but had a more sinister role, including tracking a California-based activist.

Chen faces up to five years in prison, while a co-defendant has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.

  • rottingleaf@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    22 hours ago

    It’s actually really scary, when you think about the implications. Not only a police service you didn’t expect there can just abuse you. But it also means that if one such foreign police service can, others can. So there can be Turkish\Azeri, or maybe Saudi, or Iranian, or maybe some other insanely humane and democratic force.

    • TheFriar@lemm.eeEnglish
      62·
      11 hours ago

      What makes this scarier than gangs or mobs? An organized group of violent people acting in a way you can’t defend yourself from. Just like the cops themselves. This isn’t any scarier than the actual existence of all of those other groups.

      • rottingleaf@lemmy.worldEnglish
        61·
        10 hours ago

        Your own police - a regulated force you can sue, but not resist.

        A gang or a mob - likely butt buddies with your own police, but there are possibilities to use law and police against them, and they can’t put you in jail for resisting.

        A foreign police - like a gang or a mob, but also reliant on a foreign nation state for resources, those including intelligence about you, technical means (like some targeted spyware attacks maybe), more likely to be able to just kidnap you or murder you than a simple gang or a mob. Another level of professionalism.

    • BleatingZombie@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      18 hours ago

      That’s very true

      Just trying to make myself feel better: those cops from other countries don’t have any kind of legal jurisdiction over you, so you can kick their ass

      That being said, it’s not the average American with an Italian ancestry that’s having the CCP knock at their door. It’s people with family in China who they can threaten