U.S. arrests five alleged Chinese agents, accusing them of targeting dissidents

WASHINGTON » The FBI has arrested five individuals on charges they conspired as foreign agents in an operation called “Fox Hunt” to try to force immigrants from China who angered that country’s leadership to return there to be punished, officials announced Wednesday.

“China is violating norms and laws left and right,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray, adding that the unprecedented case sends a clear message to the Chinese government that “surveilling, stalking, harassing and blackmailing our citizens and lawful permanent residents carry serious risks.”

Assistant Attorney General John Demers said Fox Hunt sometimes targeted individuals who might have violated financial laws and were legitimate targets of law enforcement investigations. But many other targets, he said, were political rivals, dissidents or critics of the Chinese government. Pursuing those people with threats and coercion, sometimes directed at the relatives of those targeted, represents “a clear violation of the rule of law and international norms,” he said.

Rather than use established legal systems such as Interpol or requests for assistance from U. S. law enforcement, the Chinese agents took matters into their own hands and tried to intimidate people into returning to China, U. S. officials said.

The announcement marks the latest effort by the United States to fight back against what it says is China’s wanton disregard of laws regarding computer hacking, surreptitious influence operations and intellectual-property theft. It also highlights an ongoing tension between the two countries over law enforcement issues - the People’s Republic of China and the United States have long been at odds over a host of extradition issues, and the charges announced Wednesday show how much more contentious that disagreement has become.

Arrests were made in New York, New Jersey and California, officials said. Four of those said to be Chinese government operatives were identified as Zhu Yong, Hongru Jin, Rong Jing and Zheng Congying. The fifth person in custody is Michael McMahon, a New Jersey private investigator who assisted in the surveillance and pressure tactics, according to U. S. officials.

Three other suspects - Zhu Feng, Hu Ji and Li Minjun - were charged as participants in the conspiracy but are not believed to be in the country.