According to a statement released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Yuanjun Tang, 67, was taken into custody in New York City on Wednesday.
He is accused of spying on Chinese dissidents and advocates for democracy who were stationed in the US.
In addition, Mr. Tang—a US citizen via naturalization—is charged with lying to the FBI.
The BBC was unable to locate Mr. Tang’s attorney right away.
Mr. Tang “was charged by criminal complaint with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and making materially false statements,” the Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday.
Additionally, it claimed that he worked as an agent for China between 2018 and 2023, following directives from the Ministry of State Security (MSS), which is the country’s main civilian intelligence organization.
Mr. Tang is charged with routinely receiving directives from the agency through encrypted conversations, emails, and other channels of communication.
Additionally, it is said that he frequently reported to and got instructions from an MSS intelligence officer about people and organizations that the PRC believed were harmful to its interests, such as well-known Chinese dissidents and activists for democracy living in the US.
