Queens man charged with acting as unregistered agent for china

NEW YORK — A 67-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Queens, New York, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and making false statements to the FBI. Yuanjun Tang, originally from China, was charged by criminal complaint and will be presented in court later today in Flushing.

According to the criminal complaint, Tang, a former dissident who defected from China in 2002 and was later granted political asylum in the United States, has lived in New York City for over two decades. During this time, he has actively participated in events with fellow PRC dissidents and leads a nonprofit organization focused on promoting democracy in China.

The complaint alleges that between 2018 and June 2023, Tang acted on behalf of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s primary intelligence agency. He reportedly received instructions through encrypted communications and reported to an MSS officer on U.S.-based Chinese democracy activists and dissidents. Tang is also accused of assisting the MSS in infiltrating a group chat on an encrypted messaging application used by PRC dissidents to discuss pro-democracy issues.

Law enforcement officials discovered evidence of Tang’s activities through various electronic devices and accounts linked to him, including instructions from the MSS, and collected materials intended for transmission to the agency. Additionally, Tang allegedly lied to the FBI about his access to an email account used for communications with his MSS handler.

Tang faces several charges, including conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is also charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government without proper notification, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, and making false statements to the FBI, which could lead to an additional five-year sentence.

If convicted, Tang’s sentence will be determined by a federal judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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