{"id":2010898,"date":"2023-08-24T14:27:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T18:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-on-frontline-in-fight-against-ccps-covert-war-on-us\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T14:43:28","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T18:43:28","slug":"fbi-on-frontline-in-fight-against-ccps-covert-war-on-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-on-frontline-in-fight-against-ccps-covert-war-on-us\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI leads the battle against CCP&#8217;s hidden war on US."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffbi-on-frontline-in-fight-against-ccps-covert-war-on-us%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2010898&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content !text-lg\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Forty Chinese officers, a retired NYPD \u2064sergeant,\u200d two Navy sailors-turned-spies, and two minders of a secret Chinese police station in New York. These cases,\u2062 and others, feed an ever-growing list of FBI investigations as the agency zeroes in on combating Chinese espionage operations, an arena it \u200dhas branded its \u201ctop counterintelligence \u2063priority.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur adversaries\u2019 targets are our nation\u2019s core economic assets\u2014our\u200d information and ideas, our \u2062innovation, our research and\u200c development, \u2062our technology,\u201d\u2063 an FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No country\u2063 poses a \u2063broader, more severe threat to those assets than China.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To put the scale into\u200b perspective, \u200bFBI Director Christopher\u200d Wray said in 2020 that \u2062the Chinese Communist \u200dParty\u2019s (CCP) \u201cdeep\u200b and wide\u200b and persistent\u201d ability to influence American sectors prompts the agency to open a China-related probe about every 10 hours.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24\/id5480068-Elements-02-1200x376.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Casey \u2062Fleming, CEO of the BlackOps Partners Corporation, said the CCP will do \u201canything\u200d to weaken\u2064 our society.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>China&#8217;s goal, he said, is to &#8220;win a war without fighting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Fleming&#8217;s company \u2064advises businesses \u200bon \u200ccybersecurity\u2064 and corporate counterintelligence strategies.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:599px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Casey Fleming, Chairman and CEO of the \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-spy-behind-discredited-hunter-biden-letter-said-he-wanted-to-provide-biden-campaign-with-a-debate-talking-point\/\" title=\"Former spy wanted to give Biden campaign a debate topic with discredited Hunter Biden letter.\">intelligence consulting firm<\/a>,\u200c BlackOps Partners. \u200c(Samira Bouaou\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe level of the\u200b Chinese \u2064Communist Party&#8217;s espionage and influence and subversion is beyond most people&#8217;s comprehension,&#8221; he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A Line \u2062in \u2062the Sand\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The FBI&#8217;s focus on Chinese \u200dthreats has marked a\u200b shift in decades \u2064of U.S. policy, and something \u2064that only picked \u200bup in about \u200dthe past five years, observed Mr. Fleming.<\/p>\n<p>In\u2062 late 2018, the DOJ launched the \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/nsd\/information-about-department-justice-s-china-initiative-and-compilation-china-related\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">China Initiative<\/a> \u2064as part of a new \u200dstrategic priority to counter Chinese national security\u200b threats. Led by the department\u2019s \u2062national \u200dsecurity division, the initiative brought in a \u2064dramatic\u2063 upsurge in prosecutions \u2063targeting \u2064Beijing\u2019s state-sanctioned theft of trade secrets with a focus \u200don Chinese hackers, spies, and \u200bthose who allegedly stole intellectual property from their U.S. employers \u2062for China\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24\/id5480069-Elements-06-1200x442.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In February of \u200d2018, Mr. Wray, who was then half\u2064 a year into his job,\u200d testified in a\u200d Senate committee hearing on Chinese espionage that Beijing represents \u2064a \u201cwhole-of-society&#8221; threat.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:200px\" class=\"alignright\"><figcaption>Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray. (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty\u2063 Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen we open investigations into economic espionage, time \u2064and time again, they keep leading back to China,\u201d he \u200ctold lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>Several months later, Mr. Wray \u2063classified the regime as \u201cthe broadest, most challenging, most significant threat we\u200d face as a country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Fleming said it was around \u2064that time that the \u200dFBI seemed to draw &#8220;a line in\u200b the sand&#8221; with China.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the past, our\u200b government would look \u200bthe other way\u200c and say,\u200b \u2018well, that&#8217;s just one-off,\u2019\u201d Mr. Fleming said. Now, however, the\u2062 cases against Chinese\u200c agents \u2063operating on U.S. soil have come in much more frequently, he said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:601px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>A Chinese military \u200bpoliceman stands guard in\u2062 front\u2063 of the U.S.\u200b embassy in Beijing on April\u200d 3, 2001. \u200d(Stephen \u2062Shaver\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Military Infiltration<\/h2>\n<p>Navy petty officer Wei \u2063Jinchao knew what he\u2063 was getting into when a Chinese intelligence\u2064 officer\u2063 allegedly approached him three months before he became \u200da \u2064naturalized \u2063U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n<p>That same month, in February 2022, Mr. Wei \u200ctold another U.S. Navy sailor that he&#8217;d been &#8220;asked to spy for the PRC [People\u2019s Republic of China],\u201d according to court documents.<\/p>\n<p>From then until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/2-us-navy-sailors-arrested-accused-of-spying-for-china-5443130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his arrest in early August<\/a>, 22-year-old Mr. Wei passed to \u200dthe Chinese \u200dregime more than 50 technical manuals, along with\u200b photos and videos with details related\u200b to U.S. Navy ships and military\u2064 weapons, the indictment said. Some of the documents reveal the Navy\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-on-frontline-in-fight-against-ccps-covert-war-on-us\/\" title=\"FBI leads the battle against CCP's hidden war on US.\">amphibious assault vessels\u2019 operating systems<\/a> and power structures, repairs, and\u2062 the ships\u2019 \u200cweak points.<\/p>\n<p>At least 10 of the manuals he handed over had never been seen by the Chinese handler, court documents show. The Chinese handler \u200cmade at least nine payments to\u2063 Mr. Wei \u200cand even congratulated\u2063 the\u200d sailor on obtaining U.S. citizenship last May.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex-1\">\n<div class=\"relative\" style=\"padding-bottom:71.43%\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">Aircraft carrier USS \u2063Enterprise (CVN\u2064 65) cruises in the\u2063 Atlantic \u2064Ocean on March 22, 2012. \u200b(U.S. Navy photo \u200cby Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Harry Andrew \u2062D. Gordon\/Released)<\/div>\n<div class=\"bg-comp-divider h-px\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Another California \u2062Navy\u200b sailor, Zhao Wenheng,\u200b in a separate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/2-us-navy-sailors-arrested-accused-of-spying-for-china-5443130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">case<\/a>, allegedly pocketed nearly $15,000 for selling U.S. military data over an even longer time period.<\/p>\n<p>Former senior U.S. Naval intelligence officer John \u200dJordan said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)\u2062 \u201cwants\u2064 to hollow out the \u200bU.S.\u201d from within.<\/p>\n<p>The very existence of free \u200bsocieties is a threat to CCP\u2062 rule, he said. Therefore, confronting its influence \u201cgoes\u2062 to the very survival of the \u2063American political system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24\/id5480061-EXC-jordan-1200x321.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mr. Fleming said it&#8217;s &#8220;totally wrong&#8221; for foreign nationals like Mr.\u200c Wei to be in the U.S. military.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He should never, never have been\u200d allowed in \u200dthe U.S. military\u2014ever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd especially at any level that he could gather intelligence and \u2064get\u200b it\u200d back\u200c to \u2062the Chinese Communist Party. That&#8217;s another example of how our government and military must wake\u2062 up to\u2064 the fact of how \u200dserious this espionage is, and the unrestricted warfare by the CCP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon didn\u2019t \u2064respond to The Epoch Times\u2019s questions \u200dabout\u2062 its recruitment policies around foreign nationals being placed into\u200c sensitive\u2064 military positions.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Operators conduct bridge operations \u200don the Wasp-class \u200bamphibious assault \u2063ship USS Bataan (LHD\u2063 5) in the \u200bAtlantic Ocean on Aug. 30, 2022. (U.S. Navy\u200b photo \u200cby Mass\u2063 Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bradley Rickard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>&#8216;Behind the Scenes&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>The Navy sailor case \u2063was one of the latest overseen by \u2063the FBI&#8217;s counterintelligence division, the principal branch within \u200bthe agency tasked with tackling espionage from \u2062hostile powers \u2063such \u2063as\u2064 Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>In the last four months, the FBI has also brought \u200ccases \u2064against two men who allegedly attempted \u2062to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/doj-charges-2-suspected-chinese-agents-for-targeting-falun-gong-in-the-us-5295028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bribe<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/doj-charges-2-suspected-chinese-agents-for-targeting-falun-gong-in-the-us-5295028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">  a purported IRS official<\/a> to help the regime\u2064 \u201ctopple\u201d Falun Gong, two others suspected of operating an illegal Chinese police facility in Manhattan,\u2063 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-authorities-arrest-boston-man-accused-of-providing-china-with-blacklist-of-dissidents-5254532\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Boston\u200b man<\/a> who authorities accused of\u2064 secretly spying on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-condemns-charges-against-pro-democracy-activists-in-hong-kong\/\" title=\"Secretary Of State Antony Blinken Condemns Charges Against Pro-Democracy Activists in Hong Kong\">pro-democracy activists<\/a> \u2062for Beijing, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/doj-charges-40-ccp-officers-for-allegedly-targeting-us-residents-spreading-propaganda-5201037\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">40 Chinese police officers<\/a> involved \u2063in harassing U.S. \u2062residents.<\/p>\n<p>A Brooklyn \u2063court in June <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/3-men-convicted-in-ny-trial-of-harassing-intimidating-chinese-dissidents-in-us-on-behalf-of-ccp-5346209\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">convicted<\/a> three men, including a retired NYPD sergeant, of stalking a\u200b New Jersey family and pressuring them to return\u2062 to China. It was the first such \u200bcase to reach trial revealing the regime\u2019s coerced repatriation program known as Operation Fox Hunt.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>(L\u2013R) Zhu Yong, Zheng \u2062Congying,\u200b and former New York Police Department \u2062officer Michael McMahon are the three defendants convicted \u200bin the Operation Fox Hunt-related\u200c case. (Cai Rong, Getty Images\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A lot goes \u2062on behind the \u2064scenes before any case can move\u2064 forward, said Marc Ruskin, a 20-year FBI veteran, \u2062who has worked on\u200d a number of counterintelligence cases.<\/p>\n<p>To initiate a preliminary investigation, the FBI\u200b needs to \u2062provide sufficient probable cause to assign a\u2064 case agent.<\/p>\n<p>Bringing on\u200b an undercover agent is often the best technique\u2064 but also the \u2063most labor-intensive and \u2064costly, Mr. Ruskin told The\u2064 Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need a \u200bwhole team of \u2063people basically,\u2063 and then you have \u2063to get different levels of authorization depending on the nature of the case,\u201d he \u2062said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Marc\u200d Ruskin, retired\u2062 FBI\u200c Special Agent and author of \u2063&#8221;The Pretender.&#8221; (Samira Bouaou\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A proposal detailing different investigative and undercover scenarios and a budget \u2063breakdown must be approved before extra\u2062 manpower \u200bis added. The authorization is usually renewed every\u2063 six months through the \u2063operation\u2019s completion\u2014until prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to make an arrest, Mr. \u2063Ruskin said.<\/p>\n<p>A classic example, he said, is the recent IRS\u200d bribery <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/doj-charges-2-suspected-chinese-agents-for-targeting-falun-gong-in-the-us-5295028\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">case<\/a> involving an undercover\u2062 FBI agent who\u200d posed\u2062 as a tax official.<\/p>\n<p>Court documents reveal that an informant worked \u200cwith the undercover agent posing\u200c as an IRS \u200cofficial to connect with and record \u2064conversations with two suspects, who paid the agent to open a probe against an entity managed by adherents of Falun Gong, \u200da faith group that has been brutally persecuted\u2063 in China since 1999.<\/p>\n<p>Undercover agents \u201ctry and make\u2063 as many meetings as possible\u201d \u2063with suspects, said Mr. Ruskin.<\/p>\n<p>The agent who posed as an IRS official was \u2062handed a $1,000 down payment\u2064 in \u2064the initial meeting, and \u2063then another $4,000 in a second meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis\u200b way, he&#8217;s got two\u200c meetings instead of one. And you can get twice as many conversations and make it very clear\u2064 that there&#8217;s no doubt anymore\u2064 as to what the purpose of\u2062 the\u200d bribe is,\u201d said Mr. Ruskin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat, in \u2063combination \u200bwith \u200dthe intercepted\u200b phone call between the two defendants, then also bringing in the evidence\u200d about \u200dthe \u200bPRC public\u2064 official, makes for an airtight case using undercover,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Ruskin said the case will be &#8220;very embarrassing&#8221; \u200dfor the Chinese regime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s no question as to the nature of\u200c the attack on Falun Gong,\u201d he said. Chinese agents are trying to interfere\u200b with people exercising constitutional \u2062rights and freedom of religion on U.S. soil and at the same time trying to \u201ccorrupt \u200dAmerican public officials, which is very\u2063 shameful.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex-1\">\n<div class=\"relative\" style=\"padding-bottom:66.67%\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">Chinese leader \u2062Xi\u2062 Jinping drives\u2063 by Falun Gong practitioners protesting against the\u2062 Chinese Communist Party&#8217;s persecution of \u200cFalun Gong practioners, \u200cin New York on Sept. 27, 2015. \u2062(Larry Dye\/The Epoch Times)<\/div>\n<div class=\"bg-comp-divider h-px\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Ruskin said undercover agents make \u201cthe\u2063 best witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s the most valuable work the FBI can \u2063do, because the \u2064witnesses are FBI agents,\u201d he \u2062said. \u201cIt&#8217;s \u200bnot like you&#8217;re taking someone off the street and making them a witness, or using an informant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A\u200c trained \u200cagent\u2019s reliability\u200b in court \u2062is \u2063\u201cunquestionable,\u201d\u200b he \u2063said,\u200d and it \u201cdoesn&#8217;t \u200dgive any wiggle room for the PRC to try and provide an alternate \u200bexplanation for what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis case is going to be\u2062 a slam dunk\u2064 for whoever prosecutes this.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Beijing\u2019s \u2062Playbook<\/h2>\n<p>The tactics of\u2063 the Chinese campaign aren\u2019t limited \u200cto any one facet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/beijing-linked-group-tries-to-sway-us-media-with-reporter-trips-dinners-with-execs-3653448\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nor are\u2063 its targets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24\/id5480062-FACTs-combo-200wide.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>Be it lawmakers, businesses, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-religious-freedom-advocate-targeted-by-chinese-hackers-in-microsoft-breach-5410474\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">academic institutions<\/a>, and the general public, none is immune from \u2064the regime\u2019s reach.\u200d The Party routinely threatens and harasses U.S.-based\u2063 critics, exerts pressure\u2063 on U.S. politicians \u200bin a bid to\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/pawns-for-beijing-ccp-pressures-us-officials-to-tilt-policies-in-chinas-favor-4517439\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mold policies\u200d to its liking<\/a>, and\u2062 aggressively obtains trade secrets \u2062and U.S. intelligence through generous payments or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-religious-freedom-advocate-targeted-by-chinese-hackers-in-microsoft-breach-5410474\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hacking<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Systematic, state-sponsored Chinese trade theft cost the United States between \u200c$225 billion\u200c to $600\u200c billion annually, according to estimates by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/pdfs\/publications\/IP_Commission_Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>China also\u2062 possesses one of \u2062the world\u2019s largest army of hackers. China&#8217;s hacking program,\u200b by \u200cMr. Wray\u2019s estimates, is \u201cbigger than that of every other nation combined,\u201d\u200b outnumbering U.S. \u2064cyber specialists by\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/chinese-hackers-outnumber-us-cyber-agents-by-at-least-50-to-1-fbi-director-wray-5227007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">at least<\/a> 50 to 1.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ&#8217;s China Initiative led to a spate of \u2063researchers \u2062being criminally charged for hiding\u2062 their\u2063 links \u2064to state-sponsored Chinese recruitment programs, known as \u2063&#8221;talent plans,&#8221;\u200d the most high profile among them being the former Harvard University chemistry chair Charles Lieber.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Charles Lieber \u200c(C) takes part in a group\u200d photo in \u2062front of the Joint \u2064WUT-Harvard Joint \u200dNano Key Laboratory, in\u200b Wuhan, China, in 2012. (Department of Justice)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Lieber was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/ex-harvard-professor-sentenced-fined-for-lying-about-china-ties-5137022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sentenced<\/a> in April to two days in jail and\u200c two years of supervised release over six \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-executed-search-warrant-on-trumps-twitter-account\/\" title=\"Special Counsel searches Trump's Twitter account.\">felony charges\u200b related<\/a> to the tens of \u2062thousands \u2062of dollars \u200dhe received from China\u2063 while working on sensitive U.S. research.<\/p>\n<p>He had\u2062 also \u2063opened and co-directed a joint nanotechnology \u200blab at the Wuhan \u200dUniversity of Technology\u2062 under Harvard&#8217;s\u200b name.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI&#8217;s crackdown on visa fraud\u2014Chinese military officers disguised as students in the United\u2063 States\u2014coupled with the closure of the Chinese\u2064 consulate in Houston over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/how-chinese-diplomatic-missions-covertly-work-to-subvert-the-united-states-3441986\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">espionage activities<\/a>, \u200dresulted in over 1,000 military-linked Chinese researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/over-1000-chinese-military-linked-researchers-have-left-us-since-federal-crackdown-doj-official-3602423\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leaving the \u2062country<\/a>, then assistant attorney general for national security John Charles Demers said in \u200cDecember 2020.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex-1\">\n<div class=\"relative\" style=\"padding-bottom:66.74%\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">People visit the Chinese consulate in Houston on July 22, 2020. (MARK \u200bFELIX\/AFP \/AFP via \u2062Getty Images)<\/div>\n<div class=\"bg-comp-divider h-px\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But the\u2064 China Initiative drew heavy criticism for being overzealous and fanning anti-Asian\u200d discrimination, a reason the DOJ \u2064cited in \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/doj-terminates-program-targeting-chinese-espionage-amid-accusations-of-racism-4298077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">axing \u200bthe\u200c initiative<\/a> \u200cin February 2022. Matthew Olsen, the new assistant attorney general for national security, said the CCP threat landscape demanded\u200c a\u2063 broader approach.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u200cFleming said the program closure played into the Chinese regime&#8217;s hands and the Asian \u2063hate\u200c narrative would have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/beijing-exploiting-anti-asian-attacks-to-shun-us-criticism-delegitimize-america-3752628\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fueled by the regime<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By\u2064 overblowing its alleged harm via social media and mainstream media\u2014with the help of \u200cits subordinates or\u200d those misled by its \u200dpropaganda\u2014Beijing achieves the goal\u2063 of\u200c deflecting blame and shifting the focus off \u2064its nefarious activities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re slowly waking up to really what this threat \u200dis,\u201d\u200d said Mr. Fleming. \u201cIt&#8217;s a war we&#8217;ve never been familiar with in the past that we have to become experts in\u200d overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FBI spokesperson said China targets U.S. businesses, academic institutions, researchers, lawmakers, and the general \u200cpublic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government and the private sector \u2064must commit\u200d to working together to better understand and \u200dcounter the threat,\u201d the \u2063spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI has put out \u2062targeted \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/fbi-ads-warn-chinese-americans-of-ccp-repression-efforts-in-us-4980828\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ads<\/a> asking\u200d members of the \u200dChinese-American community to come\u200c forward\u200b if\u200b they have been victimized by the regime.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Violence Would Be Fine\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Recently, researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/2-more-secret-ccp-police-stations-discovered-in-la-and-new-york-report-4909946\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">uncovered<\/a> more than 100 extralegal Chinese police\u2063 outposts\u200c in 53\u200c nations, including at least four in \u200dthe United States.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24\/id5480063-FACT-53Nations-200wide.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a>The revelation of one such \u2064station in New York led to the arrest of two alleged \u200bChinese agents, one\u2064 of\u2062 whom, prosecutors said, paid ethnic Chinese by busloads to welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2015 and to\u2064 counter the demonstrations of Falun Gong. The man \u2063was also enlisted\u2063 in efforts to force\u200d a purported Chinese \u2064fugitive to return to\u200d China, DOJ filings <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/in-depth-us-starts-dismantling-the-ccps-overseas-mafia-apparatus-5241219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allege<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Chinese government seeks to manipulate U.S. political \u2064and economic policies while attempting to integrate\u2062 their \u200dagenda\u2063 through local communities to serve \u200btheir\u2062 own agenda and invoke their \u2063authorities\u2062 within\u2064 our borders,\u201d \u200bthe FBI said in a statement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex-1\">\n<div class=\"relative\" style=\"padding-bottom:66.67%\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">During Chinese leader Xi\u200c Jinping&#8217;s 2015 visit to \u200dthe United States, supporters of the Chinese Communist Party \u2064harassed\u200b those\u200d who were protesting against the Party\u2063 over its \u2062land confiscation actions by blocking their messages with\u2064 Chinese flags, in New\u2062 York on Sept. 26, 2015. (Samira \u200cBouaou\/The \u2062Epoch \u200dTimes)<\/div>\n<div class=\"bg-comp-divider h-px\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>U.S.\u200d Army officer Xiong Yan tasted the regime\u2019s suppression campaign first hand while running for a U.S. congressional\u2064 seat\u2063 on Long Island,\u2063 New\u200b York, in the 2022 midterms. A student\u2063 leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Mr. Xiong had by then served in the U.S. military\u2062 for 27 years and become a naturalized\u2064 U.S.\u200d citizen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeat him. Beat him until he cannot run for election,\u201d \u200dan alleged Chinese agent\u2062 instructed a private\u2064 investigator in a plot to thwart Mr. Xiong&#8217;s election campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The plot began in September 2021, shortly after Mr. Xiong announced his candidacy, federal prosecutors said. \u201cRight now we don\u2019t want\u2064 him to be elected,\u201d the court document quoted alleged agent Lin Qiming as saying. \u201cWhatever price is\u2064 fine. As long as you \u200dcan do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24\/id5480070-Elements-11-1200x448.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mr. Lin\u200d demanded the private\u2064 investigator implicate Mr. Xiong in prostitution, tax evasion, and child \u2063pornography.\u200d He\u200d suggested hiring an attractive woman\u2064 as a\u2062 campaign volunteer for Mr. Xiong in order to \u201chave a\u200d relationship\u200d with \u2064him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the investigator said \u2062it would cost $40,000 to carry the plan out, Mr. Lin responded: \u201cNo problem. The money is not a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t find anything \u200dafter following \u2063him for a \u200bfew weeks, can we manufacture something?\u201d Mr. Lin asked in a recorded call.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the end,\u2063 violence\u2063 would be\u200b fine\u2064 too,\u201d he said later in a voice message,\u200b adding \u2064that they could\u2063 use a beating or other means to \u200dinflict physical harm, \u200caccording to \u2064court filings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou-you think about it. \u200bCar accident, [he] will be\u200c completely wrecked [chuckles], \u2062right? \u200bDon\u2019t know, \u200deh, whatever ways from all different \u2062angles. Or, on the day of the election, he cannot make it there \u200chimself, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Xiong Yan (C), one of the 21 &#8220;most-wanted&#8221; Tiananmen Square protesters from 1989, speaks with local pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong on \u200cMay 31, \u20632009. (Samantha Sin\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Xiong was unaware of the scheme unfolding around him for months and was surprised to find himself in the \u2063headlines last\u2064 March when \u2063he flew\u200b back into the United States after a trip \u2064overseas.<\/p>\n<p>Angry as he was, \u200che thought the efforts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/chinese-secret-police-targeted-us-army-vet-on-american-soil-attempted-to-interfere-in-election-doj-4341794\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">were<\/a> laughable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve done nothing wrong to\u2063 dishonor myself, and therefore have\u200c no cause for fear,\u201d he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2062the revelations allowed\u200d him to connect the\u200d dots on things \u200dthat \u200chadn&#8217;t\u2064 been making sense. In November 2021, for example, he remembered leaving early from his single-family house\u200b parking \u200blot in Long Island to meet a friend. It was around 3 a.m.,\u2062 but just as he was heading out, he noticed a\u2064 car driving in.\u200c The driver seemed \u2062to be a woman in her 40s who kept \u2062her head down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey had been following me all this time,\u201d\u200c he recalled thinking.<\/p>\n<p>Days after the DOJ brought charges against the\u2064 alleged schemers, Mr. Xiong held \u2062a large \u2064fundraiser\u2063 for his \u2062campaign. Only one-third of the more than 500 expected guests showed up. One of the guests who \u2063failed to attend \u200dlater called Mr. Xiong\u2019s campaign and explained that the Chinese consulate had\u2064 warned\u200b him, and \u200bothers, not to donate to his campaign,\u2063 attend his events, or vote for him, otherwise they risk not being able to do business in China.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were scared,\u201d\u200d Mr. Xiong said. \u201cNot of\u2062 me\u2014it\u2019s\u2063 not that they\u200c didn\u2019t like me. What they feared was how the \u200dCCP \u200bcould persecute them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Climate \u200dof Fear\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Holding family members hostage is a\u200b typical\u2063 tactic \u2063employed by the Chinese regime to exert control over the\u2063 U.S.-based Chinese diaspora and silence unfavorable voices, as U.S. Uyghur activist\u2063 Rushan Abbas has \u2063experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Abbas has regarded her Urumqi-based \u200bsister,\u2062 a retired \u2063Chinese medical\u200c doctor, as a mother figure ever since their\u2064 parents passed away. But she stopped communicating with her \u200bsister in \u20622017,\u200b the year she \u2062founded \u2063the nonprofit Campaign for Uyghurs, in hopes of shielding her closest kin from \u200dChinese authorities\u2019 retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t help. In \u2063September 2018, \u200csix days after \u2064Ms.\u2063 Abbas spoke about the mistreatment of Uyghurs at\u2062 the Hudson Institute, her sister vanished, just like many of Ms. \u2064Abbas\u2019 in-laws in China.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t until two years \u2063later that Ms. Abbas learned of her sister\u2019s \u200c20-year prison \u2064sentence. As\u2063 she campaigned for her \u2064sister\u2019s\u200c freedom from the United States, Chinese \u200cstate media attacked her, claiming she had stolen images of Uyghurs as props to \u200bfabricate tall\u200d tales.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex flex-col gap-4\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex-1\">\n<div class=\"relative\" style=\"padding-bottom:61.05%\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">Campaign for Uyghurs founder and executive\u2064 director \u200dRushan Abbas holds\u2064 a photo of her sister, Gulshan Abbas, who is imprisoned in China, at a protest \u200cfor Uyghurs&#8217; freedom, in New York on March 22, 2021. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>diverse, ranging from military secrets to intellectual property theft,&#8221; said an FBI spokesperson. With an increasing number of cases involving Chinese espionage, the FBI is intensifying efforts to combat these operations. It has designated countering Chinese espionage as its primary focus, recognizing the wide range of targets pursued by adversaries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":361,"featured_media":2010899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2010898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2010898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2010899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2010898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2010898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2010898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}