Trial opens for Bronx man accused of running secret Chinese ‘police station’ in NYC

A Bronx man accused of running a secret Chinese police station in Manhattan’s Chinatown went on trial in Brooklyn federal court last Wednesday, more than three years after his arrest.

Lu Jianwang, 64, who was arrested in April 2023, faces three charges before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, including acting as an unauthorized agent of China, conspiracy to act as a foreign agent and obstruction of justice. He “was living in New York City but he was working for the Chinese government,” prosecutor Lindsey Oken said in her opening statement. He pleaded not guilty.

Lu allegedly opened the outpost in February 2022 inside the offices of the America ChangLe Association, a Fujianese community group he led. Prosecutors say he received the directive during a visit to his native Fujian province, where China’s Ministry of Public Security had announced a global rollout of 30 overseas police stations.

The FBI raided the site in October 2022, and prosecutors say Lu deleted WeChat messages with his Chinese handler. Defense attorney John Carman told jurors the office was a place where members of the diaspora could renew their Chinese driver’s licenses amid COVID-19-era travel restrictions and gather for community events. “Lu was arrested for essentially failing to file a form,” Carman said.

Prosecutors countered with Hofstra Law professor Julian Ku, who testified that the Ministry of Public Security uses overseas affiliates to identify both allies and perceived threats to the Chinese Communist Party. He told the court Chinese nationals abroad understand they remain under surveillance.

The trial is part of a broader federal push against what U.S. officials call Beijing’s transnational repression campaign, with dozens of Chinese officials and operatives separately charged over alleged harassment of dissidents in the U.S. Beijing has since denied operating any such police stations.

The proceedings, for Chinese American and broader AAPI communities, highlight how diaspora institutions can become flashpoints in geopolitical disputes. Lu’s co-defendant Chen Jinping pleaded guilty in December 2024 to acting as an unauthorized agent of the Chinese government and awaits sentencing.

The trial is expected to last one week.