The Chinese Communist Party doesn’t believe its police state should end at China’s borders.
asserted
state → believe → borders
Beijing believes its power to surveil, intimidate and control its enemies follows them wherever they go.
asserted
they → believe → them
The latest example, it appears, was living in Irvine.
asserted
it → appear → Irvine
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
asserted
Report → deliver → news
According to an FBI affidavit, Zhang traveled to Seattle last year at the direction of Chinese government officials to surveil a close relative of a Taiwanese government official.
uncertain
Zhang → accord → official
She allegedly sent her handlers photographs, videos and license-plate information.
uncertain
She → send → photographs
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Zhang coordinated the operation with an associate and “used tradecraft to avoid detection.”
asserted
Zhang → say → detection
“We just arrested a Chinese foreign agent at LAX attempting to depart for China,” Essayli announced Saturday.
asserted
Essayli → arrest → China
Zhang has not been convicted, and the allegations against her will have to be proven in court.
asserted
allegations → convict → court
Beijing has spent years pushing its intelligence, influence and coercion operations far beyond China’s borders.
asserted
Beijing → spend → borders
And California keeps turning up in the case files.
asserted
California → turn → files
There was the case of suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang (“Fang Fang”), whose relationship with disgraced former California Rep. Eric Swalwell became a major scandal.
asserted
relationship → be → Swalwell
And earlier this year, Yaoning “Mike” Sun of Chino Hills was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
asserted
Sun → sentence → government
Sun wasn’t stealing missile plans or hacking Pentagon computers.
asserted
Sun → steal → computers
He was operating inside American politics.
asserted
He → operate → politics
Federal prosecutors say Sun served as a campaign adviser to a Southern California city council candidate, then worked with Chinese officials to expand Beijing’s influence in the United States.
asserted
Sun → say → States
More ominously, Sun closely surveilled then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her 2023 visit to Southern California, providing a Chinese consular official with real-time information about her movements.
asserted
Sun → surveille → movements
Consider what that means.
asserted
that → consider → what
An agent of Communist China was tracking the president of Taiwan in Southern California and reporting her movements to a PRC official.
asserted
agent → track → official
Now federal prosecutors allege another Southern California resident took direction from Chinese officials to surveil a Taiwanese official’s relative.
asserted
resident → allege → relative
And Beijing’s operations go well beyond surveillance.
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operations → go → surveillance
Eileen Wang was serving as mayor of Arcadia when federal authorities revealed that she had agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
asserted
she → serve → government
She formally pleaded guilty in May and is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
uncertain
She → plead → May
Her admitted work for Beijing occurred before she was elected.
asserted
she → admit → Beijing
According to the Justice Department, Wang and Sun operated a purported Chinese-American news outlet that published material at the direction of Chinese government officials.
uncertain
that → accord → officials
That included propaganda denying genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang.
asserted
That → include → Xinjiang
After Wang reported that one Beijing-directed article had attracted more than 15,000 views, a Chinese official responded, “Great!”
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official → report → views
Wang replied: “Thank you leader.”
asserted
Wang → reply → you
She later went on to become mayor of an American city.
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She → go → city
This is how Beijing operates.
asserted
Beijing → operate → ?
And increasingly, it is doing it here.
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it → do → it
Essayli put it plainly when Wang’s plea agreement was announced: It was another victory in the effort to defend America “against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”
asserted
It → put → institutions
And let’s be clear about who the adversary is.
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adversary → let → ?
Some of the people with the most to fear from these operations are Chinese dissidents, Taiwanese Americans and others who came to this country precisely because America offers freedoms the Chinese Communist Party denies.
asserted
Party → fear → freedoms
Once they are here, Beijing has no claim on them.
uncertain
Beijing → have → them
The Chinese Communist Party censors its people, surveils political opponents and runs a vast police state inside China.
asserted
Party → censor → China
The people who live here answer to US law, not Beijing.
asserted
who → live → law
Neither are Chinese dissidents or anyone else the Communist Party decides is an enemy.
asserted
Party → decide → ?
Bill Essayli and the FBI are sending exactly the right message.
asserted
Essayli → send → message
Beijing’s authority ends at our border.
asserted
authority → end → border
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
