A prominent Chinese American scholar based in New York has been convicted of living a double life as a spy for communist China for over a decade. Wang Shujun, a 75-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, presented himself as a critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and co-founded a pro-democracy organization in New York. However, prosecutors revealed that behind this facade, Wang spied on pro-democracy activists and shared his findings with officials from China’s top intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
After a seven-day trial in Brooklyn federal court, Wang was found guilty on four counts, including acting as a foreign agent without notifying the U.S. attorney general and making false statements to law enforcement officers.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York stated after the verdict that “the indictment could have been the plot of a spy novel, but the evidence is shockingly real that the defendant was a secret agent for the Chinese government.” Peace added that Wang had betrayed those who respected and trusted him by posing as an academic and founder of a pro-democracy organization.
Wang’s arrest took place in March 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 9 next year and could face up to 25 years in prison. Four MSS officials who were also charged remain at large.
This case highlights China’s ongoing efforts to silence dissidents living overseas through transnational repression tactics. Last year, two men were arrested by the FBI on charges of operating a secret police station in New York City in coordination with China’s Ministry of Public Security.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen from the Justice Department’s National Security Division emphasized that today’s verdict demonstrates accountability for those who seek to advance China’s agenda of transnational repression.
Defense lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma argued after the verdict that there was no evidence showing any harm caused or benefit gained by his client’s actions for the Chinese government. He described Wang as “a patriotic American who has devoted his life to fighting against authoritarian regime in China.”
Wang came to the United States in 1994 as a visiting scholar at a university in New York before co-founding an organization named after two former reformist leaders within China’s regime: Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang.
According to prosecutors’ findings, since at least 2006 Wang operated under direct orders from four MSS officials. He collected information about individuals and groups considered subversive by CCP standards such as Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters, advocates for Taiwan’s official independence, Uyghur activists,and Tibetan activists.
To communicate with his handlers, Wang made trips to China while using WeChat—a popular Chinese messaging app—and compiled collected information into email “diaries” accessible by MSS officials.
Law enforcement officials discovered approximately 163 diary entries written by Wang addressed directly to these four MSS officials during their search at his residence.