A New York resident was found guilty on Wednesday for his involvement in running a covert Chinese government-affiliated police station in Manhattan, which was utilized to keep tabs on dissidents, according to federal prosecutors.
Lu Jianwang, a 64-year-old U.S. citizen from the Bronx, also known as “Harry Lu,” faced conviction by a jury on two charges. These charges pertained to managing an overseas police station in New York City for China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and obstructing justice by destroying evidence.
Prosecutors revealed that Lu, along with his co-defendant Chen Jinping, operated as unauthorized agents of the Chinese government starting in 2022. They set up what has been identified as the first overseas Chinese police station in the United States.
Chen Jinping admitted guilt in 2024 to conspiring to act as an agent for the People’s Republic of China in relation to the station’s activities.
Lu Jianwang appeared alongside his attorney, John Carman, outside a U.S. courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, after his conviction for acting as an illicit foreign agent for China. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)
Prosecutors said the station operated out of an office building in Lower Manhattan, where investigators found a blue banner reading: “Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station, New York, USA.”
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said the conviction disrupted a Chinese government operation on American soil.
“A police station operating in New York City at the direction of the Chinese government has been exposed, its sinister purpose disrupted, and its founder held accountable for blatantly disregarding the law and our country’s sovereignty,” he said in a statement.Â
Supporters of Lu Jianwang, also known as Harry Lu, stand outside a federal courthouse before the opening of his trial in New York, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“Our Office remains resolute in protecting the rights of people seeking freedom from repression and speaking out to bring democracy, reform, and human rights to China,” he added.
James C. Barnacle Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said the verdict should send a message to foreign agents operating in the U.S.
“May today’s verdict send a message to other foreign agents – the FBI maintains its unwavering resolve to reveal and disrupt the clandestine operations of adversarial nations,” he said in a statement.
Prosecutors said the Manhattan outpost was part of a broader Chinese government effort to monitor and intimidate dissidents abroad, including in the United States.
According to the DOJ, Lu gathered information for the Chinese government, including helping locate a pro-democracy activist who fled China for the United States.
The FBI searched the outpost in October 2022 and seized phones belonging to Lu and Chen. Investigators later discovered WeChat messages between the men and their Chinese government handler had been deleted.
Lu Jianwang waits to enter a federal courthouse in New York, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Prosecutors said Lu admitted to FBI agents that he established the Manhattan outpost, communicated with his handler through WeChat and deleted the messages.
Lu spoke briefly to supporters outside federal court following the verdict but declined to answer questions from reporters.
His attorney argued the outpost functioned as a community center where Chinese residents could renew driver’s licenses and gather socially.
“This is not espionage. This is not spying. This is not intelligence gathering,” attorney John Carman said outside the courthouse. “He wasn’t charged with any of that.”
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