US: Authorities charge alleged Chinese intelligence operatives for attempting to interfere in telecom case

Authorities in the United States have pressed charges on two Chinese nationals suspected to be intelligence operatives for Beijing this week. The alleged operatives were charged with attempting to interfere in the prosecution of a Chinese telecommunications firm in the US.

The criminal complaint by the Justice Department was unsealed Monday, charging alleged Chinese intelligence operatives He Guochun and Wang Zheng with money laundering and obstruction of justice, respectively. Both men remain at large, and the DOJ accused them of paying $61,000 in cryptocurrency to a US informant to supply internal documents related to the case against the company.

“Today’s complaint underscores the unrelenting efforts of the government to undermine the rule of law,” said New York Eastern District US Attorney Breon Peace in a statement, referring to Beijing. The indictment did not specify the name of the company, but it is believed that it was Huawei.

“According to US officials, these two Chinese agents tried to bribe a US law enforcement official into giving up sensitive and secret documents regarding the US legal strategy in its prosecution of Huawei,” said Heidi Zhou-Castro of Al Jazeera.

“The government of China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters during a news conference.

Federal prosecutors said Monday that 11 other Chinese nationals were charged for alleged involvement in other schemes.

A separate indictment in the Eastern District of New York also charged seven other Chinese nationals, including the two that were arrested on October 20, for forcibly trying to send back a Chinese citizen living in the US. The third scheme was in New Jersey, where prosecutors charged four Chinese nationals linked to a “long-running intelligence campaign” that sought US citizens to act as foreign agents for Beijing.

A school shooting took place in St. Louis, Missouri Monday, killing one teacher and a 15-year-old girl, according to authorities. Officials said the gunman, identified as 19-year-old Orlando Harris, opened fire using an AR-15 and had 600 rounds of ammunition with him. Harris was fatally shot by the police. Seven other students were injured in the incident.