Overview
- Lu Jianwang, convicted Wednesday by a Brooklyn federal jury, was found guilty of acting as an unregistered agent of China and of obstructing justice, and he was acquitted on a related conspiracy charge.
- Prosecutors said Lu opened a Chinatown office at China’s direction in 2022, displayed a banner reading “Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station,” and helped seek the whereabouts of a California-based pro‑democracy activist.
- The FBI searched the site on Oct. 3, 2022, and seized devices and the banner, and investigators said Lu admitted using WeChat to communicate with a handler and deleting messages that became the basis for the obstruction count.
- Lu remains free on bail pending sentencing and faces up to 30 years in prison, as his lawyer plans an appeal and argues the site was a community center that helped people renew Chinese driver’s licenses.
- The case is part of a broader U.S. push against transnational repression, with co-defendant Chen Jinping pleading guilty in 2024, while China rejects the allegations as fabricated and says such centers provide volunteer services.