The U.S. federal government has arrested a Chinese American man they claim was spying on people in Boston for the Chinese government.
According to The Boston Globe, 63-year-old Litang Liang, who is from Brighton, Massachusetts, was arrested Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement that they believe Liang helped compile a list of Chinese activists and organizations in the U.S. that supported pro-democracy movements in China.
Liang is facing charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, WCVB reports.
According to USA Today, the Department of Justice claims that Liang organized a counter-protest against pro-Democracy Chinese dissidents. He allegedly gave the Chinese government “photographs of and information about dissidents.”
In a 2018 incident, the charging documents say Liang gave the Chinese government the identity of a man he claimed sabotaged Chinese flags during a protest in Boston’s Chinatown.
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Liang was released on a $25,000 Thursday, USA Today reports. It is unclear if or when his case will go to trial.
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