Queens Man Worked for Chinese Intelligence, Prosecutors Say
A Flushing man at the center of Queens’ large Chinese immigrant community has admitted to secretly working on behalf of the Chinese government. Yuanjun Tang, 68, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Court filings show that Tang, formerly a citizen of the PRC, was imprisoned there for his activities as a political dissident opposing the Chinese Communist Party’s one-party rule, including during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. After defecting to Taiwan in 2002, Tang was granted political asylum in the United States and has lived in New York City since, where he has remained active in the pro-democracy community and led a nonprofit promoting democratic reforms in China.
Courtesy US Department of Justice
From at least 2018 through June 2023, Tang secretly operated under the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s civilian intelligence agency. Acting on instructions from an MSS intelligence officer, Tang collected and reported information on U.S.-based Chinese democracy activists and dissidents. He provided the MSS with names, photographs, and recordings of individuals participating in pro-democracy activities in the United States, as well as details about asylum processes and contact information for immigration attorneys in New York City.
Tang also accepted payments for his work and traveled multiple times to Macau and mainland China for in-person meetings with MSS officials. During these meetings, he underwent polygraph testing, permitted the installation of surveillance software on his phone to directly transmit data to the MSS, and accepted a laptop for communications.
Investigators recovered encrypted communications, photographs, videos, and documents that Tang collected or prepared for the MSS. He also assisted the MSS in infiltrating an encrypted group chat used by U.S.-based dissidents to discuss democracy and voice criticism of the PRC government.
Tang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for January 29, 2026. A federal district judge will determine the final sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations.
The FBI’s New York Field Office is leading the investigation.
Tang’s actions highlight the serious threat posed by foreign intelligence operations on U.S. soil. By targeting pro-democracy activists and gathering sensitive information, agents acting at the direction of the PRC not only endanger individuals exercising their First Amendment rights but also undermine national security. Such covert activities can intimidate immigrant communities, erode trust in democratic institutions, and compromise the safety of those who seek refuge in the United States from authoritarian regimes.
