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NEW YORK: US authorities charged a Tibetan man serving as a New York police officer with espionage, accusing him of collecting information about the city’s Tibetan community for the Chinese government.
The officer, who worked at a station in the Queens section of the city, was run by members of the Chinese consulate in New York, according to the indictment issued Monday (September 21).
Through his contacts with the Tibetan community, the 33-year-old man collected information between 2018 and 2020 about the community’s activities, as well as identified possible sources of information.
According to the indictment, the man, who is also a United States Army Reserve officer, allowed members of the Chinese consulate to attend events organized by the New York Police Department (NYPD).
The Chinese authorities allegedly paid him tens of thousands of dollars for his service.
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The officer has been charged with four counts, including enlisting in the service of a foreign country on US soil, misrepresentation and obstruction of the operation of a public service.
He was brought before a judge Monday and detained, a spokesman for the Brooklyn federal prosecutor told AFP.
According to the NYPD, he is currently suspended without pay.
Born in China, the man was granted political asylum in the United States, claiming he was tortured by Chinese authorities because of his Tibetan ethnic origin.
However, the investigation revealed that both of his parents were members of the Chinese Communist Party.
“If confirmed by the courts,” the spy operation “shows that the Chinese Communist Party is involved in malicious operations to suppress dissent, not only in Tibet … but anywhere in the world,” said the International Campaign. for Tibet, an advocacy group that promotes the freedoms and rights of Tibetans.
After allowing Tibet to function autonomously between 1912 and 1950, Beijing regained control of the territory in 1951. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has lived in exile since 1959.
