US jails two Chinese men in spying case
Thestandard · 2 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago1 MIN
Summary
Two Chinese men were sentenced in California on Friday after admitting they tried to recruit US military service members to spy for Beijing. US authorities said the pair conducted covert intelligence work in the United States, including arranging dead-drop cash payments and collecting information tied to US national security
Key Points
- Liren Lai and Yuance Chen were each sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release on Friday in California
- The two men pleaded guilty to acting on orders from China's Ministry of State Security, according to the US Department of Justice
- Prosecutors said they facilitated dead-drop cash payments for information related to US national security and gathered details on military personnel and installations
- Authorities said the pair also tried to recruit intelligence assets from within the US military while operating in the United States
- The FBI's Roman Rozhavsky said the sentencing should warn anyone seeking to endanger US service members, citizens, or national security.
Why It Matters
The case adds to already tense US-China security frictions and shows Washington's continued focus on counterintelligence enforcement inside the United States. For Hong Kong readers, it is another sign that espionage-related cases involving Chinese nationals remain a major flashpoint in bilateral relations