What China's spies do in the U.S., and what happens when they're caught

This is an updated mentation of a communicative archetypal published connected May 18, 2025. The archetypal video tin beryllium viewed here. 

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According to the latest appraisal from America's quality agencies, China "remains the astir progressive and persistent cyber menace to [the] U.S." Its hackers person infiltrated the U.S. government, the backstage sector, and captious infrastructure, similar h2o systems and powerfulness grids. Hacking, however, has not replaced Beijing's pursuit of old-fashioned quality intelligence. As we archetypal reported successful May, China's Communist Party remains intent connected leveraging a worldwide web of covert agents to show and power events extracurricular its ain borders, and to surveil and intimidate Chinese dissidents close present successful America. Tonight, you'll perceive astir wherefore China's spies are connected the rise, and what happens erstwhile 1 gets caught.

Jim Lewis: This is – successful scale, and successful scope, and successful brazenness – the biggest espionage cognition against the U.S. successful its history.

Jim Lewis is simply a erstwhile U.S. diplomat whose nonstop acquisition with China's quality agencies spans much than 30 years. 

He says since President Xi Jinping came to powerfulness successful 2012, China's spies nary longer look to fearfulness the U.S.

Norah O'Donnell: Why bash China's espionage efforts look to beryllium increasing truthful large truthful accelerated nether Xi Jinping?

Jim Lewis: Xi Jinping thinks, "It's China's clip to determination to the halfway of the satellite stage." Xi Jinping looks astatine the West and astatine the U.S. and says, "These radical are feeble-minded, and I'm gonna beryllium capable to bushed them."

It whitethorn not beryllium a household sanction successful the U.S. but according to Lewis, China's Ministry of State Security, oregon MSS, is present the largest and astir progressive spy bureau successful the world.

In a propaganda video the spy bureau posted past twelvemonth connected China's largest societal network, a voiceover boasts that the MSS "senses things earlier they happen" and "fights against evil." 

The slick accumulation is simply a nationalist connection to some overseas adversaries and China's ain citizens astir the ministry's increasing power.

Jim Lewis 60 Minutes

Jim Lewis: It's sorta the equivalent of the CIA, but it has overmuch greater powers. One estimation says the MSS mightiness person 600,000 employees. And they are committed to going aft the United States. We are people fig 2 for them. 

Norah O'Donnell: Who's people fig one?

Jim Lewis: Target fig 1 is China's ain people. When Xi Jinping wakes up screaming successful the mediate of the night, he's truly disquieted that the Chinese Communist Party was connected the way that the Soviet Communist Party was on.

Lewis says to support implicit powerfulness astatine home, President Xi looks abroad.

Jim Lewis: Xi Jinping astir apt remembers that a batch of revolutions commencement extracurricular the location country, and helium doesn't privation that to hap to China. So there's a immense effort to wage attraction to the expatriate population.

One mode Beijing paid attention, according to the FBI, was to secretly open an overseas Chinese constabulary presumption close successful the mediate of New York City. It was discovered successful 2022, hidden among businesses successful a commercialized gathering successful Manhattan's Chinatown. While Chinese expats could renew authorities documents determination similar driver's licenses, national prosecutors said the main intent of the outpost was to people and harass Chinese dissidents.

Jim Lewis: They've done it successful The Netherlands, they've done it successful Canada. But the thought that you'd unfastened a constabulary presumption successful different country, that's a awesome disrespect of the sovereignty of that nation. 

After the presumption was unopen down, 2 Chinese-Americans who allegedly opened it were charged with conspiracy to enactment arsenic unregistered overseas agents of China. 

• How China recruits its spies successful the U.S.

In total, implicit the past 5 years, the Department of Justice has indicted much than 140 radical for felonies related to harassment, hacking, and spying for China wrong the U.S.

And 1 of the accused worked for the politician of New York. Federal prosecutors allege a erstwhile apical adjutant to Kathy Hochul, named Linda Sun, accepted millions of dollars to power who the politician met with, and what she said astir China. Sun and her husband, who person pled not guilty, owned a multi-million dollar location connected Long Island and a condo successful Hawaii.

Jim Lewis: Having a Ferrari and 2 mil-- multi-million dollar houses is simply a atrocious idea-- but--

Norah O'Donnell: For a authorities employee.

Jim Lewis: Everyone leaves a record. Some records are much flamboyant than others. 

"Flamboyant" is not a connection that comes to caput erstwhile you conscionable Shujun Wang. The 76-year-old retired historiographer came to the U.S. from China successful 1994 arsenic a visiting student astatine Columbia University.

Shujun Wang 60 Minutes

In New York, location to much exiled Chinese activists than immoderate different metropolis successful the world, Wang helped recovered a radical that met regularly and was dedicated to ideology successful China.

Shujun Wang (In Mandarin/English translation): In the 2010s, the overseas ideology question was gaining momentum, and I was anxious to beryllium a portion of it and beforehand democracy. 

Norah O'Donnell: What was your circumstantial relation successful the pro-democracy assemblage successful Flushing, Queens?

Shujun Wang (In Mandarin/English translation): I was assigned the relation of vice president/secretary wide for publicity and events – each kinds of events.

While Shujun Wang became a trusted subordinate of the Chinese dissident assemblage present successful New York, helium kept different relation secret: for astir 20 years, helium was spying for China's Ministry of State Security. 

Norah O'Donnell: Did you instrumentality notes astir who attended these meetings and what they said?

Shujun Wang (In Mandarin/English translation): Yes. 

Norah O'Donnell: When did you commencement sharing that accusation with China's largest quality group?

Shujun Wang (In Mandarin/English translation): That is simply a precise large misunderstanding.

In 2022, Shujun Wang was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for sharing dissidents' names, interaction information, and backstage conversations astatine the absorption of the MSS, for 17 years. 

When we spoke with him successful February done an interpreter, helium was astatine times combative and disputed basal facts of his case, truthful we yet asked Mr. Wang constituent blank:

Norah O'Donnell: Were you spying for the Chinese government?

Shujun Wang (In Mandarin/English translation): No. Throughout the full proceedings they were precise careful. They ne'er utilized the connection "spy." Just look astatine the grounds and you'll spot that.

We did, and portion lying to 60 Minutes whitethorn not beryllium a crime, lying to the FBI is.

Mr. Wang repeatedly told national agents helium had nary interaction with the Ministry of State Security. But according to national prosecutors, helium met with these MSS officers successful China, and they offered him level tickets and helped his household with a concern dispute. 

In 2021, idiosyncratic claiming to beryllium from the MSS showed up astatine Mr. Wang's doorway to assistance delete communications from his machine that mightiness incriminate him. Video from the brushwood showed helium welcomed the man's help. Unfortunately for Mr. Wang, the Chinese operative was really an undercover FBI agent.

Mr. Wang had pled not guilty. Last August, helium was convicted of making mendacious statements, illegally possessing ideology activists' identification, and acting arsenic an unregistered overseas cause of China.

Zach Margulis-Ohnuma: Our presumption has ever been that helium ne'er had the intent to beryllium an cause of the Chinese government.

Mr. Wang's lawyers Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Kevin Tung admit their lawsuit was successful interaction with Chinese intelligence, but they reason helium didn't interruption the instrumentality – and assertion FBI agents went aft him erstwhile they were incapable to enlistee him for the U.S.

Zach Margulis-Ohnuma: They were hoping helium would rotation implicit and place handlers higher up the nutrient chain. Now helium did not bash so. And they felt a small vindictive and aggravated and frustrated astir their inability to halt higher up existent espionage. And they-- they turned him into this autumn guy. 

Kevin Tung: When you look astatine successful reality, helium didn't person immoderate entree to secret, apical concealed information. All helium passed implicit is the attendance expanse of the ideology movement. Those accusation are disposable successful public.

Norah O'Donnell: People's names that be a backstage lawsuit are not public. They're lone made public--

Zach Margulis-Ohnuma: Well, tin we-- tin we--

Zach Margulis-OhnumaL Can we location successful connected that?

Zach Margulis-Ohnuma: So there's nary grounds of immoderate harm to the United States' interests oregon to demo-- ideology question interests from thing that helium did. 

Anna Yeung-Cheung disagrees. She testified against Mr. Wang successful court.

Anna Yeung-Cheung 60 Minutes

The pro-democracy activist's sanction and interaction information, on with 63 others, was recovered successful Mr. Wang's luggage erstwhile helium returned to New York from a travel to China successful 2019.

Norah O'Donnell: Did you ever ideate that Mr. Wang was 1 of the radical who was reporting what you were doing and others backmost to China?

Anna Yeung-Cheung: Not astatine all. 

Norah O'Donnell: Did you suffer slumber implicit it?

Anna Yeung-Cheung: Yeah. And I besides made definite my doorway concatenation was connected each the clip astatine night, due to the fact that you ne'er know. 

Born successful Hong Kong, Ms. Yeung-Cheung is present a U.S. national and prof of biology. She organizes demonstrations for the Hong Kong ideology question successful the U.S., wherever she's go progressively wary of who mightiness beryllium watching.

Anna Yeung-Cheung: I judge they are collecting information.

Norah O'Donnell: What benignant of information?

Anna Yeung-Cheung: Like, what are we doing, what precisely what we are saying successful the protests, and however galore radical are showing up there, things similar that.

Norah O'Donnell: And collecting that accusation for whom?

Anna Yeung-Cheung: For Beijing.

Norah O'Donnell: Why bash you deliberation China goes to specified lengths to spy connected pro-democracy activists present successful the U.S.?

Anna Yeung-Cheung: This is their tactics, right? They effort to soundlessness you, harass you, oregon intimidate you truthful that you halt what you're doing.

Anna Kwok present runs the pro-democracy enactment that Anna Yeung-Cheung co-founded. Because of her outspoken activism, the Hong Kong authorities has placed a $130,000 bounty connected her head.

Anna Kwok 60 Minutes

Anna Kwok: So each azygous time I aftermath up, I unfastened my societal media, and past I would spot radical talking astir how, if I support talking-- present successful the United States, they volition travel kidnap maine and-- instrumentality my assemblage to the Chinese Consulate truthful that they tin nonstop maine backmost to China.

Norah O'Donnell: How are you viewed by the Chinese government?

Anna Kwok: If I bash spell backmost to Hong Kong, it's gonna beryllium beingness imprisonment. So fundamentally they spot maine arsenic a traitor, arsenic idiosyncratic who betrays-- the Chinese authorities and the Hong Kong government.

Norah O'Donnell: And what's the transgression you've committed?

Anna Kwok: They deliberation that warring for democracy, wanting a accidental successful our ain aboriginal is simply a crime. 

Norah O'Donnell: The United States is known arsenic the onshore of the free. Do you consciousness escaped here?

Anna Kwok: Honestly, with China's agelong limb repression, it's hard to consciousness escaped anyplace successful the world. The happening astir the Chinese authorities is that you tin permission the country, you tin permission the territory, but you tin ne'er really permission their governance.

After we met her, Anna kwok's begetter and member were arrested successful Hong Kong. She is presently seeking governmental asylum successful the U.S. 

In March, the Trump medication announced sanctions against officials successful Hong Kong who person targeted her and 18 different salient activists surviving abroad. 

As for Shujun Wang, connected April 14, a national justice sentenced him to 3 years supervised release. He spared Mr. Wang situation time, due to the fact that of wellness problems including cognitive decline, but the justice reiterated helium had committed "serious" crimes against the U.S.

Jim Lewis: He was an agent. He worked with the Chinese authorities to place targets for them to surveil and compromise. 

According to China expert Jim Lewis, there's inactive nary substitute for connected the crushed quality intelligence, adjacent if Mr. Wang was an expendable plus for China's apical spy agency. 

Norah O'Donnell: Not precisely James Bond.

Jim Lewis: Definitely not James Bond, decidedly not. That's the scary portion though is that the Chinese are precise good, and truthful helium was not fig 1 connected the database of assets to protect. That means determination are different assets who are being protected.

Produced by Keith Sharman and Roxanne Feitel. Broadcast associates, Mimi Lamarre and Callie Teitelbaum. Edited by Robert Zimet.

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