Allegedly Linked to Chinese Spying Activities, Two US Citizens Face Prosecutors' Charges

JAKARTA - US prosecutors have indicted two people linked to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as part of what federal law enforcement officials have called a "transnational repression scheme" on behalf of the Chinese government to spy on and harass dissidents living in the United States.

Asked for comment, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington said it was "not aware of the specific situation" but that Beijing "firmly opposes US actions without a basis for slander and tarnishing China."

The two men charged were Craig Miller, who has worked as a DHS deportation officer for 15 years in Minnesota, anduna Taylor, a retired law enforcement agency DHS who now works as a private investigator in California, the US Department of Justice said Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court returned the indictment alleging two men and three others, with crimes committed while acting as suspects in Chinese agents, the department said in a statement.

"We will defend the rights of people in the United States to engage in free speech and political expression," Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen said.

"These people are helping foreign government agencies in an attempt to suppress the voices of different opinions taking refuge here."

Of the other three, two were previously arrested as part of a previous complaint in March: Liu's Fan Frank and Matthew Ziburis. The third person, Qiang Jason Sun, is still at large, prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York said.

Miller and Taylor were arrested in June, they said.

The allegations include obstructing justice for allegedly destroying evidence after FBI agents asked about the use of law enforcement databases with information about US-based Chinese dissidents.

Separately, Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said China "always asked Chinese nationals abroad to comply with the host country's laws and regulations."