I just learned that one of the PRC agents behind the counterprotest of a rally I led in Boston in Aug2019 was finally arrested & indicted by federal grand jury tdy. After FOUR YEARS. I'm relieved, outraged & disappointed at the same time. Stay tuned as I am processing it here

Litang "Henry" Liang (梁利棠) is an American citizen residing in the Greater Boston area, where he spied on the local Chinese community, sent photos & info of individuals & organizations to PRC officials, & organized opposition to a Hong Kong protest, according to the complaints.

On Aug. 18, 2019, I organized a march called "Boston Stands with Hong Kong, Power to the People March." Prior to the rally, there were discussions among Chinese WeChat groups abt bringing firearms to shoot my face & wooden sticks to beat up protesters.

Despite the obvious safety risks, the community was resilient & hoped to go on. The pro-Beijing protesters were there even before I arrived. The confrontation was intense. While I was speaking, they tried to cover me & other activists w/ PRC flags that Liang was passing out.

During this time, Liang allegedly took numerous photos & videos of our participants & quickly forwarded them to Chinese officials. Then he had phone calls w/ PRC officials. On this day, other members of the community & I experienced different accounts of harassment as followed:

The car tire of one of our volunteers was punctured. A man in red raided our posters & pushed our volunteers. He then followed me to my home in an attempt to intimidate me. Police intervened but they didn't arrest him because it's not a "repetitive behavior."

Back to Liang & fast forward to Sep 2, 2019: we organized another rally "#EyeForHK The Hong Kong Way in Boston" in front of the Boston Public Library. A peaceful rally where we held hands to create a human chain to raise awareness of an incident where a girl was shot in her eyes.

Liang was there again, photographing. He then sent those photos to Beijing officials, stating that we are a "bunch of clowns trying to cause trouble." Then on Sep 29, he organized the PRC flag-raising ceremony alongside city officials while we were around counter-protesting.

Done with the timeline where I was present & able to cross-reference w/ the indictment. Now after 4yrs, he is finally arrested. I am relieved to know that someone involved in the Aug 18 counter-protest is finally held accountable bc it was clearly directed by the PRC consulate.

But I am so disappointed that this only happened after 4yrs. This guy has always been around all along; in and out of PRC Embassy with PRC officials, leading an NGO in Chinatown, & engaging with city officials. He could have left the States anytime to escape federal scrutiny.

What upset me the most is, the longer he wandered, the more risks pro-democracy activists were exposed to. In fact, Beijing takes advantage of the inefficiency so that they can send someone out to accomplish missions and swap them back when they found that they are exposed.

Our community in the past years has undergone tremendous stress in the face of Beijing's extensive transnational repression. We have been told by our friends, colleagues & schools that we are overreacting; no one is really after us; we are being racist against Chinese people.

The uncovering of PRC secret police stations around the world & cases like Liang's are clear reasons to explain why Hong Kong people & other oppressed communities are so sensitive abt our identity & why we want ppl to understand the scale of China's transnational repression.

To co-workers, friends, school administrators, and corporations: Next time when (Hongkongers/Uyghurs/Chinese/Tibetans/Southern Mongolians) ask for help, please hear us out & take it seriously. To world leaders: Pls do better in holding CCP & related individuals accountable. /end