In 2021, Yan Xiong, a US citizen and retired Army chaplain, decided to run as a Democrat for Congress in a district that includes heavily Chinese areas in Chinatown, Manhattan, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Xiong figured his background would help him win. As a student in Beijing in 1989, he had helped lead the uprising for democratic reforms in Tiananmen Square, prompting a bloody government crackdown. After criticizing the leadership on live television, Xiong landed on China’s list of 21 “most wanted” dissidents. He spent almost two years in Beijing’s notorious Qincheng Prison.
More than three decades later, and across an ocean, he remained a prime target.
After Xiong announced his campaign, an intelligence agent with 
Ministry of State Security hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on him, according to criminal charges later filed by federal prosecutors. Unfortunately for the Chinese spy, the investigator was secretly cooperating with the FBI.
On a phone call, the two discussed hiring a woman who might lure Xiong into a compromising situation. The spy, Qiming Lin, who lived in China, promised to pay handsomely, indicating that $40,000 was a fair price for a prostitute.
“Violence would be fine, too,” the spy told the investigator, according to a recording of the call described in court filings. “Beat him until he cannot run for election,” Lin added, laughing.
Beijing also recruited a former pro-democracy activist in Queens to keep tabs on Xiong, according to charges later brought by federal prosecutors.
And the consulate directed hometown association leaders to oppose him.
In March 2022, he opened his campaign headquarters in Chinatown and held a weakly attended fund-raiser. He said that Chen Xueduan, a former head of the Fukien Benevolent Association of America, later told him on a phone call that the consulate had issued a threat: If Chen supported the campaign, he would risk repercussions for his business interests in China.
Another community leader, Jimmy Cheng, also offered to assist his campaign, Xiong recalled. Cheng told him he hated Communists and that, as a top leader of the United Fujianese of America Association, he could help deliver some 3,000 votes.
But Cheng was a saboteur, Xiong said: An FBI agent had warned the candidate that Cheng had ties to China and should not be trusted.
At an event weeks after their initial meeting, Xiong said Cheng duped him into being photographed in front of a backdrop claiming he opposed the creation of a museum honoring Tiananmen Square victims.
“In five minutes, that photo was all over the world,” Xiong said, referring to coverage in Chinese-language media. It was a “dirty trick”.
Xiong lost his primary handily and moved to Florida. He plans to return to New York and has filed paperwork to run in the Democratic primary next year against Grace Meng.
He was surprised that his biography didn’t move voters, he said. But “the Chinese government corrupts the Chinese people here.”
Ministry of State Security hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on him, according to criminal charges later filed by federal prosecutors. Unfortunately for the Chinese spy, the investigator was secretly cooperating with the FBI.
On a phone call, the two discussed hiring a woman who might lure Xiong into a compromising situation. The spy, Qiming Lin, who lived in China, promised to pay handsomely, indicating that $40,000 was a fair price for a prostitute.
“Violence would be fine, too,” the spy told the investigator, according to a recording of the call described in court filings. “Beat him until he cannot run for election,” Lin added, laughing.
Beijing also recruited a former pro-democracy activist in Queens to keep tabs on Xiong, according to charges later brought by federal prosecutors.
And the consulate directed hometown association leaders to oppose him.
In March 2022, he opened his campaign headquarters in Chinatown and held a weakly attended fund-raiser. He said that Chen Xueduan, a former head of the Fukien Benevolent Association of America, later told him on a phone call that the consulate had issued a threat: If Chen supported the campaign, he would risk repercussions for his business interests in China.
Another community leader, Jimmy Cheng, also offered to assist his campaign, Xiong recalled. Cheng told him he hated Communists and that, as a top leader of the United Fujianese of America Association, he could help deliver some 3,000 votes.
But Cheng was a saboteur, Xiong said: An FBI agent had warned the candidate that Cheng had ties to China and should not be trusted.
At an event weeks after their initial meeting, Xiong said Cheng duped him into being photographed in front of a backdrop claiming he opposed the creation of a museum honoring Tiananmen Square victims.
“In five minutes, that photo was all over the world,” Xiong said, referring to coverage in Chinese-language media. It was a “dirty trick”.
Xiong lost his primary handily and moved to Florida. He plans to return to New York and has filed paperwork to run in the Democratic primary next year against Grace Meng.
He was surprised that his biography didn’t move voters, he said. But “the Chinese government corrupts the Chinese people here.”Quote
Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
in New York City, at least 53 organizations with ties to Beijing have been mobilizing members to fund-raise or endorse political candidates. Many are nonprofit charities, which are prohibited by law from electioneering. These organizations have quietly foiled the careers of