Man accused of running Chinese spy outpost in New York convicted

Associated Press Associated Press

A man accused of running a secret Chinese spy outpost in New York City has been convicted of acting as an illegal foreign agent and destroying text messages from a Chinese government handler.

Lu Jianwang was acquitted Wednesday of a related conspiracy charge in a case that pitted U.S. concerns about China’s crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents against the defense’s contention that prosecutors twisted a well-meaning Chinese American community leader’s bureaucratic misstep to put him in prison.

The 64-year-old Lu spoke to supporters as he left Brooklyn federal court but declined to answer questions from reporters.

His lawyer said prosecutors dressed up a mundane paperwork case with specious suggestions that Lu was involved in spying and intelligence gathering.

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