The FBI is placing targeted ads asking members of the Chinese American community to come forward if they have been victimized by China’s communist regime while living in the United States.
In a pair of Chinese-language paid advertisements posted to Facebook, the FBI asks those who have been the victims of various crimes to report their stories to the authorities.
“Attention!” the ads say. “Have you been a victim of any of the following crimes?”
The crimes listed in the ads include cyberstalking, cyber harassment, physical harassment, assault, extortion, blackmail, and harassment through the Chinese social media app WeChat.
“If so, you may be a victim of transnational repression by the Chinese government.”
The ads have been running since Dec. 28, 2022, and predominantly focus on 25- to 44-year-old individuals in the greater Philadelphia area.
CCP Engages in Transnational Repression
The ads appear to be part of a larger effort by the FBI to publicize transnational repression schemes orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state.
“Transnational repression” is a crime that refers to actions taken by foreign governments to stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States.
The America ChangLe Association in New York on Oct. 6, 2022. An overseas Chinese police outpost, called the Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station, is located inside the building. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
“Some countries’ governments harass and intimidate their own citizens living in the U.S.,” an FBI webpage says on the issue. “These governments may also target naturalized or U.S.-born citizens who have family overseas or other foreign connections.”
Foreign governments most often target activists, dissidents, journalists, political opponents, and members of ethnic or religious minority groups, the webpage said.
Of 12 major examples of transnational repression listed by the FBI, 10 were related to the regime in Beijing. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has brought several high-profile cases over the past year against CCP spies who were engaged in efforts to intimidate or forcibly repatriate Chinese dissidents living in the United States to China.
One such case announced in March 2022 alleged that a former CCP intelligence agent worked with authorities in China and a private investigator in the United States in a conspiracy to stalk, harass, intimidate, and attack a China-born U.S. Army veteran to prevent him from running for Congress.
Another detailed the efforts of the CCP to intimidate the family of a U.S. Olympian and her family, who had spoken out against CCP human rights abuses on social media.
In many instances, the CCP has compelled dissidents to return to China by threatening family members who still live in China with indefinite detention.
In other cases, the regime has sought to explicitly pit ethnic Chinese against one another by sowing division based on race loyalty.
Just this month, for example, a Chinese student living in Boston was indicted for stalking and threatening another Chinese student who posted pro-democracy flyers. The defendant, Wu Xiaolei, also allegedly sent the personal information of the pro-democracy student to communist authorities back in China so that the CCP could target the student’s family.
“I already called the tipoff line in the country, the public security agency will go greet your family,” Wu said in a WeChat group, according to the complaint.
Similarly, the CCP has established more than 150 overseas police stations worldwide, including at least three in the United States.
The outposts have been linked to the regime’s transnational repression campaigns. Numerous experts think the purpose of the facilities is to coordinate efforts designed to compel Chinese dissidents to return, to face the wrath of the CCP.
While the legality of such stations in the United States hasn’t been established, FBI Director Christopher Wray has stated that they present a national security concern, and the FBI raided one such location in New York City last fall.
“I have to be careful about discussing our specific investigative work, but to me, it is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop—you know, in New York, let’s say—without proper coordination,” Wray said during a Nov. 17, 2022, hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes.”
Due to the prevalence of such malign influence emanating from the CCP, the FBI’s Facebook ads may be part of a broader effort to seek out and eliminate hostile conspiracies within predominantly Chinese communities.
An FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the agency addresses transnational threat issues in many ways including social media ads, threat intimidation guides available in different languages, and on its website.
“Many victims are not aware transnational repression is illegal. As a result, the FBI strives to educate communities about [transnational repression], the methods used, and how to report to the FBI,” the spokesperson said in an email.
This article was updated to include a statement from the FBI.
Andrew Thornebrooke
National Security Correspondent
Andrew Thornebrooke is a national security correspondent for The Epoch Times covering China-related issues with a focus on defense, military affairs, and national security. He holds a master's in military history from Norwich University.
