A Chinese national has been sentenced to two years in prison for his role in Beijing’s extralegal campaign called “Operation Fox Hunt,” which sought to pressure expatriates to return to China.
The other two co-defendants—Chinese national Zheng Congying and Michael McMahon, a retired New York Police Department sergeant turned private investigator—are scheduled to be sentenced later this winter.
Chinese authorities have accused Xu and his wife of bribery and embezzlement, according to China’s state-run media. The couple has denied the allegation, saying that Xu is being targeted because of the CCP’s internal politics. The couple left China in 2010.
“If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be alright. That’s the end of this matter!” a translation of the note reads.
Additionally, their daughter’s Facebook friends received disparaging messages about Xu.
Judge Chen, calling the defendants’ offenses “a threat to this country’s national security,” questioned Zhu about what was going through his mind when he agreed to help a Chinese official find Xu.
Zhu, who did not testify during his trial, told the judge that he had just been asked to assist in locating Xu and had no idea what would happen to the former Chinese official. Zhu said he had been told Xu owed money to third parties.
The judge asked Zhu, “At some point, Mr. Zhu, did you believe that your actions were going to result in some harm?”
Zhu responded, “After I was arrested, I realized that could be the case.”
On Jan. 15, Zhu’s current lawyer, Benjamin Silverman, said that his client became aware that CCP officials were involved but didn’t realize how serious the possibility was that Xu might be forced to return to China. Zhu “feels terribly about what he did,” the attorney said after court.
Zhu acted knowingly, but naively, the judge concluded.
While Zhu did not intend to cause any harm, he “really failed to appreciate the scope and the gravity of his conduct, and the real harm he has caused to these victims and to this country,” the judge said.
“The seriousness of the defendant’s offenses warrants a term of imprisonment that would deter others both from undermining national security interests by illegally acting on behalf of foreign governments on U.S. soil and from causing substantial harm to victims in the United States by stalking them and their families,” the prosecutors wrote.
“Through its just punishment of the defendant in this case, the Court can send an appropriate message that such conduct is grave and those engaging in such activities will receive serious punishment.”
