San Francisco, California – In a case that federal officials say underscores the intensifying contest between U.S. intelligence agencies and their foreign counterparts, two nationals of the People’s Republic of China were arrested last month in Oregon and Texas for allegedly acting as unregistered agents of the Chinese government while carrying out covert intelligence operations on U.S. soil.
Yuance Chen, 38, a legal permanent resident of the United States living in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, who entered the country on a tourist visa in April, were each charged with operating under the direction of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s primary civilian intelligence agency. Both men made their initial court appearances this week in Portland and Houston, respectively. The criminal complaint was unsealed in the Northern District of California.
According to prosecutors, the two men were tasked with conducting a variety of covert intelligence-gathering operations targeting the U.S. military and national security infrastructure. These included attempts to recruit military personnel as assets for Chinese intelligence, surveillance of U.S. Navy facilities, and the transfer of classified or sensitive information using traditional spycraft, including “dead drops” of cash payments…