TRT Global: US charges two Chinese nationals with espionage

The United States Department of Justice has said that two Chinese nationals have been charged with acting as illegal agents of the Chinese government.

The department said on July 2 that the individuals attempted to recruit American military service members to provide sensitive national security information, TRT Global reports.

The suspects, identified as Yuance Chen, 38, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, were arrested on June 27 and made their initial court appearances on June 30 in Houston, Texas and Portland, Oregon, respectively. 

They are accused of conducting covert intelligence operations inside the United States on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country's primary civilian intelligence agency.

According to prosecutors, Chen and Lai allegedly attempted to obtain classified US military information, gather US Navy intelligence, and recruit active-duty military personnel to assist Chinese intelligence efforts.

By Khagan Isayev