Two Men Acted as Illegal Agents of China to Harass Falun Gong Members in the U.S.

John (Jun) Chen, 71, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and a resident of Los Angeles, and Lin Feng, 44, also a citizen of the PRC and a resident of Los Angeles, both pleaded guilty on July 25, to the charges of acting as a foreign agent of the PRC without registering and bribing a public official, according to a new press release from the Department of Justice.

Chen and Feng were both charged in May 2023 with four federal charges, including one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General and to bribe a public official, one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, one count of bribing a public official, and one count of conspiring to commit international money laundering, per the now unsealed complaint.

“John Chen and Lin Feng allegedly waged a campaign at the behest of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to influence a U.S. Government official in order to further the PRC Government’s repression of practitioners of Falun Gong,” the U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said in a DOJ press release in May 2023. They worked inside the US between January 2023 and May 2023, acting as foreign agents to the PNC government to target U.S.-based Falun Gong practitioners, a spiritual group based out of China, in New York in order to harass and repress them.

Falun Gong, which means the “Law Wheel Practice,” was founded in China in May 1992 by Li Honggzhi. It is a form of Qi Gong, which utilizes various exercises, such as breathing deeply in slow, controlled breaths, to optimize the energy in the mind, body, and spirit and maintain and even improve one’s overall health and well-being, as described by the Nation Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Although the China Qi Gong Scientific Research Association approved it for an affiliate membership as the Falun Gong Research Branch Society, Falun Gong withdrew from the association in 1996 for unknown reasons, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) Organization. Despite a series of setbacks, Falun Gong began to gain more influence in China and around the world. The Chinese government began to crack down on the Falun Gong, calling them “an evil cult,” and saying that they had an “anti-scientific nature,” according to HRW.

In 1999, the Falun Gong practitioners went to peacefully appeal in front of the headquarters of the Chinese Communist regime for their rights to practice, according to an NTD News Report. The Chinese government reacted by declaring the “Rule of Law” against Falun Gong, calling it an unlawful organization, according to HRW. They arrested organizers and practitioners for “organizing illegal gatherings” and “spreading anti-government propaganda.”

Since then, Falun Gong practitioners in China have been met with numerous Human Rights violations at the hands of the Chinese government, as described by the Friends of Falun Gong. Some of the allegations include false imprisonment, physical and sexual abuse, labor camps, and even torture.

China denies these claims and says that it is “countering extremism” and “using vocational education centers,” but that didn’t stop the US government from issuing sanctions, as the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken stated in a press conference announcement in 2021.

The sanctions stemmed from the findings in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2021 Annual Report. The report further revealed the Chinese government’s harsh treatment of the leaders, members, and practitioners of smaller religious, spiritual, and minority groups, like Muslims and Falun Gong.

The U.S. Department of State issued a statement, on July 20, 2024, recognizing the repression and abuse of Falun Gong by the PRC Government. This day was 25 years since the start of the Chinese government’s campaign against Falun Gong practitioners.

The long, bitter history between the PRC Government and Falun Gong is ongoing, leading Jun Chen and Lin Feng to act against the spiritual group at the direction of their government. Chen and Feng both entered guilty pleas to one count of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government and one count of bribing a public official. Chen and Feng admitted to attempting to manipulate the IRS’s Whistleblower Program to attempt to strip the tax-exempt status of an entity owned and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners, according to a press statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in the Southern District of New York.

They met with an IRS agent in Newburgh, New York, on May 14, 2023, according to the statement. On May 16th, Chen asked the IRS agent to give him something in writing for his “friends” who were “outside the country.” Chen told the agent that his “friends” said that “America, USA relationship…not so good,” so they were concerned that “there [would] be some issue” with the plan.

Chen initially gave him $1,000, on May 14, 2023, and promised a total sum of $50,000 for starting an audit investigation against Falun Gong, as stated in the police warrant. They also promised 60% of the whistleblower reward if Chen’s claim was successful. Four days after the meeting, Feng met the agent at John F. Kennedy International Airport and paid him an additional $4,000 as another partial payment in the scheme.

Little did Chen and Leng know, however, that the “IRS agent” was actually an undercover law enforcement agent, according to the DOJ’s 2023 and 2024 press releases. During the exchange, Chen was recorded on a call, saying that the funds he used were directed and funded by the PRC in an effort to “topple…the Falun Gong.” On a separate recording through an authorized wiretap, Chen speaks of being directed by a PRC official on how to conduct the bribery scheme, how to delete the instruction to avoid detection, and what to do if the plan to bribe the IRS agent didn’t work. Chen and the undercover agent also spoke at length about the bribe being used to target the Falun Gong.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York, and Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement, according to the 2024 DOJ press release.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Qais Ghafary, Michael D. Lockard, and Kathryn Wheelock for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Christina Clark of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

Chen pleaded guilty on July 24 and will be sentenced on Oct. 30. Feng entered his guilty plea on July 25, and his sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 31, Both men face up to 25 years in prison. 10 years for acting as an unregistered agent to a foreign government and 15 years for bribing a public official, per the DOJ press statement.