Man arrested in Boston for allegedly acting as foreign agent for CCP, suppressing political dissenters

Federal authorities have arrested a US citizen accused of acting as an agent of the Chinese Communist Party to suppress political dissenters.

Boston, Massachusetts resident Litang Liang was indicted on Tuesday and charged with plans to act as an agent of a foreign government, according to Fox Business. Liang is accused of acting as an agent of the CCP beginning in or around 2018.

"Litang Liang knowingly acted and caused others to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government, namely, the People's Republic of China, without providing prior notification to the United States Attorney General, as required by law," the US District Court stated in its indictment.

The US District Court alleges that Liang monitored and reported on individuals and organizations for the CCP, and is accused of organizing a counterprotest to US pro-democracy dissidents, as well as providing information on potential recruits.

"Liang communicated with the PRC government officials – knowing them to be PRC government officials – in several ways," the indictment states. "These included telephone calls and messages using the social media application WeChat [...] All WeChat communications are stored on servers outside the United States."

Liang is the co-founder of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China, created in January of 2019, service as the anti-Taiwan independence organization through at least 2021.

According to Fox Business, Liang pleaded not guilty on the charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and acting as an agent of a foreign government without notice to the attorney general. He was given a $25,000 cash bond.

Liang is prohibited from leaving Massachusetts and will be electronically monitored. He has also been ordered not to have any contact with the Chinese government or members of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China.