Chinese-American posing as pro-democracy activist spied on dissidents for Beijing: 'The plot of a spy novel'

A Chinese-American scholar is said to have lived a double life for ten years of spying on dissidents for Beijing before his conviction in Brooklyn Tuesday.

A Chinese-American scholar was convicted in a Brooklyn court Tuesday after his work on behalf of Beijing as an illegal agent was discovered.

Shujun Wang, an activist who founded a pro-democracy group in New York, used his position to spy on dissidents and share information with the Chinese government for over a decade.

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Wang lived a double life on behalf of the Ministry of State Security in Beijing, according to prosecutors. By presenting himself as a pro-democracy and anti-Chinese government activist, he could earn the trust of those who truly hold those views and then transmit their information.

The verdict was decided by a federal jury Tuesday, who found Wang guilty of being an illegal agent.

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"The indictment could have been the plot of a spy novel, but the evidence is shockingly real that the defendant was a secret agent for the Chinese government," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement to the Associated Press.

Shujun Wang pleaded not guilty. Wang's legal team argued that his transmissions may not have been at the control of Chinese officials.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.