A 25-year-old Chinese student was arrested and charged in U.S. federal court in Boston on Wednesday accused of harassing a Chinese pro-democracy activist.
Xiaolei Wu, a student at the Berklee College of Music, was charged with one count of stalking. He was accused of sending threats to the victim through Instagram, email and Chinese social media platform WeChat, after learning through Instagram that the victim had put up a pro-democracy flier near campus in October. The flier said, “We Want Freedom”, “We Want Democracy”, and “Stand With Chinese People.”
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Shortly after, Wu posted a message in a WeChat group named Berklee Class of 2024—which has over 300 members, including the victim. “Don’t you fucking post reactionary posters. Fucking tear all of them you bastard,” he wrote. “Post more, I will chop your bastard hand off.”
The next day, Wu posted another message in the group saying he had informed Chinese authorities about the victim’s behavior. “I already called the tipoff line in the country, the public security agency will go greet your family,” he wrote.
Besides using high-tech surveillance to monitor residents and prevent dissent, China keeps tabs on citizens’ activities abroad by encouraging them to report on each other and muffles critics by intimidating their families back home. The Chinese government is also known to plant informants among activists and recruit dissidents to spy on others.
As Chinese students overseas participate in the nascent social movement by putting up posters or joining rallies, many take pains to protect their identity, fearing trouble with Chinese authorities if they are exposed. The latest arrest is part of growing efforts by the U.S. to thwart these attempts, amid concerns the Chinese Communist Party is expanding its influence abroad.
U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said the department alleged that Wu’s threatening and harassing behavior was not free speech. “Rather, it was an attempt to silence and intimidate the activist’s expressed views dissenting of the PRC,” she said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“This alleged conduct is incredibly disturbing and goes completely against our country’s democratic values,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, a special agent in the FBI’s Boston division, said in a statement.
According to the testimony of Andrew Kirk, the FBI agent investigating the case, Wu also tried to find the victim’s address and asked the school for their personal information. He also allegedly called on others to send abuse to the victim.
“As a Chinese growing up in Mainland China, you are rather pathetic. No, I don’t think you deserve to be a Chinese. You don’t deserve to hold a red cover passport. You should wash dishes for the capitalist dogs,” Wu wrote in an email to the victim.
Kirk said Wu admitted to sending the messages to frighten the victim and said he had no sympathy for them as they had betrayed their home country.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the charge of stalking carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
