A Chinese international student in the United States has been charged with stalking and threatening a Chinese student who participated in pro-democracy action on campus.
US prosecutors allege that Xiaolei Wu, age 25, sent threats to the youngster and denounced her family to Chinese authorities.
Wednesday, the Berklee College of Music student was detained in Boston.
He is accused of targeting the youngster after she posted flyers in China advocating for greater political freedom.
In late October, during a wave of agitation among Chinese citizens abroad, she hung the posters at the music college. They had seen the phrases “Stand with the Chinese People,” “We Want Freedom,” and “We Want Democracy.”
Mr. Wu subsequently attempted to locate the student in a campus WeChat group with approximately 300 members.
He demanded that she remove the flyers and threatened her with physical harm if she did not comply.
According to court filings, he also used Instagram and other sites to send communications. One read: “If you continue to post, I will amputate your hands.”
According to authorities, he reportedly stated that he had reported her activities to a “tip-off line” in China and that the country’s public security agency would “welcome” her family.
He is also accused of searching for the girl’s home address in the WeChat group and posting her email address to encourage others to send her hate.
The US Department of Justice described Mr. Wu’s activities as an “effort to stifle and intimidate the activist’s dissenting views from the PRC.”
US Attorney Rachael Rollins stated, “Freedom of speech is a constitutional right in the United States, and we will safeguard and defend it at all costs.”
Additionally, the FBI stated that Mr. Wu had reported his target to Chinese authorities so that they would investigate her and her family.
FBI Special Agent Joseph Bonavolonta stated, “This alleged behavior is extremely worrisome and utterly contrary to our nation’s democratic ideals.”
Meanwhile, Berklee music college called the stated behavior “worrisome.”
According to the US Department of Justice, stalking is punishable by up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 (£202,000).
In recent years, there have been reports of overseas Chinese students threatening or monitoring the actions of their fellow countrymen at Western colleges. This has resulted in reports of campus self-censorship and even violent altercations.
In recent years, rights groups and others have raised concerns about the growing surveillance of Chinese people abroad who criticize the Chinese government.
The alleged victim of Mr. Wu’s harassment posted her posters on campus on 22 October – barely one week after the “Bridge Individual” protests in Beijing, where an anonymous man hung banners from a bridge criticizing China’s leader Xi Jinping and the nation’s zero-Covid policy.
His protest was quickly silenced and he was promptly apprehended by the Chinese police. However, his actions sparked a wave of similar protests, particularly among young Chinese individuals living abroad.
A month later, a wave of rallies against China’s zero-Covid policy was sparked by the bridge protester’s solitary act of political dissent. Since then, China has eliminated several of its zero-Covid prohibitions.
