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A2 U.S. NEWS
Friday 21 March 2025
Man gets prison in U.S. for helping pressure Chinese expat to return

home

By JENNIFER PELTZ that was trying to help the
Associated Press Chinese government com-
NEW YORK (AP) — A real municate with the two, and
estate businessman who that he would look good to
aided a Chinese effort to Chinese officials if he could
pressure an expatriate to arrange the father’s return,
return home has been sen- according to the indict-
tenced to over a year in a ment.
U.S. prison. While acknowledging that
U.S. prosecutors say Quan- a Chinese embezzlement
zhong An’s activities were case against the father
part of the Chinese gov- and son was a legally frivo-
ernment’s “Operation Fox lous pressure tactic, An told
Hunt” repatriation cam- the son that Chinese offi-
paign. Beijing says the ini- cials were monitoring the
tiative is about pursuing family’s relatives and would
people who have fled jus- “keep pestering you” if the
tice. But Washington sees it father didn’t return, the in-
as transnational repression, dictment said.
a term for governments “Their intent is to make your
working to silence dissent- life difficult,” the indictment
ers beyond their borders. quotes him as saying.
“Quanzhong An acted at An even offered to pay
the direction of the (Chi- U.S. and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park, Feb. 2, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. back the man’s allegedly
nese) government to ha- Associated Press ill-gotten gains, accord-
rass and intimidate individ- ing to the indictment, and
uals living on U.S. soil as part dent, pleaded guilty last considerably longer prison asked law enforcement eventually arranged for a
of a pernicious scheme to year to acting as an ille- term. agencies worldwide to find Chinese official to press the
force their repatriation,” gal foreign agent. He was According to prosecutors and apprehend him, ac- man’s son by phone.
Brooklyn-based U.S. Attor- sentenced to 20 months and an indictment, An was cording to the indictment. In recent years, the U.S.
ney John Durham said in a behind bars. He has served the key U.S.-based player An, who lives in suburban Justice Department has
statement Wednesday. seven of them already. in a transcontinental effort Roslyn Heights, New York, charged dozens of sus-
Messages seeking com- “Mr. An is in my opinion, targeting a former man- showed up at the home pects with acts of transna-
ment were sent Thursday to on balance, a very fine ager of a Chinese state- of the target’s son to try to tional repression on behalf
China’s embassy in Wash- man and accordingly, see- owned company. Prosecu- find the father in 2017, the of China or other coun-
ington and consulate in ing him return to prison for tors haven’t named the indictment said. tries. An and his daugh-
New York. China has previ- even one additional day is man or the company. Then, in a series of recorded ter Guangyang An were
ously denied threatening its heartbreaking,” his lawyer, Beijing has accused the meetings with the son start- charged in 2020, along with
nationals abroad. Benjamin Brafman, said man of embezzlement, ing in early 2020, An leaned five other people who were
An, a 58-year-old Chinese Thursday. But he noted that identified him as an “Oper- on him to secure his father’s then at large and believed
citizen and legal U.S. resi- prosecutors had sought a ation Fox Hunt” priority and return to China. An said he to be in China.q

Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing Social Security

personal information for now

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST day temporarily blocked curity systems that hold The order allows DOGE The Trump administration
Associated Press billionaire Elon Musk’s De- personal data on millions staffers who undergo claims DOGE is targeting
WASHINGTON (AP) — A partment of Government of Americans, calling their training and background waste in the federal gov-
federal judge on Thurs- Efficiency from Social Se- work there a “fishing expe- checks to access to data ernment. Musk has been
dition.” that’s been redacted or focused on Social Secu-
The order also requires the stripped of anything per- rity as an alleged hotbed
team to delete any per- sonally identifiable. of fraud, describing it as a
sonally identifiable data in The ruling comes in a law- “ponzi scheme” and insist-
their possession. suit filed by labor unions, ing that reducing waste in
U.S. District Judge Ellen retirees and the advocacy the program is an impor-
Hollander in Maryland group Democracy For- tant way to cut govern-
found that the team got ward. They argued that ment spending. The White
broad access to sensitive DOGE access violates pri- House did not immedi-
information at the Social vacy laws and presents ately respond to a request
Security Administration to serious information security for comment. DOGE de-
search for fraud with little risks. The lawsuit included a tailed a 10-person team
justification. “The DOGE declaration from a recent- of federal employees at
Team is essentially en- ly departed Social Security the SSA, seven of whom
gaged in a fishing expedi- official who saw the DOGE were granted read-only
Demonstrators gather outside of the Edward A. Garmatz tion at SSA, in search of a team sweep into the access to agency systems
United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, fraud epidemic, based on agency said she is deeply or personally identifiable
March 14, 2025, before a hearing regarding the Department of little more than suspicion,” worried about sensitive in- information, according to
Government Efficiency’s access to Social Security data.
Associated Press she wrote. formation being exposed. court documents.q