The Nebraska legislature passed a bill Friday targeting undercover Chinese spy operations in the state after a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation revealed their pervasive infiltration of American cities.
Nebraska’s LB644 plugs loopholes in the Foreign Adversary and Terrorist Agent Registration Act, which allowed the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a Chinese intelligence service, to operate centers of influence in various non-profits, a DCNF investigation revealed in 2023. DCNF Investigative Reporter Philip Lenczynski testified before the Nebraska state senate on the bill in February, bringing the operation’s espionage risk to the attention of lawmakers on the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
“The Party has historically leveraged espionage and irregular warfare to outmaneuver much larger opponents, and it now aims to supplant the U.S. as the world’s superpower before the 100th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in 2049,” Lenczycki said. “Toward this end, the Chinese government wages a whole-of-society People’s War against the West utilizing both witting and unwitting, cooperative and co-opted proxies.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Chinese Intel Arm Quietly Operates ‘Service Centers’ In 7 US Cities)
The Nebraska State Capitol is seen in Lincoln, Nebraska, on May 14, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
The UFWD operated so-called “Overseas Chinese Service Centers (OCSCs)” tasked with promoting Chinese culture and assisting Chinese citizens living abroad, according to Chinese government records. Numerous OCSC officials met with the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety (MPS) leaders to discuss how they’re leveraging new technology to conduct “cross-border remote justice services” overseas, according to the DCNF investigation.
The UFWD made efforts to establish these centers in at least seven U.S. cities, including in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2016, per the DCNF investigation.
Moreover, Chinese government and state-run media reports showed that OCSC locations outside the U.S. often perform law enforcement functions, including by serving as “Overseas Chinese Police Contact Points” for the MPS while also conducting “armed patrols” in a number of countries, such as South Africa. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said MPS also conducts “intelligence and national security operations far beyond China’s borders,” which includes “illicit, transnational repression schemes” in the U.S.
However, there is currently no evidence that U.S.-based service centers host MPS police stations, according to the DCNF investigation.
Other states have also taken action, with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issuing a subpoena against the St. Louis OCSC office in 2024.
“Communist China presents an unprecedented and existential threat to the U.S., and the aforementioned entities are but a few operating in Nebraska on behalf of the Party,” Lenczycki told the committee. “Representatives of this great state, which has enshrined ‘equality before the law’ as its motto, should do everything in their power to prohibit the importation of the CCP’s repressive practices and shadow justice system.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
