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US-China relations
ChinaPolitics

Olympian Alysa Liu and father targeted in Chinese spy operation, says US Justice Department

  • Prosecutors allege one of five accused men posed as an international sports official and asked for copies of the Lius’ passports
  • Arthur Liu left China in his 20s as a political refugee, having protested against the communist government following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown

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US Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu. Photo: Handout
Associated Press
US Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu – a former political refugee – were among those targeted in a spying operation that the US Justice Department alleges was ordered by the Chinese government, the elder Liu said.
Arthur Liu said he had been contacted by the FBI last October, and warned about the scheme just as his 16-year-old daughter was preparing for the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. He said he did not tell his daughter about the issue so as not to scare her or distract her from the competition.

“We believed Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic Team and truly were very scared,” Arthur Liu said.

The Justice Department announced charges earlier on Wednesday (US time) against five men accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government for a series of brazen and wide-ranging schemes to stalk and harass Chinese dissidents in the United States.

Arthur Liu said he and his daughter were included in the criminal complaint as “Dissident 3” and “family member”, respectively.

He said he took a stand against China’s bullying by allowing his daughter to compete at the recent Olympic Winter Games, where she placed seventh in the women’s event.

“This is her moment. This is her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games. I’m not going to let them stop her from going and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she’s safe and I’m willing to make sacrifices so she can enjoy the moment,” Arthur Liu said. “I’m not going to let them win – to stop me – to silence me from expressing my opinions anywhere.”

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