Chinese student in US arrested for 'threatening' woman calling for democracy in China

A 25-year-old Chinese student in Boston, Massachusetts named Xiaolei Wu threatened a woman who was posting fliers calling for democracy in China. Xiaolei Wu studies music at Boston, according to a report from Newsweek. He has been arrested and charged with stalking. The US Attorney's office said that Wu threatened a woman who was posting fliers around the campus of Berklee College of Music that read "We want democracy", "We want freedom", "stand with Chinese people ''. 

Wu's actions come at a time when there is increasing concern about China's actions overseas. Recently, multiple alleged Chinese police stations were discovered in the US and Europe. 9 of these are in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. These police stations were reportedly threatening Chinese nationals overseas, who dared to speak out against the Communist regime in Beijing. Such actions are deterring Chinese from speaking out against the actions of the regime, be it in Tibet or Xinjiang. 

Wu threatened the dissident woman by saying he will chop her hands

According to the charging document quoted in the report, Wu sent a message to the dissident woman which read "post more, I will chop your hands off". He not only threatened the dissident woman but also informed China's public security agency about her actions. They would "greet" her family back in China, said Wu to the woman dissident. Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, Joseph R. Bonavolonta said that, "We believe Mr. Wu stalked, harassed, and reported the victim's support for democracy to law enforcement in the People's Republic of China so it would launch an investigation into the victim and her family." He added that Wu's conduct is "incredibly disturbing" and goes against the values of US' democratic values. 

Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, has said that he is concerned about China's "overseas" police stations. FBI is responsible for counter-intelligence in the US i.e. ensuring Chinese intelligence and intimidation do not succeed on US soil. Back in October, the US Department of Justice announced that 13 cases were filed against people in cases related to China. 7 out of these 13 were threatening Chinese citizens living in the US.