Wuhan Researcher Charged With Smuggling Biological Materials Into US Lab
U.S. prosecutors have charged another Chinese national for smuggling biological materials into the United States and lying about the scheme.
Han Chengxuan, a PhD candidate from Wuhan in central China, was
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Boston Globe
27 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Hong Kong outlaws video game, saying it promotes ‘armed revolution'
The game was removed from Apple's app store in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but remains available elsewhere. Advertisement But it had already been out of reach for many gamers. It was never available in mainland China, and earlier this month Google removed Reversed Front from its app store, citing hateful language, according to the developers. ESC Taiwan is a group of anonymous volunteers who are outspoken against China's Communist Party. Their products, which include a board game released in 2020, are supported by crowdfunded donations. The developers said that the removal of the game demonstrated how mobile apps in Hong Kong are subject to the type of political censorship seen in mainland China. 'Our game is precisely accusing and revealing such intentions,' the group's representatives said in an email. In social media posts, they also thanked authorities for the free publicity and posted screenshots of the game's name surging in Google searches. They said the comments and pseudonyms selected by players in the game would not be censored, whether they were in support or in opposition of the Communist Party. Advertisement In its statement, Hong Kong police said the game promoted 'secessionist agendas' and was intended to provoke hatred of the government. They said that publishing, recommending, and downloading the game, or supporting the online campaigns that funded it, could amount to sedition and incitement to secession under the national security law in Hong Kong, offenses that can lead to jail sentences. This is not the first time a video game has been used as an avenue for political protest that has incurred the wrath of Chinese authorities. Animal Crossing, an online game in which players could build elaborate designs of their own island, was removed from mainland China after players began importing Hong Kong protest slogans into the game. Even though virtually all forms of dissent in Hong Kong have been quashed, the national security dragnet in the city continues to widen. Authorities have made widespread arrests under the law, which was imposed five years ago in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests. Last week, Hong Kong authorities laid new national security charges against Joshua Wong, one of the city's most prominent young activists. Wong is serving the prison sentence of another national security charge that ends in January 2027. Authorities last month charged the father of Anna Kwok, an outspoken activist living in Washington, D.C., accusing him of helping handle her financial assets. Kwok is on a list of people overseas wanted by the Hong Kong police, which has placed bounties on their heads by offering rewards for information that would lead to their arrest. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
New York Post
31 minutes ago
- New York Post
Congress demands investigation into billionaire funding radical groups, including one linked to LA riots
A shadowy US billionaire who is bankrolling radicals, including groups involved in this week's riots in Los Angeles, faces being hauled before a Congressional committee, according to a Republican lawmaker. China-based Neville Roy Singham will be called to testify about his funding of myriad non-profits including radical anti-Israel and Marxist groups. They include the Party for Liberation and Socialism, which has been heavily involved in protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Los Angeles this week, although there is no evidence they have been directly involved in any of the violence which has erupted there. Advertisement 6 The Party for Socialism and Liberation was among the radical left-wing groups that helped organize the riots against ICE in Los Angeles this week. Toby Canham for NY Post 'If he refuses to appear, he will be subpoenaed, and if he ignores that he will be referred to the DOJ for prosecution,' said Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in a post on X in all capital letters earlier this week. The congressional committee will be looking at Singham's links to the Chinese Communist Party, according to Luna. Advertisement 6 Radical philanthropists Jodie Evans (center) and husband Roy Singham attend the 2016 TriBeCa film fstival with film producer Abigail Disney. WireImage 6 Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC, participated in an anti-police brutality demonstration organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation in 2017. Katie Kalisher via Storyful In April, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary urged the Department of Justice to investigate the People's Forum and Code Pink, leftist activist groups affiliated with Singham and his wife Jodie Evans. Born in Chicago, the software entrepreneur and his activist wife now live in Shanghai but still funnel plenty of money back to the US. Advertisement Although they deny working for the Chinese government, they share offices with the Maku Group, a propaganda network which promotes the Chinese Communist Party abroad. 6 Jodie Evans is a co-founder of Code Pink, a women's anti-war group that also promotes North Korea. Getty Images for MoveOn 'Evidence suggests that The People's Forum and Code Pink have been funded and influenced by … Singham and the communist Chinese government, both of which are foreign principals. 'The evidence also suggests that The People's Forum and Code Pink have engaged in political activities that directly advance the communist Chinese government's political and policy interests,' said committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Advertisement 6 Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna has demanded that Neville Singham appear before her Oversight Committee to answer questions about his links to the Chinese Communist Party. AP Last year, the House Ways and Committee asked the IRS to revoke the exempt status for the People's Forum, a Manhattan-based non-profit financed by Singham. That group helped organize anti-Israel demonstrations in the city a day after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that left 1,200 Israelis dead. Some of the group's members were also behind the violent demonstrations at an encampment for Gaza at Columbia University last year. 'The Singham network operates as a coordinated movement incubator, a term used by the People's Forum itself,' said Alex Goldberg, senior advisor to the National Contagion Research Institute, a think tank that tracks disinformation on social media platforms. 'It combines media, publishing and organizing under one roof.' Most of the groups linked to Singham operate out of a Chelsea, New York, office and cafe where People's Forum regularly offers courses with titles such as 'Racial Capitalism' and 'Spanish for Social Justice.' 6 The protests against ICE in Los Angeles this week were partly organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Toby Canham for NY Post Among the Singham-linked non-profits are BreakThrough News and a radical book publishing company, 1804 Books. Advertisement 'These groups do not operate independently,' Goldberg told The Post. 'They share leadership, funding, and a unified ideological mission closely aligned with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a revolutionary Marxist organization, expanding its presence on college campuses and in major cities.' The Party for Socialism and Liberation was recently tied to Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in the shooting deaths of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC last month. In 2017, Rodriguez attended a police brutality demonstration as part of the radical socialist group, which immediately distanced itself from him in the wake of the shooting. Singham, 71, has not always been against the accumulation of capital. He is the founder and former chair of Thoughworks, a tech consulting company which he sold to a private equity firm in 2017 for $785 million. 'Roy Singham is incredibly charismatic,' said a source who did not want to be identified. Advertisement Evans, 70, co-founded the anti-war group Code Pink, and sits on the board of the People's Forum. She is the co-author of 'China is not our enemy,' written with Mikaela Nhondo Erskog, a researcher at another group funded by Singham. In another extreme example, Evans and another activist with Code Pink traveled to North Korea in 2015 as part of a delegation of 'Women Cross DMZ,' a pro-North Korean non-profit based in Hawaii.
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
A scam that targeted elderly victims collected more than $11 million. An Arcadia woman pleaded guilty
A San Gabriel Valley woman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on Tuesday for her involvement in a scheme that garnered more than $11 million from as many as 180 victims across the United States. Cynthia Song, 43, from Arcadia was arrested in October 2024 by federal authorities and has been in federal custody since, according to a release by the U.S. Department of Justice. For a little under two years, Song worked with a network of co-conspirators to target mainly elderly victims and scam them into sending money to multiple bank accounts in the Los Angeles area, according to authorities. The co-conspirators who contacted the victims worked overseas, impersonating government officials, law enforcement and customer support services. The posers tricked victims with fake threats, like demanding payments to avoid legal consequences and potential computer issues, according to the Department of Justice. The money was sent to bank accounts in the Los Angeles area, controlled by Song and other conspirators she had recruited. It was then immediately sent overseas — mainly to China, the release said. More than 180 victims sent funds to these bank accounts. The payments demanded from victims ranged from $1,000 to $400,000. Once the money was sent overseas, it could not be recovered even after the victim reported the fraud to authorities, according to prosecutors. To take part in the money laundering ring, the release said that Song recruited around 15 people living in the Los Angeles area, mostly of Chinese descent and some who were in the country unlawfully. The recruits were tasked with creating business entities and opening bank accounts, as well as transferring victim payments. Song also trained the recruits to deceive banks from uncovering the fraudulent accounts, according to the release. Documentation from the victims taken by the scammers was used to provide faulty verification for the 'large and suspicious wire transfers from victims,' the release said. Song and others participating in the scheme took around 5% to 10% of the payments received, before the money was sent overseas, according to prosecutors. Song's next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16, when she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years and must pay restitution to her victims, according to the release. Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigations were investigating the case, the release said.
