American Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu, a former political refugee, were among the objectives of an espionage operation which, according to the Justice Department, was ordered by the Chinese government, the older Liu said Wednesday night.
Arthur Liu told The Associated Press that the FBI contacted him last October and warned him about the scheme just as his 16-year-old daughter was preparing for the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February. The father said he didn’t tell her daughter about it so as not to scare her or distract her from the competition.
“We believed that Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic team and we were really very scared,” said Arthur Liu.
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced charges against five men accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government in a series of brazen and far-reaching schemes to stalk and harass Chinese dissidents in the United States.
Arthur Liu said that he and his daughter were listed in the criminal complaint as “Dissident 3” and “family member”, respectively.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that He was “unaware of the details” surrounding the allegations, but said China “strongly opposes the US smears by making this an issue out of thin air.”.
“China always asks Chinese citizens to abide by the laws and regulations of host countries, and we would never ask our citizens to engage in activities that violate local laws,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing on Monday. Thursday. “The so-called transnational bullying schemes are simply made up.”
Liu said she opposed China’s bullying in allowing her daughter to compete in the recent Winter Olympics, where she placed seventh in the women’s event.
“This is your moment. This is his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the Olympics. I will not let them stop him from going and I will do my best to make sure he is safe and I am willing to make sacrifices so that he can enjoy the moment,” said Arthur Liu. “I’m not going to let them win, stop me, silence me so I don’t express my opinions anywhere.”
The father said he agreed to let his daughter compete with assurances from the State Department and the US Olympic Committee that Alysa Liu would be closely guarded and kept safe while competing in China. They said that he would have at least two people escorting her at all times.
“They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to… somehow threaten us to not say anything, cause trouble for them and say something political or related to human rights violations in China,” said Arthur Liu. “I had concerns about his safety. The United States government did a good job protecting her.”
Arthur Liu said a man called him in November claiming to be a US Olympic and Paralympic Committee official and asked for his and his daughters’ passport numbers. Arthur Liu refused to provide them and said that he would call his contact at Team USA the next day.
“I didn’t feel good about it. I felt something weird was going on,” said Arthur Liu. “From my dealings with the US Figure Skating Association, they never called me on the phone to get copies of our passports. I really cut it once I realized what he was asking for.”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee could not be immediately reached for comment. A spokesperson for US Figure Skating deferred the comment to Team USA.
Arthur Liu does not recall being approached in person by Matthew Ziburis, who was arrested Tuesday on charges including conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and criminal use of a means of identification. Ziburis was released on $500,000 bond.
Prosecutors allege that Ziburis was hired to surveil the family and pose as a member of an international sports committee to ask Arthur Liu for a copy of his and Alysa Liu’s passports on the grounds that it was a travel “preparation check” related to COVID-19. The complaint says that when Arthur Liu refused, Ziburis threatened to delay or deny them international travel.
The elder Liu said he left China in his 20s as a political refugee because he had protested against the communist government after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Arthur Liu eventually settled in the Bay Area, enrolled in law school and nurtured one of America’s most promising athletes.
His daughter visited her ancestral homeland for the first time during the Olympics. Arthur Liu said that, in general, his daughter has been warmly welcomed by Chinese fans and media, who consider Alysa Liu as one of their own.
But through the espionage investigation, he learned that China was aware of an Instagram message about human rights violations against the Uyghur ethnic minority that his daughter once posted. During the Games, Alysa Liu also told her father that a stranger approached her late one night at a coffee shop after the free skate event, and that the man followed her and asked her to come to his apartment. her.
“I have accepted that my life is the way it is because of what I chose to do in 1989, to speak out against the government. And I know that the Chinese government will extend its long hands to any corner of the world,” said Arthur Liu. “I am going to continue enjoying life and living life as I want to live it. I’m not going to let this get me down and I’m not going to let them succeed.”
(with information from AP)
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Source-www.infobae.com