TRANSNATIONAL

Chinese Agents Caught Trying to Bribe IRS to Take Down Beijing’s Foes, Feds Say

The pair of agents tried bribing an undercover U.S. official to strip the Falun Gong spiritual movement of its nonprofit status, prosecutors say.

Authorities have arrested a pair of Chinese agents who allegedly tried using the IRS to take down the spiritual movement Falun Gong. The two agents attempted to bribe an undercover officer masquerading as a tax agent to audit the group, all in an effort to revoke the movement’s nonprofit status, The Associated Press reported. Falun Gong, which has been banned in China since 1999, is a spiritual group that has long opposed the ruling Chinese Communist Party and has continued to campaign against it in exile. In the U.S., it publishes a conservative newspaper, The Epoch Times, and runs a traveling performing arts show known as Shen Yun with right-wing undertones. The arrest of the Chinese operatives seeking to undermine Falun Gong comes after U.S. authorities arrested another pair of men for trying to establish a secret police station for China in New York City.