Former Deputy Mayor Li Chuanliang of Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, China fled to the United States in 2018 and openly opposed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to reports from the American media, Li Chuanliang claims that he is still under surveillance by Beijing even in the United States. It is reported that many surveillance technologies originate from the United States.
The Associated Press reported on December 13 that despite being in the United States – in New York, California, and even in the deserts of Texas – the Chinese government continues to track Li Chuanliang using surveillance technology. His communications are monitored, assets have been frozen, and his movements are tracked in police databases.
Interviews and documents obtained by the Associated Press show that in recent months, Li Chuanliang believes that a mysterious man, whom he suspects to be a Chinese intelligence agent, has been tracking him across state lines. He stated that the CCP can use all electronic devices to track him down, expressing that big data analysis and surveillance are “too scary.”
Li Chuanliang, born in Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province in 1963, joined the CCP in 1990. He previously held positions as Deputy Mayor in both Jixi City and Hegang City, and resigned from public office in March 2017.
Unlike other high-ranking CCP officials who transfer assets and hide their identities, shortly after arriving in the United States in August 2020, Li Chuanliang granted an interview with Epoch Times in Los Angeles, publicly renouncing the Party, advocating for private entrepreneurs, and establishing the China Exposing Corrupt Officials Center.
Following his first public statement in Epoch Times in August 2020, Li Chuanliang was placed under investigation by the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in September of that year. Four years later, a Chinese court alleged that Li Chuanliang was involved in official wrongdoing, with assets exceeding 3.1 billion yuan. However, Li Chuanliang and his legal team firmly insist that this case is a political reprisal, with authorities depriving him of his right to defense in an attempt to fabricate charges against him.
Including Li Chuanliang’s pregnant daughter, more than 40 Chinese relatives and friends have been confirmed by the authorities, detained, and he is now out of touch with them, unaware of the details of the accusations against him.
According to the Associated Press, many of the surveillance technologies used by the CCP overseas originate from the United States.
In recent years, Beijing has used such technology to threaten defecting officials, dissenters, and suspected criminals, officially known as “Operation Fox Hunt” and “Operation Sky Net.” Washington has repeatedly criticized these overseas operations as “threats” and “violations of national sovereignty.”
Based on hundreds of leaked emails, government procurement documents, and internal presentations obtained exclusively by the Associated Press, Beijing has used technology from Silicon Valley companies over the past decade to control domestic officials or those who flee overseas, including IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft. These technologies can analyze text messages, payment information, flights, calls, and other data to locate officials’ friends and assets.
It is reported that one of the agencies tracking Li Chuanliang and his friends is the economic crime investigation bureau of the public security bureau of the CCP. An internal IBM presentation revealed that the company had sold its monitoring software, i2, to the economic crime investigation bureau; Oracle and Microsoft also have records of selling software to this department. IBM stated that it had sold the i2 business in 2022 and emphasized that it has “robust mechanisms” to ensure proper use of the technology. Oracle declined to comment, and Microsoft has not yet responded to the report.