U.S. Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu 바카라 a former political refugee 바카라 were among those targeted in a spying operation that the Justice Department alleges was ordered by the Chinese government, the elder Liu says. (More Sports News)
Arthur Liu told The Associated Press he had been contacted by the FBI last October, and warned about the scheme just as his 16-year-old daughter was preparing for the Winter Olympics that took place in Beijing in February. The father said he did not tell his daughter about the issue so as not to scare her or distract her from the competition.
바카라We believed Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic team and truly were very scared,바카라 Arthur Liu said late Wednesday.
The Justice Department earlier in the day announced charges against five men accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government in a series of brazen and wide-ranging schemes to stalk and harass Chinese dissidents in the United States.
Arthur Liu said he and his daughter were included in the criminal complaint as 바카라Dissident 3바카라 and 바카라family member,바카라 respectively.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he was 바카라not aware of the specifics바카라 surrounding the allegations, and said China is 바카라firmly opposed to the U.S. slandering by making an issue of this out of thin air.바카라
바카라China 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,바카라 Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing Thursday. 바카라The so-called transnational harassment schemes are just trumped up.바카라
Liu said he took a stand against China바카라s bullying by allowing his daughter to compete at the recent Olympic Winter Games, where she placed 7th in the women바카라s event.
바카라This is her moment. This is her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games. I바카라m not going to let them stop her from going and I바카라ll do whatever I can to make sure she바카라s safe and I바카라m willing to make sacrifices so she can enjoy the moment,바카라 Arthur Liu said. 바카라I바카라m not going to let them win 바카라 to stop me 바카라 to silence me from expressing my opinions anywhere.바카라
The father said he agreed to let his daughter compete with assurances from the State Department and U.S. Olympic Committee that she would be closely protected while competing in China, with at least two people escorting her at all times.
바카라They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to ... in a way threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble to them and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China,바카라 Arthur Liu said. 바카라I had concerns about her safety. The U.S. government did a good job protecting her.바카라
He Liu said a man called him last November, months before the Olympics, claiming to be an official with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and asked for his and his daughters바카라 passport numbers. Arthur Liu refused to provide them and said he would call his contact at Team USA the next day.
바카라I didn바카라t feel good about it. I felt something fishy was going on,바카라 Arthur Liu said. 바카라From my dealings with the U.S. Figure Skating association, they would never call me on the phone to get copies of our passports. I really cut it short once I realized what he was asking for.바카라
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee couldn바카라t immediately be reached for comment.
A spokesman for U.S. Figure Skating deferred comment to Team USA.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee in a statement to AP said: 바카라The security of the U.S. delegation is our number one priority, and we work closely with our partners, including government agencies, to ensure athlete safety at the Games.바카라
Arthur Liu said he does not remember being approached in person by Matthew Ziburis, who was arrested Tuesday on charges that include conspiring to commit interstate harassment and criminal use of a means of identification. Ziburis was released on a $500,000 bond.
Prosecutors allege that Ziburis was hired to perform surveillance on the family and pose as a member of an international sports committee to ask Arthur Liu for a copy of his and Alysa Liu바카라s passports by claiming it was a travel 바카라preparedness check바카라 related to COVID-19. The complaint said 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 the Communist government following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Arthur Liu eventually settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, put himself through law school and nurtured one of America바카라s most promising athletes.
His daughter visited their ancestral homeland for the first time while at the Olympics. Arthur Liu said his daughter has generally been warmly embraced by Chinese fans and media, who consider her to be one of their own.
But through the spying investigation, he learned that China was aware of an Instagram message about human rights violations against the ethnic minority Uyghurs that his daughter once posted. During the Games, Alysa Liu also told her father that she was approached by a stranger late one night at a cafeteria after the free skate event, and that the man followed her and asked her to come to his apartment.
바카라I바카라ve kind of accepted my life to be like this because of what I chose to do in 1989, to speak up against the government. And I know the Chinese government will extend their long hands into any corner in the world,바카라 Arthur Liu said. 바카라I바카라m going to continue to enjoy life and live life as I want to live. I바카라m not going to let this push me down and I바카라m not going to let them succeed.바카라
