U.S. figure skater and father among group of dissidents allegedly targeted in Chinese spying and harassment scheme

Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu were allegedly targets of a spying and harassment scheme orchestrated by the Chinese government late last year. Arthur Liu identified himself and his daughter to the Associated Press as “dissident 3″ and “family member” of those listed in a criminal complaint.

He told the Associated Press he had been notified of the scheme by the FBI in October, but chose to keep the information from his daughter. Liu didn’t want to upend his daughter’s training, admitting, “we believed Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic team and truly were very scared.”

Arthur Liu explained, “this is her moment. This is her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games. I’m not going to let them stop her from going. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she’s safe, and I’m willing to make sacrifices so she can enjoy the moment.”

Arthur Liu defended his actions, stating, “I’m not going to let them win — to stop me — to silence me from expressing my opinions anywhere.”

After securing guarantees from the U.S. State Department and U.S Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) that his daughter would be closely protected while competing in Beijing, Arthur Liu agreed to let her compete at the Games, where she finished seventh in the women’s singles event.

Arthur Liu told the Associated Press, “they 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.”

Liu added, “I had concerns about her safety. The U.S. government did a good job protecting her.”

The investigation into the spying and harassment scheme reportedly revealed the Chinese government was aware of a message posted to Instagram by Alysa Liu that covered human rights violations against Uyghurs in China. Liu also told the Associated Press his daughter claimed to have been approached by a stranger after her event at the Olympics. The stranger reportedly followed her and asked her to come to his apartment.

The original incident which ultimately alerted the Liu’s to the scheme happened before the Olympic Games when Arthur Liu was called by someone claiming to be a USOPC official. The caller asked for the Liu’s passport information, claiming it was a “preparedness check” in line with COVID-19 protocols.

When Liu refused to give the caller their passport information, the caller threatened to delay or prevent international travel. Liu told the caller he’d call his contact at Team USA the next day.

He told the Associated Press, “I didn’t feel good about it. I felt something fishy was going on. From my dealings with the U.S. Figure Skating Association, they would never call me on the phone to get copies of our passports.

He concluded, “I really cut it short once I realized what he was asking for.”

Arthur Liu left China following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He arrived in the United States as a political refugee. He settled in California, where he created a new life for himself and raised one of America’s most prominent figure skaters of the Olympic cycle.

Speaking on the situation as a whole, Liu said, “I’ve kind of accepted my life to be like this because of what I chose to do in 1989, to speak up against the government.”

He admitted, “I know the Chinese government will extend their long hands into any corner in the world,” adding, “I’m going to continue to enjoy life and live life as I want to live. I’m not going to let this push me down and I’m not going to let them succeed.”

In a statement posted to Instagram, Alysa Liu claimed the situation was “beyond sport,” adding, “I am proud of what my dad did for his people in 1989.”

The U.S. Justice Department charged five individuals connected to the greater scheme on Thursday. The Justice Department accused those involved of stalking and harassing dissidents of the Chinese government on behalf of the Chinese government.

The Chinese government denied the allegations, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian labeling the “so-called transnational harassment schemes” as “trumped up.” He stated he was “not aware of the specifics,” and added China is “firmly opposed to the U.S. slandering by making an issue of this out of thin air.”

Zhao stated, “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.”