#china-influence-operations

#china-influence-operations

A federal jury found Michael McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant turned private investigator, guilty of acting as a foreign agent and interstate stalking after a two-week trial in June 2023. The jury acquitted him on a count of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. According to prosecutors, McMahon was a critical member of a Chinese campaign to intimidate dissident Xu Jin, a former Wuhan city official, and his family, with the end goal of pressuring Xu into returning to China.

101 East investigates whether China is using alleged criminals to win over Taiwan's sole South American ally, Paraguay. Paraguay is one of just 12 countries that maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, not China. But is Beijing using unofficial channels to extend its influence into the South American nation? In our three-year undercover investigation, we meet a shadowy Chinese businessman who says he is a proxy for Beijing, a claim that China denies.