Alysa Liu's Dad, Subject of China Spy Case, Won't Let Nation 'Silence Me'

The father of U.S. Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu said that he was not going to let China "silence me" despite purportedly being targeted in a spying operation by the country.

The FBI contacted Arthur Liu last October to warn him about the spying plot while his daughter, who is 16 years old, was preparing for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, he told the Associated Press. He said that he decided to let her compete in the Beijing Games despite the plot to take a stand against China.

"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, and 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," he was quoted by the AP. "I'm not going to let them win—to stop me—to silence me from expressing my opinions anywhere."

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that five men had been charged with acting on behalf of the Chinese government to "stalk, harass and spy" several Chinese dissidents across the U.S. Arthur Liu told the AP that he and his daughter were mentioned in the criminal complaint for one of the men as "Dissident 3" and "family member," respectively.

Arthur Liu's revelations shine a new light on his daughter's appearance and performance in February at the Beijing Olympics, where she finished eighth in the women's singles short program. In January, she had been forced to withdraw from the U.S. Championships due to a positive COVID test.

Arthur Liu told the AP that his decision to let Alysa Liu compete in Beijing came as the State Department and U.S. Olympic Committee promised that she would be protected and accompanied by at least two people who escorted her constantly while she was there.

After protesting the Chinese government following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Arthur Liu left China and eventually ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area, he told the AP.

The DOJ criminal complaint names Matthew Ziburis and includes a section on his alleged targeting of "Dissident 3," described as an "anti-CCP [Chinese Communist Party] pro-democracy dissident based in the Bay Area." Ziburis, according to the complaint, was allegedly instructed in October 2021 to find out more information about "Dissident 3," such as his social security number, mobile phone number and home address.

Ziburis allegedly came up with a surveillance scheme for the dissident, including plans to pose "as a member of an international sports committee" in order to obtain some of that information, according to the complaint.

Arthur Liu told the AP that he received a call last November from a man asking for his and his daughter's passport number, claiming that he was an official with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. He said he refused the request because he "didn't feel good about it."

"I didn't feel good about it. I felt something fishy was going on," he said. "From 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."

As for his daughter, Arthur Liu said that the spying investigation uncovered that China knew of an Instagram post Alysa Liu had made about human rights violations against the Uyghurs. While in Beijing, she was approached one night by a stranger who followed her and tried to get her to come to his apartment, he told the AP.

The father told the AP that he thinks the spying plot was an intimidation tactic to "threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble to them and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China."

"I had concerns about her safety. The U.S. government did a good job protecting her," he was quoted by the AP.

Ziburis has been released from custody on a $500,000 bond, the AP added.

Newsweek has reached out to China's Foreign Ministry and to a representative for Alysa Liu for comment.

Update 03/17/22, 3:50 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.