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The US Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Yuanjun Tang, a 68-year-old naturalized US citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate as an agent of the Chinese government in the United States. The confession marks a surprising turn in the life of a man who decades ago was persecuted by Beijing for his dissident activism.

According to court documents, Tang was a Chinese citizen until the early 2000s, during which time he faced imprisonment for opposing the one-party rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). His activism included participating in the historic Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989, which made him a target of political repression.

In 2002, he defected to Taiwan and later obtained political asylum in the United States, which later granted him citizenship. For years, he was seen as an example of resistance against Beijing's authoritarianism.

The twist in the narrative came when federal investigators discovered that Tang had established clandestine communication channels with Chinese officials, engaging in influence and intelligence gathering activities. The indictment alleges that he worked in coordination with the regime that once imprisoned him.

By pleading guilty, Tang now faces a sentence that could include several years in prison and the permanent loss of his reputation as a former dissident. The Justice Department has not yet detailed the requested sentence, but stressed that the case reflects the scope of Chinese intelligence operations abroad.

The irony of the case has drawn international attention: a man who marched in Tiananmen Square demanding democratic freedoms ended up accepting his role as an undercover agent of the very political system he opposed.

For the United States, the case is part of a broader pattern of Beijing's pressure on Chinese communities abroad, including surveillance, intimidation, and the co-optation of former opponents.

Tang's sentencing hearing is scheduled for the coming months. Analysts say the verdict could send a strong signal about Washington's determination to contain foreign interference in its territory, especially from China.