A British businessman accused of spying for China ran a campaign of harassment against a US-based Chinese dissident artist from his £1.5m home in Tunbridge Wells, according to court documents.
John Miller, who the MoS last week revealed was the subject of an FBI sting operation, is accused of targeting Hui Bo, 67, a vocal critic of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
An FBI indictment reveals that at the time, Miller – who has permanent residency right in the US – was living in Britain.
Along with his handler Cui Guanghai, he is accused of organising surveillance and even plans to assault and shoot Mr Hui.
Last week Mr Hui revealed FBI agents visited his home in Los Angeles in October 2023 and told him his life was in danger.
He said: ‘They told me that my behaviour and my artwork had p***** off the Chinese government and that [the government] had organised a plot to catch me and hurt me.’
Mr Hui was told to move, but he refused, and so was put under FBI guard, while cameras were installed at his home.
Court documents claimed Miller and Cui wanted to dissuade the artist from protesting against President Xi Jinping during his visit to San Francisco in November 2023.
John Miller (pictured), who the MoS last week revealed was the subject of an FBI sting operation, is accused of targeting Hui Bo, 67, a vocal critic of Chinese leader Xi Jinping
Along with his handler Cui Guanghai (pictured together), he is accused of organising surveillance and even plans to assault and shoot Mr Hui
Court documents claimed Miller and Cui (pictured together) wanted to dissaude the artist from protesting against President Xi Jinping during his visit to San Francisco in November 2023
Miller and Cui continued harassing him even after the visit, say investigators. But the two ‘henchmen’ they hired to plant a GPS device in Mr Hui’s car and slash his tyres were actually undercover FBI agents.
Father-of-two Mr Hui, said: ‘I could never have imagined that they [Chinese regime] would hire a British person to commit transnational repression against me.’
He helped the FBI agents in their sting by allowing them to take the air out his tyres to make it seem as if they had been slashed.
In bugged telephone chats, Miller told the FBI agents he wanted Mr Hui shot or assaulted, so that the ‘message is, you’re not walking…that’s the sort of extreme message.’
Miller and Cui then attempted to buy an embarrassing sculpture Mr Hui made of Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan, sitting down naked from waist-up, for £26,000.
Mr Hui also revealed how his ageing parents in China were harassed every time he took part in protests against the Beijing regime in the US.
But as his parents are now out of China, he will continue to criticise the regime.
He said: ‘My biggest weakness was my parents, but now that they have moved … I can start speaking up about what we have been through. I cannot succumb to fear. I cannot give up.’