Metro

Human-rights activist lashes back at ‘spyware’ claims by Chinese dissident’s mentor

A human-rights activist lashed back at a charge by an NYU professor that he had installed spyware on an iPad he gave to Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng.

China Aid president Bob Fu said he has asked the FBI to investigate after NYU law professor Jerry Cohen accused him this week of trying to use an iPad he gave Chen last spring as a “trojan horse” to spy on Chen — a charge Fu denies.

“We have pledged full support to the FBI in this investigation, and hope that NYU will also provide full cooperation,” Fu said Friday.

FBI officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.

NYU’s Cohen attacked Fu this week amid accusations that NYU itself has mistreated Chen during his yearlong stay at the school because of pressure from the Chinese government.

Fu, lately a vocal critic of NYU, said he had only installed a Skype app on the iPad so Chen could contact his family in China.

Fu said his wife last May gave the iPad to NYU officials to give to Chen, but that NYU kept it for “several days” before delivering it.

Chen later told them that the Skype app was deleted when he finally received it, Fu said.

“Neither Chen nor NYU ever communicated concerns about spyware or any other problems” related to the iPad to China Aid, Fu said.

An NYU spokesman said: “When Mr. Chen arrived at NYU, the University configured his iPad and iPhone for NYU’s email system and disabled location services on the iPad. However, the technical staff did not disable the Skype software that came with both devices.”