Chinese police overseas service stations: Difference between revisions
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In January 2023, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that according to anonymous tipsters, counterintelligence agents from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] raided a suspected station set up by Fuzhou municipal authorities, hosted in the offices of the American Changle Association in [[Chinatown, Manhattan]] in late 2022.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last1=Rajagopalan |first1=Megha |last2=Rashbaum |first2=William K. |date=2023-01-12 |title=With F.B.I. Search, U.S. Escalates Global Fight Over Chinese Police Outposts |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/world/europe/china-outpost-new-york.html |access-date=2023-01-12 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The station was subsequently closed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Quinn |first=Jimmy |date=January 30, 2023 |title=China's Police Station in Manhattan Has Closed Its Doors, State Department Says |work=[[National Review]] |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/chinas-police-station-in-manhattan-has-closed-its-doors-state-department-says/ |access-date=January 31, 2023}}</ref> |
In January 2023, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that according to anonymous tipsters, counterintelligence agents from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] raided a suspected station set up by Fuzhou municipal authorities, hosted in the offices of the American Changle Association in [[Chinatown, Manhattan]] in late 2022.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last1=Rajagopalan |first1=Megha |last2=Rashbaum |first2=William K. |date=2023-01-12 |title=With F.B.I. Search, U.S. Escalates Global Fight Over Chinese Police Outposts |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/world/europe/china-outpost-new-york.html |access-date=2023-01-12 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The station was subsequently closed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Quinn |first=Jimmy |date=January 30, 2023 |title=China's Police Station in Manhattan Has Closed Its Doors, State Department Says |work=[[National Review]] |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/01/chinas-police-station-in-manhattan-has-closed-its-doors-state-department-says/ |access-date=January 31, 2023}}</ref> |
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In March 2023, the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] announced investigations into two police stations in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-09 |title=Canada investigates alleged Chinese police posts in Quebec |url=https://apnews.com/article/canada-china-interference-secret-police-stations-7c832c8a4753ba5cc2a0156a20225d99 |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=[[Associated Press]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Yousif |first1=Nadine |title=Canadian police investigate Chinese 'police stations' in Quebec |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64909560 |website=BBC |access-date=10 March 2023 |date=March 9, 2023}}</ref> The same month, Taiwan's [[Overseas Community Affairs Council]] (OCAC) announced that a Chinese overseas police station in France engaged in cyberattacks against an OCAC language school in France.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 9, 2023 |title=Taiwan Mandarin learning center cyberattacked by China |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202303090016 |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=[[Focus Taiwan]] |language=en-US}}</ref> |
In March 2023, the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] announced investigations into two police stations in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-09 |title=Canada investigates alleged Chinese police posts in Quebec |url=https://apnews.com/article/canada-china-interference-secret-police-stations-7c832c8a4753ba5cc2a0156a20225d99 |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=[[Associated Press]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Yousif |first1=Nadine |title=Canadian police investigate Chinese 'police stations' in Quebec |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64909560 |website=BBC |access-date=10 March 2023 |date=March 9, 2023}}</ref> The same month, Taiwan's [[Overseas Community Affairs Council]] (OCAC) announced that a Chinese overseas police station in France engaged in cyberattacks against an OCAC language school in France.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 9, 2023 |title=Taiwan Mandarin learning center cyberattacked by China |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202303090016 |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=[[Focus Taiwan]] |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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== Locations == |
== Locations == |
Revision as of 04:48, 10 March 2023
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Police_Badge_of_Fuzhou_Overseas_110.png/220px-Police_Badge_of_Fuzhou_Overseas_110.png)
The term "overseas service station" (Chinese: 海外服务站; pinyin: hǎiwài fúwù zhàn) and the associated phrase "Overseas 110" or "110 Overseas" (Chinese: 海外110; pinyin: hǎiwài yībǎiyīshí; lit. 'abroad 110'; alluding to China's emergency number for the police, 110) refers to various extralegal offices established by China's Ministry of Public Security in other countries. Spokespeople for the Chinese government have stated they were established to provide Chinese nationals in foreign countries with bureaucratic assistance, such as document renewals, and to fight transnational crime, such as online fraud.
In 2022, controversy emerged when a document about the stations was published by human rights group Safeguard Defenders. Safeguard Defenders alleged these offices had been used to intimidate Chinese dissidents and criminal suspects abroad, in order to convince them to return to China. The report led to investigations of the stations by the governments of several countries.
History
Allegations by Safeguard Defenders
According to Matt Schrader writing for the Jamestown Foundation, "overseas Chinese service stations" (Chinese: 华助中心; pinyin: huázhù zhōngxīn; lit. 'Chinese assistance center') were first established in 2014, with 45 centers in 39 countries having been opened by 2019. According to Schrader, the centers were mostly formed from existing united front organizations and did not have policing authority. Schrader further stated that the centers served several legitimate purposes despite criticism of them, such as assisting crime victims with dealing with the host country's police and integrating new immigrants. Schrader pointed to a lack of transparency around the relationship between the centers and the Chinese government, particularly personnel of the United Front Work Department, and their political influence operations.[1]
According to the organization Safeguard Defenders, the Nantong police department later set up the first "overseas service stations", associated with the phrase "110 Overseas" (Chinese: 海外110; pinyin: hǎiwài yībǎiyīshí; lit. 'abroad 110') as part of a pilot project in 2016. Safeguard Defenders said the department set up offices in six countries and having solved at least 120 criminal cases that involved Chinese nationals as well as detaining over 80 people in Myanmar, Cambodia and Zambia.[2] Dutch organizations RTL News and "Follow the Money" reported that afterwards, Wenzhou's Public Security Department established a "contact point" in Sydney, Australia and the Lishui bureau established two offices in the Netherlands (one in Amsterdam, another in Rotterdam) in 2018.[2][3] According to their report, the police agencies of Fuzhou and Qingtian counties would set up the most numerous of the offices, with the latter beginning their program in 2019. Radio Free Asia reported that as of October 2022, a total of 54 such stations had been established in 30 countries.[4]
Safeguard Defenders released a report in September 2022, alleging that the police stations were part of a program named Operation Fox Hunt, and were used to harass and coerce individuals wanted by the Chinese government, including dissidents, via threats to their families and themselves, pressuring them to return to China where they would then be detained.[5][6] Safeguard Defenders claimed that, between April 2021 and July 2022, the Chinese government recorded 230,000 "suspects of fraud" who were "persuaded to return". The group stated that the stations violated the sovereignty of host countries by allowing Chinese police to circumvent police cooperation rules and procedures.[4][7] For instance, Wang Jingyu, a dissident who fled China after being targeted for social media posts and was granted asylum in the Netherlands, claimed he had been threatened and sent harassing messages by the Rotterdam station to make him return to China, with his parents who remained in China being targeted.[3][8] A broader example was a notice issued by an overseas station operated by the government of Laiyang in Myanmar, which stated that Chinese nationals who were there illegally should return to China or "there would be consequences for their loved ones", such as cancellation of their state benefits.[2] An anonymous official from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with El Correo, stated that the stations used "persuasion" tactics to convince those wanted by the government to return to China, pointing to the difficulties of getting European states to extradite to China.[9][10]
Criticism of report
According to Yale legal scholar and China expert Jeremy Daum, the document published by Safeguard defenders relied upon mistranslations of the Chinese language.[11] For instance, the report's authors incorrectly translated a Chinese document describing a police task force operating within Yunnan Province, believing instead that the task force was "heading abroad."[11] The mistranslation led Safeguard Defenders to assume local police actions within China were occurring in foreign countries.[11] Daum stated that the stations opened abroad are not staffed by police officers, and are not clandestine. Instead, they actively advertise their services, primarily facilitating business within and outside China.[11] Chinese dissidents living outside of China criticized Jeremy Daum's interpretation of the function of the overseas police service stations.[12]
Chinese government reaction
According to the Chinese government, the centers had been set up to allow Chinese nationals to access administrative services such as driver license and other document renewals without having to travel to China, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to confront transnational crime, especially fraud, affecting overseas Chinese communities.[13][7] In May 2022, China Youth Daily claimed that the stations operated by Fuzhou authorities had received over 1,800 reports from 88 countries.[14]
Reactions by other governments
In response, some countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, announced they would investigate the stations.[15][4][16] The overseas service stations in Dublin were ordered to close by the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late October 2022, although one had already stopped operations and took down its sign earlier when electronic ID renewal procedures were introduced.[17][4] The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that, as the Chinese government had failed to notify the country about the stations through diplomatic means, they had been operating illegally, with further investigation to be conducted into their conduct.[18] Foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra later ordered both offices to close.[19] In November 2022, Canada summoned the Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu and issued a "cease and desist" warning concerning the stations.[20] In December 2022, Italy announced that its police would cease joint patrols with Chinese police officers inside of Italian cities.[21]
In January 2023, The New York Times reported that according to anonymous tipsters, counterintelligence agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided a suspected station set up by Fuzhou municipal authorities, hosted in the offices of the American Changle Association in Chinatown, Manhattan in late 2022.[12] The station was subsequently closed.[22]
In March 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced investigations into two police stations in Quebec.[23][24][25] The same month, Taiwan's Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) announced that a Chinese overseas police station in France engaged in cyberattacks against an OCAC language school in France.[26]
Locations
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/49_Watford_Way%2C_Hendon%2C_London%2C_United_Kingdom.png/220px-49_Watford_Way%2C_Hendon%2C_London%2C_United_Kingdom.png)
# | Country | City (location in city) |
Continent | Associated public security bureau |
Active years |
Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BRN01 | ![]() |
Bandar Seri BegawanC | Asia | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
KHM01 | ![]() |
Phnom PenhC | Asia | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
KHM02 | ![]() |
unknown city | Asia | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | 2016–? | [2] |
JPN01 | ![]() |
TokyoC | Asia | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
KOR01 | ![]() |
unknown city | Asia | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27][28] |
MNG01 | ![]() |
UlaanbaatarC | Asia | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
UZB01 | ![]() |
Sirdaryo | Asia | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
MMR01 | ![]() |
unknown city | Asia | Laiyang City Public Security Bureau | na. | [2] |
MMR02 | ![]() |
Yangon | Asia | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | 2016–? | [2][27] |
AUS01 | ![]() |
Sydney | Oceania | Wenzhou City Public Security Bureau | 2018–? | [2] |
AUT01 | ![]() |
ViennaC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
CZE01 | ![]() |
PragueC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
CZE02 | ![]() |
PragueC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
FRA01 | ![]() |
ParisC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
FRA02 | ![]() |
ParisC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
FRA03 | ![]() |
ParisC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
DEU01 | ![]() |
Frankfurt | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
GRC01 | ![]() |
AthensC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
HUN01 | ![]() |
BudapestC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
HUN02 | ![]() |
BudapestC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
IRL01 | ![]() |
DublinC (Capel Street) |
Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | 2022 | [27] |
ITA02 | ![]() |
Florence | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ITA03 | ![]() |
Milan | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ITA04 | ![]() |
Prato | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27][2] |
ITA01 | ![]() |
RomeC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
NLD01 | ![]() |
AmsterdamC | Europe | Lishui City Public Security Bureau | 2018–? | [3] |
NLD02 | ![]() |
AmsterdamC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
NLD03 | ![]() |
Rotterdam | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
NLD04 | ![]() |
Rotterdam | Europe | Lishui City Public Security Bureau | 2018–? | [3] |
PRT01 | ![]() |
LisbonC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
PRT02 | ![]() |
Madeira | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
PRT03 | ![]() |
Porto | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
SRB01 | ![]() |
BelgradeC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
SVK01 | ![]() |
BratislavaC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP04 | ![]() |
Barcelona | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP05 | ![]() |
Barcelona | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP06 | ![]() |
Barcelona | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP01 | ![]() |
MadridC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP02 | ![]() |
MadridC | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP03 | ![]() |
MadridC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP07 | ![]() |
Santiago de Compostela | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP08 | ![]() |
Valencia | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ESP09 | ![]() |
Valencia | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
SWE01 | ![]() |
StockholmC | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
UKR01 | ![]() |
Odesa | Europe | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
GBR03 | ![]() |
Glasgow | Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
GBR01 | ![]() |
LondonC (49 Watford Way, Hendon) |
Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27][29] |
GBR02 | ![]() |
LondonC (Croydon) |
Europe | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
CAN01 | ![]() |
Toronto | North America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
CAN02 | ![]() |
Toronto | North America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
CAN03 | ![]() |
Toronto | North America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
USA01 | ![]() |
New York | North America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ARG01 | ![]() |
Buenos Aires | South America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
BRA01 | ![]() |
Rio de Janeiro | South America | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
BRA02 | ![]() |
São Paulo | South America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
CHL01 | ![]() |
Viña del Mar | South America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ECU02 | ![]() |
Guayaquil | South America | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ECU01 | ![]() |
QuitoC | South America | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
AGO01 | ![]() |
unknown city | Africa | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ETH01 | ![]() |
unknown city | Africa | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
MDG01 | ![]() |
AntananarivoC | Africa | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
LSO01 | ![]() |
MaseruC | Africa | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
NGA01 | ![]() |
Benin City | Africa | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
NGA02 | ![]() |
unknown city | Africa | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ZAF01 | ![]() |
Johannesburg | Africa | Fuzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ZAF02 | ![]() |
Johannesburg | Africa | Wenzhou City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ZAF03 | ![]() |
unknown city | Africa | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
TZA01 | ![]() |
Dar es Salaam | Africa | Qingtian County Public Security Bureau | na. | [27] |
ZMB01 | ![]() |
unknown city | Africa | Nantong City Public Security Bureau | 2016–? | [2][27] |
See also
References
- ^ Schrader, Matt (5 January 2019). ""Chinese Assistance Centers" Grow United Front Work Department Global Presence". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "China establishing overseas police presence in Australia and around the world". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d "China heeft illegale politiebureaus in Nederland: aanwijzingen voor intimidatie". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). RTL Nederland. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d "China runs illegal police operations on foreign soil via "overseas service centers"". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Tatlow, Didi Kirsten (3 December 2022). "Xi Jinping Ramps Up China's Surveillance, Harassment Deep in America". Newsweek. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "China accused of using overseas bases to target dissidents". Associated Press. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ a b "China accused of creating overseas "police stations" to target dissidents". PBS NewsHour. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "We Visited a "Secret Chinese Police Station" in London". Vice News. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Las operaciones "secretas" de la policía china en España". El Correo (in European Spanish). 8 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "China Accused of Planting Illegal Police Stations Overseas". Vice News. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d Jeremy, Daum (3 November 2022). ""Overseas Police Stations?" : A clearer look". China Law Translate. China Law Translate. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ a b Rajagopalan, Megha; Rashbaum, William K. (12 January 2023). "With F.B.I. Search, U.S. Escalates Global Fight Over Chinese Police Outposts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ Feng, John (19 October 2022). "China has opened up secret police stations in these countries". Newsweek. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ 福州警方发布"海外110"原创标识. China Youth Daily (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "FBI director "very concerned" by reports of secret Chinese police stations in US". The Guardian. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ Cooper, Sam (16 November 2022). "Toronto businessman allegedly focus of Chinese interference probes: sources". Global News. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "Chinese overseas police station in Dublin ordered to shut". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Dutch probe "illegal" China gov't offices in Netherlands". Reuters. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022 – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ "Netherlands orders closure of illegal Chinese police offices". South China Morning Post. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Cecco, Leyland (1 December 2022). "Canada issues "cease and desist" warning to China over "police stations" in Ottawa". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Italy stops joint police patrols with China - interior minister". Reuters. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ Quinn, Jimmy (30 January 2023). "China's Police Station in Manhattan Has Closed Its Doors, State Department Says". National Review. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ "Canada investigates alleged Chinese police posts in Quebec". Associated Press. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ Yousif, Nadine (9 March 2023). "Canadian police investigate Chinese 'police stations' in Quebec". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ Bruemmer, René (9 March 2023). "RCMP investigates possible Chinese state 'police stations' in Montreal, Brossard". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Taiwan Mandarin learning center cyberattacked by China". Focus Taiwan. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl Patrol and Persuade: A follow-up investigation to 110 Overseas (PDF) (Report). Safeguard Defenders. December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "Safeguard Defenders offers to help South Korea probe China's secret police station". The Korea Times. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Netherlands Tells China to Close "Police Stations"". Voice of America. Retrieved 2 November 2022.