The FBI declared that it is “concerned” about claims that secret “police stations” connected to China have been established in the US. In a report released in September by the NGO Safeguard Defenders, it was revealed that these stations exist in some areas of the US, including New York.
Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, informed senior politicians that the organisation was keeping an eye on reports of such centres across the nation, and said “We are aware of the existence of these stations.”
“To me, it is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop, you know, in New York, let’s say, without proper coordination,” he added. “It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes,” said Wray, according to Reuters.
When Republican Senator Rick Scott questioned Wray about whether such stations broke US law, Wray responded that the FBI was “looking into the legal parameters.”
Chinese public security bureaus allegedly established “overseas police service stations” in a number of continents, including two in London and one in Glasgow, according to the Spanish NGO Safeguard Defenders.
According to the report, Beijing’s efforts to persuade some Chinese nationals or their relatives living abroad to return to China and face criminal charges are being continued by the stations.
Additionally, it linked them to the activities of China’s United Front Work Department, a Communist party organisation in charge of spreading its propaganda abroad.
According to Wray, the United States has filed several indictments alleging that the Chinese government has harassed, stalked, surveilled, and blackmailed people who oppose Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“It’s a real problem and something that we’re talking with our foreign partners about, as well, because we’re not the only country where this has occurred,” he added.
In connection with a plan to make a Chinese citizen living in New York return to China, the Justice Department charged seven Chinese citizens in October.
According to BBC, last month, one of the Chinese ‘police stations’ in Dublin was also ordered to close by the government as a result of Safeguard Defenders’ work.
In addition, Canadian intelligence officials recently stated that they were looking into allegations that China had established unofficial ‘police stations’ on Canadian soil.
Following an investigation by Dutch authorities, the Chinese Foreign Ministry previously denied reports of the presence of such stations in the Netherlands. Instead, Chinese authorities claimed that the stations were set up to assist Chinese citizens with paperwork.
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