On Closing China’s Secret Police Stations Overseas

The time is now

Overseas Chinese police “Service Stations,” or “110 Overseas,” are found in dozens of countries across five continents. (Courtesy of Safeguarddefenders)

Commentary

Few people could have missed the revelation from Safeguard Defenders that local Chinese police are running overseas police “service stations.” Over the past month, local media outlets have been investigating the illegal centers, and more and more remarkable information is being revealed weekly.

The latest such revelation is the existence of additional stations in Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands. Media outlets in the Netherlands have been able to pinpoint the police outposts “persuading” Chinese residents to return to China to face criminal charges. The illegal police stations circumvent normal legal channels and essentially carry out police work on foreign soil.

Prior to this, Safeguard Defenders had investigated the actions of the “service stations” in Spain and Serbia. However, finding people willing to speak on the issue is nearly impossible.

Despite that, China’s Foreign Ministry, in a response to Spanish media, has acknowledged engaging in these actions, blaming extraditions (the normal, lawful way to seek someone’s return) as “cumbersome” and saying that European countries sometimes deny its requests.

With growing attention to illegal Chinese police activity, governments are starting to respond. A committee in the Canadian Parliament is set to hold hearings on the matter, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are launching an investigation. In Spain, the Ministry of the Interior has launched an investigation. In Ireland, the government is requesting information from China (and, reportedly, the sign outside the Chinese police station in Dublin has “disappeared”).

In addition, it was reported on Oct. 26 that the Dutch Foreign Ministry is investigating the centers in order to determine appropriate action. The Foreign Ministry said it wasn’t informed about the centers via diplomatic channels, which makes them illegal. Further, the UK has announced the establishment of a “foreign agent’s registry” to make such operations illegal if not properly registered with the British government.

A mainland Chinese media (fjsen.com) article about the Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station in New York, dated April 30, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

More governments are likely to launch investigations or demand answers from the Chinese regime in the weeks to come. It’s apparent that the stations exist across the globe, with evidence of new centers revealed almost weekly since the original report came out in September.

Yet for all the different actions being taken, there’s a marked lack of coordination, with different countries taking different actions. This risks undermining these counteractions.

The West, as usual, is acting like a herd of cats, rather than in a coordinated, planned manner. And a coordinated response is needed.

Our report showed that the various Chinese police jurisdictions that have set up overseas stations operate in different ways and that the program is still in its early stages. Although the campaign started with 10 “pilot provinces,” more provinces are set to join the policing effort.

Once the regime analyzes how such stations operate and which tactics work best, we’re likely to see more structured operations on a grander scale—that is, unless Beijing is met with a strong response and abandons plans to expand its long-arm policing.

A timely response now, before additional plans are made in Beijing, can change the regime’s future policy.

The America ChangLe Association in New York on Oct. 6, 2022. An overseas Chinese police outpost in New York, called the Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station, is located inside the association building. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

It has become clear that the police “service stations” aren’t registered in the countries in which they operate. Every country has a regulatory framework for such foundations. The serious violations that these stations represent justify a harsh response: their forced closure or a lighter penalty, dependent on the voluntary dismantling of these operations.

More countries need to move forward with “foreign agent registries.” The existence of these registries would have caused the illegal Chinese stations to be shut down right away. They’re manned by Chinese residents in the target countries, operating as foreign agents for the Chinese regime. With increased disinformation by foreign agents, coupled with this type of transnational repression, the need for such registries has never been stronger.

In addition, security police need to work systematically on these issues. Hotlines need to be established for victims to report such transgressions with their identities well-protected. And finally, information needs to be made available in those countries on an annual basis to map how China engages in such behavior and how its tactics change.

These actions—which are actually the minimum needed—must be accomplished in a well-orchestrated, coordinated manner by the United States, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia, and other allies facing the same threat. It’s in such a coordinated move that the real strength behind these countermeasures lies.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.