The United States is very concerned about illegal “police stations” being set up by the Chinese government in American cities. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress on Thursday.
The European human rights organization Safeguard Defenders published a report in September about the presence of 54 Chinese ‘service offices’ in major cities around the world, including New York.
According to the report, the offices on behalf of China are pressuring some Chinese nationals or their relatives abroad to return to China so that they can face criminal charges. In addition, the offices are also linked to activities of the United Labor Front, an organization of the Chinese Communist Party charged with spreading its influence and propaganda abroad.
“Violation of Sovereignty”
“I am very concerned about this. We are aware of the existence of these offices,” Wray said today at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, but declined to comment further on the FBI’s investigation into the case.
“I find it outrageous that the Chinese police would try to set up an office in New York without proper coordination. It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard law enforcement cooperation processes,” said Wray.
At the end of October, the presence of Chinese ‘service offices’ in the Netherlands came to light after an investigation by the Dutch government. According to China, however, these are not police stations, but offices where Chinese citizens can have their documents renewed. In Canada, too, the government has launched an investigation into the presence of Chinese police stations in the Toronto area.
Stalking and espionage
Wray said the US has filed a number of charges alleging cases involving the Chinese government harassing, stalking, spying and blackmailing people living in the US who disagree with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping. “It’s a serious problem and something we’re talking to our foreign partners about as well, because we’re not the only country where this has happened,” the FBI director said.
The US filed charges in October against seven Chinese nationals for spying on and harassing a US citizen and his family in an attempt by the Chinese government to send one of them back to China.
After all, with ‘Operation Fox Hunt’, China is trying to track down people abroad whom Beijing identifies as suspects of crime.
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