Cross posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/14987014

Archived version

Canada has done a detailed mapping of what it says are covert Chinese police operations within its borders and wants to explore a response with Group of Seven allies to a challenge faced by several nations.

The issue of Beijing allegedly setting up unofficial “police stations” in Western democracies — to monitor and intimidate members of the Chinese diaspora — has become a growing concern. Canada, the US, Italy, Germany and the UK have all grappled with the problem.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has said it’s investigating allegations of clandestine Chinese police operations, including “credible” information in the second-largest province of Quebec. The Madrid-based human-rights group Safeguard Defenders said in a 2022 report that China operates at least 54 such stations across five continents.

The UK government reacted with alarm last year to reports of alleged Chinese police stations in the country, calling it “egregious.” In June 2023, it said China had closed the centers, and that an investigation hadn’t revealed illegal activity by the Chinese state at the sites — citing the “suppressive impact” of police and public scrutiny.

US authorities charged two people in New York last year on allegations of operating an illegal police operation in lower Manhattan for a branch of China’s Ministry of Public Security, with the goal to “monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical” of the government in Beijing.

Italy began probing China’s alleged operations after Safeguard Defenders reported it was home to the largest number of the so-called stations. Germany’s government has said there are two such sites in the country.

RCMP is launching awareness campaign and seeking public assistance in connection with Chinese foreign interference in Quebec.