Washington: After reports of the Chinese government setting up unauthorized ‘police stations’ around the world, the FBI is now worried about the possibility of these stations being in American cities. According to a Reuters report, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Thursday that the United States is extremely concerned about the Chinese government setting up unauthorized ‘police stations’ in American cities. The report said that Europe-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders published a report in September, which revealed the presence of dozens of Chinese police ‘service stations’ in major cities around the world, including New York.
The report, titled “110 Overseas: Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild,” details China’s extensive efforts to combat “fraud” by its citizens living overseas, in part by opening several police stations on five continents that have assisted Chinese authorities in “carrying out policing operations on foreign soil.”
The report said the stations were an extension of Beijing’s efforts to pressure some Chinese citizens or their relatives abroad to return to China to face criminal charges. The organization has also linked it to the activities of the United Front Work Department of China. Also, with the help of these police stations, a body of the Communist Party has been accused of establishing its influence abroad and spreading propaganda. After the report came out, the Republican Party in the US Congress sought answers from the Biden administration regarding the impact of these stations.
Violation of US sovereignty
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China’s police stations violate American sovereignty. He further said that ‘it is insulting for them to think that the Chinese police will open their alleged station in America without any talks. On the other hand, when asked by Republican Senator Rick Scott whether such stations violate US law, Ray said that the FBI is looking into the ‘legal parameters’.
