China has set up dozens of secret police stations around the world, including one in New York City, to hunt down and retrieve dissidents.
A new report from Safeguard Defenders, a human rights watchdog, revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has at least 54 ‘overseas police service stations’ in 30 different countries, including the US.
New York’s station, located on East Broadway between Chinatown and the Lower East Side, was open on February 15, according to the Chinese-language news site FJSEN.
The reported presence of China’s Fuzhou police in New York City has prompted a group of Republican House lawmakers to seek answers from President Biden’s Cabinet Secretaries.
Headed by Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (R, IND-3), Reps. Michael Waltz (R, FL-6) and Mike Gallagher (R, WI-8), the group of 21 lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland to demand answers on how the Chinese police were able to establish a branch in the U.S.
“We are writing to express our grave concern over reports of the law enforcement presence of the People’s Republic of China in New York City,” the letter began
Some have been found to help Chinese police conduct ‘persuasion sessions’ remotely.
A station in Madrid tracked down a man wanted in China for environmental pollution.
He was forced to sit down for a video call with public security agents and a Chinese prosecutor – while a family member was asked to sit next to the authorities in China during the call.
Other examples of blackmail are authorities threatening to cut electricity to the homes of families or restricting access to schools for relatives.
