The United States on Monday arrested two men of Chinese descent for allegedly setting up a Chinese “police station” in New York. Dozens of Chinese security officials were charged over a campaign to monitor and harass Chinese dissidents living in the United States.
This comes months after Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders first revealed the existence of such outposts in at least 53 countries around the world.
Chinese ‘police stations’ in New York: The arrested men
The two men arrested on Monday by the US authorities have been identified as Harry Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59. These are the first arrests anywhere in the world over China’s clandestine operation to establish overseas police posts.
The two men set up the office in Manhattan’s Chinatown last year at the behest of the Fuzhou branch of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), China’s national police force, ostensibly to offer services like Chinese driver’s license renewal, according to Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York.
China’s overseas ‘police stations’: Tasks and operations
The US officials said what the Spain-based human rights group had been saying since September 2022. That such ‘police stations’ held Beijing track down dissidents in lieu of services like Chinese driver’s license renewal.
Canada and several European governments have cracked down on similar “police stations.”
According to Safeguard Defenders, the “police stations” have been involved in pressuring Chinese nationals to return home to face criminal charges.
Canada has identified and closed several unofficial outposts in Montreal and elsewhere.
In October, Dutch authorities said they were investigating reports of two Chinese police operations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
ALSO WATCH | Gravitas: Inside China’s police stations overseas
Lu and Chen were charged with acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government and obstruction for destroying evidence of their communications with Chinese officials.
If convicted, both Lu and Chen face up to 25 years in prison.
In a related case, the Justice Department announced charges against 34 members of China’s Ministry of Public Security who were allegedly involved in harassing dissidents overseas, including the US-based Falun Gong religious movement.
The task force created thousands of fake social media accounts, according to the US charges, to target Chinese dissidents “through online harassment and threats.”
“This task force isn’t a normal police force,” said Peace.
“It doesn’t protect people or combat crimes. It commits crimes targeting Chinese democracy activists and dissidents located outside of the PRC, including right here in New York City.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said last November that his agency was monitoring reports of such stations, calling them a “real problem”.
“To me, it is outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop, you know, in New York, let’s say, without proper co-ordination,” Wray said. “It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement co-operation processes.”
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