A number of countries housing legal "secret" police stations are under a microscope following the arrest of two men charged with conspiring to act as agents of China and obstructing justice due to allegedly operating a secret station in New York City.
Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping acted "under the direction and control" of an official from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, according to the Justice Department in criminal complaints unsealed Monday in Brooklyn. They allegedly aided the People's Republic of China (PRC) by setting up a clandestine outpost in Manhattan to intimidate dissidents in the U.S. and suppress criticism of Beijing.
"The U.S. Government has been clear that we will use all available tools to protect American citizens and other U.S. persons from transnational repression and other forms of foreign malign influence," a senior U.S. administration official told Newsweek. "We will not tolerate the PRC Government—or any foreign government—harassing or threatening U.S. persons.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin did not take news of the arrests lightly, telling media on Tuesday that his country "opposes the U.S.'s slander and smears, its political manipulation, the false narrative of 'transnational repression,' and blatant prosecution of Chinese law enforcement and cyber administration officials."
In September 2022, the Madrid-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Safeguard Defenders published that Chinese police, in coordination with overseas individuals connected to the Chinese Communist Party, established these secret "service stations" most notably in Europe—where nine stations were discovered in Spain, for example.
It led to investigations by 14 governments into the credibility of the stations.
"While much of their work is to simply service Chinese residents, or tourists, evidence from the Chinese government itself now shows that one station in Madrid, has been actively working with Chinese police to engage in covert and illegal policing operations in Spain," the NGO said.
They issued a follow-up report in December detailing over 100 reported PRC clandestine police stations controlled by various entities of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Other countries besides Spain that contain these stations reportedly include Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Sweden, Hungary and South Africa.
One PRC jurisdiction reportedly claimed to have hired 135 people to manage their initial 21 stations, with the word "hire" translated to mean "contracted, hired or appointed." One worker certificate referred to an "overseas liaison officer" hired on a three-year contract in Stockholm.
"[These] Chinese overseas police [stations] usually just offer their help [to citizens], but they're also signaling that Chinese surveillance is present even here," Marton Tompos, a Hungarian lawmaker, told Radio Free Europe in November.
Last September, Chinese officers joined Serbian officials in patrolling the streets of the capital city of Belgrade, Reuters reported, including pedestrian streets, landmarks, the airport and even a Chinese mall in the region's outskirts.
Serbian and Croatian officials strongly refuted claims of "de facto" Chinese police presence in their homelands, Balkan Insight reported in December. Government officials from both countries touted relations with China and found the NGO report's claims and allegations to be "unfounded."
China defends itself
"We hope that relevant parties stop hyping it up to create tensions," Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN in November. "Using this as a pretext to smear China is unacceptable."
The PRC has defended stations in Africa and Asia, Safeguard Defenders stated, citing bilateral agreements with host countries including Italy. One such agreement published by MPS in 2015 mentions joint police patrols with the Italian government, later leading to European "pilot" stations in Milan in 2016 (by Wenzhou police) and 2018 (by Qingtian police).
In December, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told the publication Il Foglio that his nation would stop allowing Chinese police to jointly patrol with Italian officers in their own territory.
Chinese officials disregarded the threat, Reuters reported, claiming the facilities were volunteer-run centers aimed to help citizens renew documents while processes were disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last December, the Chinese Embassy in France dismissed similar claims about clandestine centers in the French cities of Aubervilliers and Paris.
Following claims by Safeguard Defenders that the PRC Safeguard Defenders reportedly identified four illegal antennas in Ile-de-France, the embassy responded by claiming that the NGO "has been engaged in anti-China activities in the name of human rights for many years...to spread and hype false information, seriously misleading the French public."
Yu Yong, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, previously called 13 Chinese police stations in South Africa "fake news." The centers were initially set up in 2004, Yong said, and are claimed to be "strictly non-profit Chinese associations" with no law enforcement authority.
Newsweek reached out to the PRC and U.S. State Department via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
