China accused of illegal police stations in the Netherlands

The Chinese authorities has been accused of establishing astatine slightest 2 undeclared "police stations" successful the Netherlands.

Dutch media recovered grounds that the "overseas work stations", which committedness to supply diplomatic services, are being utilized to effort to soundlessness Chinese dissidents successful Europe.

A spokeswoman for the Dutch overseas ministry said the beingness of the unofficial constabulary outposts was illegal.

The Chinese embassy says it is not alert of their existence.

According to the organisation, the nationalist information bureaus from 2 Chinese provinces had established 54 "overseas constabulary work centres" crossed 5 continents and 21 countries. Most of them are successful Europe, including 9 successful Spain and 4 successful Italy. In the UK, it recovered 2 successful London and 1 successful Glasgow.

The units were ostensibly created to tackle transnational transgression and behaviour administrative duties, specified arsenic the renewal of Chinese drivers' licences. But, according to Safeguard Defenders, successful world they transportation retired "persuasion operations", aimed astatine coercing those suspected of speaking retired against the Chinese authorities to instrumentality home.

RTL News and the investigative journalism level Follow the Money shared the communicative of Wang Jingyu, a Chinese dissident who said helium was being pursued by Chinese constabulary successful the Netherlands.

Speaking successful English, Wang told Dutch journalists helium received a telephone telephone earlier this twelvemonth from idiosyncratic claiming to beryllium from 1 specified station. During the conversation, helium said helium was urged to instrumentality to China to "sort retired my problems. And to deliberation astir my parents".

Since then, helium described a systematic run of harassment and intimidation, which helium believes is being orchestrated by Chinese authorities agents.

In effect to the revelations, the Chinese embassy told RTL News it was not alert of the beingness of specified constabulary stations.

Dutch overseas ministry spokeswoman Maxime Hovenkamp told the BBC: "The Dutch authorities wasn't made alert of these operations done the diplomatic channels with the Chinese government. That is illegal."

She said it would person to analyse and determine the due response. "It is precise worrying a Chinese nationalist has seemingly been subjected to intimidation and harassment present successful the Netherlands. Police are looking into options to connection him protection," she added.

Services specified arsenic passport renewals oregon visa requests are usually handled by an embassy oregon consulate. Diplomatic rules use successful these locations, arsenic laid retired successful the Vienna Convention, of which some the Netherlands and China are signatories.

Policing outposts similar the ones China is accused of moving could interruption the territorial integrity of a big state by circumventing nationalist jurisdictions and the protections afforded nether home law.

Safeguard Defenders said China's policing tactics were "problematic" arsenic they targeted suspects without firmly establishing links to transgression oregon adhering to owed process successful big countries.

This is chiefly done by coercing oregon making threats against the household members of alleged fugitives, arsenic a method to "persuade" them to instrumentality home, the organisation said.

On 2 September, a nationalist Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law was adopted successful China, establishing a assertion of extraterritorial jurisdiction implicit each Chinese nationals worldwide suspected of these types of fraud.

In theory, the caller authorities - successful tandem with Chinese constabulary units connected overseas ungraded - leaves dissidents with obscurity to hide.

The unit is present connected the Dutch authorities to guarantee critics of the Chinese authorities who are granted asylum tin beryllium protected, and that successful the Netherlands, Dutch instrumentality prevails.