RCMP Investigates “Activity Reports” Surrounding Services Allegedly Used to Force Chinese Citizens Abroad
Canada’s federal police are investigating reports that clandestine Chinese “police stations” are operating in Toronto amid reports of a network being used to target foreign dissidents.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it is investigating “reports of offender activity in relation to so-called ‘police stations,'” but did not specify the location of the sites.
Police also warned that “foreign states would possibly seek to intimidate or harm communities or Americans in Canada. “
The revelations come days after the Dutch government said it was investigating two suspicious stations.
The stations first became known through Safeguard Defenders, a Spanish civil rights organization that alleged that the Fuzhou and Qingtian police departments had opened 54 “overseas service centers” between them in 25 cities in 21 countries, adding Canada.
Safeguard Defenders has identified a residential home, construction and convenience store in the greater Toronto area as locations for the alleged operations.
The Chinese embassy denied that the buildings were occupied by police, suggesting they were “gas stations” meant to offer consular and bureaucratic assistance.
“Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, many Chinese citizens are unable to return to China in time for the renewal of their Chinese driver’s license and other facilities,” the embassy said in a statement. “For facilities like driver’s license renewal, it is mandatory to pass an eyesight, hearing and physical exam. The main purpose of the fuel station is to provide free assistance to Chinese citizens in this regard.
The embassy also said they were volunteers and not police officers, adding: “They are not involved in any criminal investigation or applicable activity. “
But court documents recently unsealed in New York corroborate allegations that China has engaged in a crusade of foreign interference, harassing and tracking Chinese nationals abroad. In one case, a Chinese citizen living in Canada was forced to return to China to face charges of embezzling nearly 380,000 Canadian dollars ($280,000) of public funds.
In the court document, the U. S. The U. S. military alleges that the crusade against tension is related to China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Operation Fox Hunt, which has been used to target corruption and dissent.
Canadian lawmakers have already warned of the problem. At a House of Commons special committee on China-Canada in early October, Conservative MP Michael Chong questioned Canada’s Foreign Ministry about the lifestyle of police stations.
Weldon Epp, managing director for North Asia and Oceania at Global Affairs Canada, said there is room for “legitimate police liaison cooperation” between the countries.
“But the allegations reported in the press would fall short of that, and we would have deep consideration if they turned out to be true. “
The allegations are likely to strain relations between Ottawa and Beijing, which have remained tense following a series of disputes between the two nations, adding to the arrests of Huawei executive Meng Wenzhou and Canadian businessmen Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.