The FBI’s recent raid of a Chinese police station in New York’s Chinatown is a cause for grave concern, both here in the US and around the world. This outpost, part of China’s notorious “Operation Fox Hunt” effort to surveil their citizens and hunt down dissidents abroad, was conducting illegal police operations without the jurisdiction or diplomatic approval from American officials.
It has become increasingly clear that this is not an isolated incident, with reports of Chinese police centers popping up throughout Europe and other countries with large Chinese diaspora populations. In Hungary, for example, a lawmaker reported visiting one such center that was clearly labeled as a Qingtian Police Overseas Service Station only for the signs to be removed almost immediately after his visit.
These undercover operations are highly concerning from a human rights perspective, as they effectively allow China to extend their transnational policing capabilities outside of their own country in order to control its citizens who have left home. On top of this alarming news, it has been revealed that many reports on these police centers were deleted from China’s internet upon discovery. It doesn’t take much imagination to see why. The idea that their reach can extend worldwide likely intimidates those inside China while giving them a false sense of security in knowing they can never truly escape their government’s clutches.
Unfortunately, those living outside of China impacted by these oppressive tactics have limited recourse and feel helpless when faced with such intrusions by their former homeland. Many Chinese dissidents living abroad report feeling “extremely anxious” about what China is doing because there is nothing they can do about it.
It goes without saying that this situation needs to be addressed soon by the international community before it spirals out of control and puts countless individuals at risk. The United States should lead the way in calling out this blatant abuse of power and working together with other like-minded nations to impose sanctions on Beijing before more innocent people suffer from Chinese oppression overseas.