The US is deeply concerned about the Chinese government setting up unauthorized “police stations” in US cities to possibly pursue influence operations, FBI Director Christopher Wray told US lawmakers on Thursday.
European human rights organization Safeguard Defenders in September published a report revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police “service stations” in major cities around the world, including New York.
Republicans in the US Congress have requested answers from the administration of US President Joe Biden about their influence.
Photo: AP
The report said the stations were an extension of Beijing’s efforts to pressure some Chinese nationals or their relatives abroad to return to China to face criminal charges. It also linked them to activities of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s United Front Work Department, a body charged with spreading its influence and propaganda overseas.
“I’m very concerned about this. We are aware of the existence of these stations,” Wray told a US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, acknowledging but declining to detail the FBI’s investigative work on the issue.
“But 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 coordination. It violates sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes,” he said
Asked by US Senator Rick Scott if such stations breached US law, Wray said the FBI was “looking into the legal parameters.”
Republicans in the US House of Representatives, including US representatives Greg Murphy and Mike Waltz, last month sent letters to the US Department of Justice asking if the Biden administration was investigating such stations.
The facilities could be used to intimidate US residents of Chinese origin, the letters said.
Such stations have also been a widely reported concern in Canada and other parts of the world.
Earlier this month, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied it had such stations in the Netherlands after a probe by Dutch authorities.
China said they were offices to help Chinese citizens renew documents.
Wray said Washington had made a number of indictments involving the Chinese government harassing, stalking, surveilling and blackmailing people in the US who disagreed with policies implemented by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
“It’s a real problem and something that we’re talking with our foreign partners about, as well, because we’re not the only country where this has occurred,” Wray said.
The US last month unsealed criminal charges against seven Chinese nationals accused of waging a surveillance and harassment campaign against a US resident and his family in a bid by the Chinese government to repatriate one of them back to China.
It was the latest case by the justice department targeting China’s effort to track down people overseas who Beijing calls criminal suspects, known as “Operation Fox Hunt.”
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old