China accused of using overseas bases to target dissidents
China has reportedly established dozens of “overseas police stations” in nations around the world as part of Beijing’s crackdown on corruption
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — China has reportedly established dozens of “overseas police stations” in nations around the world that activists fear could be used to track and harass dissidents as part of Beijing's crackdown on corruption.
Information about the outposts underscored concerns about the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s influence over its citizens abroad, sometimes in ways deemed illegal by other countries, as well as the undermining of democratic institutions and the the theft of economic and political secrets by bodies affiliated with the one-party state.
Spanish-based non-government group Safeguard Defenders published a report last month called “110 Overseas. Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild” that focused on the foreign stations.
The Dutch government said this week it was looking into whether two such stations — one a virtual office in Amsterdam and the other at a physical address in Rotterdam — were established in the Netherlands.
