Last November, the FBI stated that it was aware that China was running a de facto police station in Manhattan, outside of official procedure or jurisdiction, as part of a global network of similar outposts.
Two New York residents were detained and charged with operating an unlawful Manhattan police station for the Chinese government.
According to the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the pair faces federal accusations of operating the unregistered outpost in the Chinatown neighbourhood and plotting to operate as agents for Beijing.
According to authorities, the action is part of a larger effort by the Justice Department to crack down on Chinese government tactics to harass dissidents and limit free speech in the United States.
According to NBC New York, a complaint has been filed in Washington against 34 members of Beijing’s Municipal Public Security Bureau, as well as another against a group of ten people, including eight Chinese government officials.
The three accusations had one thing in common: the suspects reportedly worked to intimidate, harass, and threaten ‘wanted’ Chinese people inside the US.
Last November, the agency stated that it was aware that China was operating a de facto police station in Manhattan, outside of official procedure or permission, as part of a global network of similar outposts.
According to the New York Times, FBI counterintelligence investigators investigated the outpost’s offices in the autumn of 2022, which were located on the third level of a nondescript building on East Broadway.
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the US is highly concerned about the Chinese government’s establishment of unlicensed ‘police stations’ in American cities tied to Beijing’s influence activities.
The Chinese embassy in Washington responded by recognising the existence of volunteer-run locations in the United States, but stating that they were not “police stations” or “police service centres.”
“They assist overseas Chinese nationals who need assistance in accessing the online service platform to renew their driving licences and receive physical check-ups for that purpose,” said embassy spokeswoman Liu Pengyu.
“They are not Chinese police officers.” “The US side should stop exaggerating this issue,” he continued.
The raid came after a non-governmental organisation called Safeguard Defenders conducted an investigation in September 2022 and discovered scores of such centres around the world carrying out police activities.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing are rising, particularly over the island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory while the Taiwanese government denies it.
The Chinese government conducted military drills last week in response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, which it viewed as interference in its domestic affairs.
There are also tensions around the popular video-sharing software TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance and has been blocked on US government devices due to fears of Chinese eavesdropping.
TikTok has come under fire for fears that it will hand over user data to the Chinese government or spread pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the network. The claims are denied by the company.
