China establishes extraterritorial policing of its citizens abroad
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A new report by the Safeguard Defenders human rights NGO reveals that China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has set up a worrying global policing program, including the establishment of police stations in New York City and Toronto, through which to establish extraterritorial control of citizens suspected of fraud and telecom crimes.
The measures have been established purportedly to deal with crime but can be easily abused to violate the rights of innocent people.
As part of its new “Investigations” series, Safeguard examined China’s “expanding global policing toolkit” and now lists five measures the CCP has implemented to disturbing effect.
According to Safeguard, between April 2021 and July 2022, CCP security forces “persuaded” 230,000 claimed fugitives to return to China “voluntarily.” Additionally, the CCP has set up new “persuasion” operations, which include denying a target’s children in China the right to education and other impositions on family members who may be punished for “guilt by association.”
Moreover, the regime has established nine “forbidden countries” (Turkey, UAE, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia), which the CCP says have extensive problems with telecom fraud, and where Chinese nationals are now no longer allowed to live unless they have “good reason.”
Notoriously, the CCP has also set up at least 54 “overseas police service centers” in 30 countries across five continents, “some of which are implicated in collaborating with Chinese police in carrying out policing operations on foreign soil (including in Spain),” Safeguard said.
Finally, a new CCP law goes into effect on December 1, establishing “full extraterritoriality over Chinese and foreigners globally for certain crimes (fraud, telecom fraud, online scams, etc.),” Safeguard said.