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athens [Greece]December 25 (ANI): A special unit of the Chinese police is in Athens, according to exclusive information from journalist Vassilis Lambropoulos, according to Greek media outlet Directus.
These units house people from China and they seek out, threaten and blackmail Chinese dissidents to return home and suffer the consequences of their political choices.
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According to the newspaper, there is a branch of the Chinese police station on Agsilau Street in the center of Athens. In fact, the storefront of this building is a so-called Chinese citizen services office.
According to Directus, dissidents have been intimidated, kidnapped and forcibly transferred to China.
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For this “department”, the Greek police conducted a long-term investigation. In fact, similar units of the Chinese police appear to exist in other countries as well.
Multiple reports of Chinese police stations around the world have sparked outrage and debate in parliaments on five continents, according to investigative publication Ij-Reportika.
Ij-Reportika published the addresses of Chinese police stations around the world that are reportedly dedicated to curbing dissent and conducting espionage-related activities.
According to a recent report by Safeguard Defenders, a Madrid-based human rights group, China uses illegal methods to arrest overseas citizens it deems breaking the law.
To apprehend criminals overseas, security agencies often require the assistance of INTERPOL. Diplomatically, establishing bilateral extradition treaties is another process.
However, China has set up dozens of police “service stations” as security agencies in major cities around the world, according to a Protection Guardian report titled “110 Overseas-China Transnational Policing Out of Control.”
It revealed how the campaign was launched on a low-key scale in 2018, purportedly to combat the growing problem of fraud and wire fraud by Chinese nationals living abroad.
Now, these so-called “service stations” are violating the international rule of law. The Chinese have established parallel policing mechanisms in some 53 countries to target dissidents and conduct surveillance on their own nationals.
According to the report, from April 2021 to July 2022, 230,000 nationals have been “persuaded to return” and face criminal proceedings in China. “At home, they are already controlling, but abroad, it’s more difficult to control, so they want to focus on dissident Chinese living in free countries, rather than speaking freely,” said the Tibetan exile. Thubten Wangchen said.
Safeguards also revealed how the Overseas Chinese Association is linked to the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Community Party. Some of these organizations registered to liaise with the Chinese police, which violated local regulations.
Details of China’s overseas operations have alarmed security agencies and governments in Europe, Canada and the United States. FBI Director Christopher Wray said the United States was deeply concerned about unauthorized Chinese police stations in cities like New York because they violated sovereignty and circumvented standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation procedures.
Canada and the Netherlands are also joining the United States in investigating these Chinese secret police services. The RCMP said it “takes threats to the safety of individuals residing in Canada very seriously and is aware that foreign countries may attempt to intimidate or harm communities or individuals within Canada.
“People have been approached by threats or otherwise to persuade them to return home,” said Rahim, who lives in London and has ties to the World Uyghur Congress.
Beijing is accused of using illegal methods against targeted individuals or their family members, which undermines any due process and the most basic rights of the suspects. Furthermore, there is a blatant disregard for the use of due channels and procedures in international relations.
Despite ample evidence, China’s foreign ministry has denied claims that Beijing-backed officials were conducting police operations abroad without the knowledge of host governments. Beijing further claimed that the police contact points were actually “overseas Chinese service centers” run by the diaspora community and designed to assist with administrative tasks.
According to Ij-Reportika, the most egregious presence of Chinese police stations can be seen in South Asia, Southeast Asia, South America and many African countries. These have become a new hotspot for Chinese police stations, the report added. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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