FBI concerned over unauthorized 'police stations' set up by China on US soil

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – The FBI is concerned over unauthorized “police stations” set up by China across the US, said the bureau’s director on Thursday.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told senior members of Congress that the agency is monitoring reports of such centers across the country.

“We are aware of the existence of these stations,” Wray told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The existence of these facilities “violates the (US) sovereignty and circumvents standard judicial and law enforcement cooperation processes,” he added.

“It’s outrageous to think that the Chinese police would attempt to set up shop in New York, for example, without proper coordination,” he said.

The European-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders published a report revealing the existence of 54 "overseas police service centers" of Chinese police in many countries, including the US, the Netherlands, Spain, and Ireland.

China uses the "police stations" as a means of pressuring some of its citizens and their families to return, according to the report, published in September.

“Investigations into the overseas police service center listed in New York are ongoing. The U.S. has previously adopted a whole-of-government approach to countering (People’s Republic of China) PRC transnational repression and policing efforts on U.S. soil,” the report said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, arguing that the officials in question merely help Chinese nationals with their paperwork.